Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

phd12166 It takes good critiquing skills to fully appreciate the surprisingly seductive subtleties of Bette Davis during her motion picture making prime. Winter Meeting is an intellectual's & critic's delight. Davis doesn't ever step out of her leading role as an extremely constrained character, Susan Greive. I can't find a flaw in her meticulous performance. The story is also of interest to the period when it was filmed. Bette Davis at 40yo & 59 films into the height of her acting career, stars as an accomplished, upscale poet, Susan Grieve. Although Grieve is well traveled from soliciting her literary work, she resides in a posh brownstone in NYC. Her closest friend & confidant is an old-monied dapper gentleman, complete with the social graces of exquisitely good taste, Stacy Grant (43yo John Hoyt).Believing that his secretary Peggy Markham (Janis Paige) will seduce a visiting war hero, Slick Novak (James Davis), Grant arranges a dinner party for the foursome, including the very reserved & demure Grieve (Davis). Instead, Novak instantly falls for the ever so proper poet who has no romantic interests.After Grieve & Novak engage in a private romance, she's romantically awakened in a way that she's never been before. As such, Grieve is falling in love with Novak. Something has to go wrong to upset as fine a romance as theirs, doesn't it? It always does....This film offers no exception. Novak has a closely guarded secret that he discloses to Grieve that changes everything between them.I found the best on-screen chemistry to be between Davis & Hoyt. Davis comes off as the kind of woman who enjoys being around elegant men who aren't hounding after women; perhaps even gay men. Hoyt fits that image to a T. Their ultra close friendship is worth more than any romance~

mrcaw1 Most of the previous reviews have been correct. This is a boring, talky flick that feels like a filmed play for the most part. Maybe it was a play, I don't know.Strange but I thought Davis' love interest in the film Jim Davis (later of TV Dallas fame...who I completely did not recognize) was way too young to play opposite her, but when I looked up both their ages, he was actually only a year younger than Davis! Davis was 40 in this movie. What I find strange too is the fact that in this movie, in 1948 she is very slim, as if she'd gone on a diet or something. Her next movie, in 48 as well, is June Bride. A great comedy with Robert Montgomery. In that film she's slim as well, and showing her age a tad bit more than in this movie, where she is just starting to show signs of 40ish-ness.But then something must have happened to Davis in her personal life because the following year, in 1949, in that, little seen, Beyond the Forest (where she utters the famous line - What a dump) she seems to have aged 5 or 10 years instead of just 1. And her figure too has gone to the dogs too. She's all lumpy in Beyond the Forest! I've never seen someone go to pot in so short a time.Then in 1950 she did her famous All About Eve in which she plays a woman who is 40 (when in real life she was 42). But in All About Eve she LOOKS like she could be 50! I'd be curious to hear from any fans out there, if they could shed some light as to what happened to Davis in those 2 years to go from a slim and attractive 40 in this movie Winter Meeting & then appear as she did only a year later in Beyond the Forest & one year more in All About Eve.As for Winter Meeting, now that I've seen it, I can scratch it off the must see Bette Davis movie list and never have to see it again.Oh, as for Mr. Davis' acting in this movie, he was HORRIBLE! Where oh where was George Brent (one of Davis' frequent Warner Brothers co-stars) when you need him? Don't THINK he was dead! I'll have to check on IMDb!

whpratt1 A story about a female and male searching for real love, both with very strong convictions and also very bad hang ups about where they are going in life. Betty Davis,(Susan Grieve),"Wicked Stepmother",'89 sort of gave up on marriage and ran into Jim Davis,(Slick Novak), and began to fall head over heels in love with him. There is a scene where Susan and Jim confront each other about each others faults and Susan wonders why Jim is not able to just plain get on one knee and propose marriage. Also, the fact that he has never attempted to make love to her, but only an occasional kiss or two. The actors gave great performances and you have to take into account that it was produced in 1948. This is truly a great Betty Davis Classic Film!@

jotix100 "Winter Meeting" is a film that doesn't add anything to Bette Davis' distinguished career in the movies. The melodrama is undermined by a completely miscast Jim Davis, who makes the picture worse than it deserved to be. The part of Slick Novak should have gone to another actor that could have added a few more sparks to the movie.As directed by Bretaigne Windust, "Winter Movie" is a dull attempt to bring the novel in which it's based to the screen. The adaptation leaves a lot to be desired.The basic problem with the film is one of credibility. We don't believe, for one second, Slick Novak, the hero Navy lieutenant would even look at Susan Grieve at all, let alone be romantically involved with her. It's easy for us to understand why Susan would make a fool of herself in letting Slick come into her life. After all, plain Susan was no competition for gorgeous Peggy, who is all over Slick at the night club, and clearly wants him. Stacy Grant, the man about town, kept reminding us of a subdued Waldo Lydecker, from "Laura", in the way he tries to get Susan under his influence. He wants to expose her to a society that she doesn't care to belong. This role was one of the ways Hollywood dealt with the subject of homosexuality in those days. Everyone knew about them, but the movie making people wanted to keep Stacy and his ilk in a permanent closet.Bette Davis underplays Susan with mixed results. Obviously, Ms. Davis had no influence for getting out of this second class melodrama unworthy of her talent. Then again, one questions her wisdom in letting a light weight actor like Jim Davis play opposite her, when it's clear he is not in her league.The wonderful John Hoyt makes the best out of Stacy Grant and Florence Bates, one of the best character actresses of that era, is fine as the housekeeper who knows a lot about the mistress of the house. Janis Paige, in all her beauty and youth, doesn't have much to do.This is a film to be seen as a curiosity more than a Bette Davis signature vehicle.