February 15, 1939

“The Little Foxes,” a play written by Lillian Hellman about the lives of her banking family in Demopolis, opened in Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre starring Tallulah Bankhead in the lead role. Playing the fiery Regina Hubbard Giddings, Bankhead won the New York Drama Critics Award for Best Performance, Variety magazine’s Actress of the Year Award, and was on the cover of Life magazine for her portrayal. In 1941, “The Little Foxes” was released as a film, featuring Bette Davis as Regina, and earned nine Oscar nominations, the most for any Alabama-based film until “Forrest Gump.”

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

A movie poster from the 1941 release of “The Little Foxes.” (contributed)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.