History Theatre / TheLittleFoxes

* NouveauRiche: The Hubbards remind William Marshall that they are not aristocrats but traders as they close a deal with him that will make them definitely rich. Dialogue explains how the Hubbards made their money by cheating and exploiting the ignorant black population of the town. In the backstory Oscar was able to use his new wealth to marry ImpoverishedPatrician Birdie and take control of her farm.

* YourDaysAreNumbered: Horace is dying of heart disease. This makes him less willing than he used to be to put up with Regina.

''The Little Foxes'' is a 1939 play by Creator/LillianHellman.

The Hubbards are a BigScrewedUpFamily in a small town somewhere in the DeepSouth. Brothers Oscar and Ben Hubbard are selfish and greedy. Oscar mentally and physically abuses his broken-down wife, Birdie; their son, Leo, is shiftless and lazy. Oscar and Ben's sister, Regina, was left out of their father's inheritance because she's a woman, so at some point in the backstory she married Horace Giddens, a local businessman. Horace has done well for himself but his marriage with Regina has long since curdled into mutual hatred. The only thing they have in common is their daughter, Alexandra, who is honorable and decent like her father instead of mean and greedy like her mother and her mother's family.

The Hubbards have hit upon a new business opportunity: namely, the construction of a cotton mill in town. All three of the Hubbard siblings desperately want the deal, which will make them a lot richer than they already are. However, the brothers need Regina's support, and she doesn't control the family finances--and her husband Horace is not that eager to fund the construction of a cotton mill that will enrich the Hubbards by exploiting the cheap labor available in the town.

In 1941 it was adapted into a feature film directed by Creator/WilliamWyler, starring Creator/BetteDavis as Regina, Creator/HerbertMarshall as Horace, and Creator/TeresaWright in her film debut as Alexandra. Four actors--Dan Duryea, Charles Dingle, Carl Benton Reid, and Patricia Collinge--reprised their roles from the stage play. Lillian Hellman adapted her own play for the screen.

* CompleteTheQuoteTitle: It's from Song of Solomon 2:15. "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes."

The Hubbard family is a BigScrewedUpFamily in a small town somewhere in the DeepSouth. Brothers Oscar and Ben Hubbard are selfish and greedy. Oscar mentally and physically abuses his broken-down wife Birdie; their son Leo is shiftless and lazy. Oscar and Ben's sister, Regina (Davis), was left out of their father's inheritance because she's a woman, so at some point in the backstory she married Horace Giddens (Marshall), a local businessman. Horace has done well for himself but his marriage with Regina has long since curdled into mutual hatred. The only thing they have in common is their daughter, Alexandra (Wright), who is honorable and decent like her father instead of mean and greedy like her mother and her mother's family.

The Hubbards have hit upon a new business opportunity, namely, the construction of a cotton mill in town. All three of the Hubbard siblings desperately want the deal, which will make them a lot richer than they already are. However, the brothers need Regina's support, and she doesn't control the family finances--and her husband Horace is not that eager to fund the construction of a cotton mill that will enrich the Hubbards by exploiting the cheap labor available in the town.

In 1941 it was adapted into a feature film directed by Creator/WilliamWyler, starring Creator/BetteDavis, Creator/HerbertMarshall, and Creator/TeresaWright in her film debut. Four actors--Dan Duryea, Charles Dingle, Carl Benton Reid, and Patricia Collinge--reprised their roles from the stage play. Lillian Hellman adapted her own play for the screen.

The Hubbards have hit upon a new business opoortunity, namely, the construction of a cotton mill in town. All three of the Hubbard siblings desperately want the deal, which will make them a lot richer than they already are. However, the brothers need Regina's support, and she doesn't control the family finances--and her husband Horace is not that eager to fund the construction of a cotton mill that will enrich the Hubbards by exploiting the cheap labor available in the town.

In 1941 it was adapted into a feature film directed by Creator/WilliamWyler, starring Creator/BetteDavis, Herbert Marshall, and Creator/TeresaWright in her film debut. Four actors--Dan Duryea, Charles Dingle, Carl Benton Reid, and Patricia Collinge--reprised their roles from the stage play. Lillian Hellman adapted her own play for the screen.

In 1941 it was adapted into a feature film directed by Creator/WilliamWyler, starring Creator/BetteDavis, Herbert Marshall, and Teresa Wright in her film debut. Four actors--Dan Duryea, Charles Dingle, Carl Benton Reid, and Patricia Collinge--reprised their roles from the stage play. Lillian Hellman adapted her own play for the screen.

-> "Addie said there were people who ate the earth and those that stood around and watched them do it. And just then Uncle Ben said the same thing. Really the same thing. Tell him from me, Mama, I'm not going to watch you do it."

''The Little Foxes'' was a 1939 play by Creator/LillianHellman.

* ArmorPiercingQuestion: The last line (of the movie at least), from Alexandra to Regina. After Regina steals a glance at the room that contains her freshly-dead husband, she asks Alexandra to stay with her in her room. Alexandra asks "Why, Mama? Are you afraid?" Then she leaves, and the movie ends with Regina watching her go from the window.

* NouveauRiche: The Hubbards remind William Marshall that they are not aristocrats but traders as they close a deal with him that will make them definitely rich. Dialogue explains how the Hubbards made their money by cheating and exploiting the ignorant black population of the town. In the backstory Oscar was able to use his new wealth to marry ImpoverishedAristocrat Birdie and take control of her farm.

* ArmorPiercingQuestion: The last line (of the movie at least), from Alexandra to Regina. After Alexandra steals a glance at the room that contains her freshly-dead husband, she asks Alexandra to stay with her in her room. Alexandra asks "Why, Mama? Are you afraid?" Then she leaves, and the movie ends with Regina watching her go from the window.

''The Little Foxes'' was a 1939 play by Lillian Hellman.

In 1941 it was adapted into a feature film directed by Creator/WilliamWyler, starring Creator/BetteDavis, Herbert Marshall, and Teresa Wright in her film debut. Four actors--Dan Duryea, Charles Dingle, Carl Benton Reid, and Patricia Collinge--reprised their roles from the stage play.