Wyler’s lensing via cinematographer Gregg Toland sidesteps any sense of “filmed play” in this gripping depiction of the financial chicanery and intimate betrayals infesting a wealth-obsessed family in the Deep South circa 1900. Once again Oscar nominations went to Wyler, star Bette Davis, and the film itself, as well as Lillian Hellman, adapting her instant-classic play, and supporting actresses Patricia Collinge and (in her film debut) Teresa Wright.