All This, and Heaven Too (1940)

Bookend: Bette Davis is the new French teacher at school, looking to start fresh. It's quickly apparent, however, that her notoriety has reached all the way into this American classroom and made the schoolgirls bold enough to bully her. Instead of telling her class to shut up and get to learning, she crumbles and begs them to listen to her side of the story, the flashback of which is the bulk of the film

Flashback: Davis is hired on as a governess for Duc and Duchesse Praslin. He's a charming man and doting father, she's a jealous harpy who can barely tolerate the presence of her children. Bette's great with the kids and the husband... not great for the emotional health of the lady of the house. Thwarted Romance! Murder! Prison! Suicide!

Bookend: Will you please like me now, kids? Yes, we will love you forever.

It's actually not bad, but it's supposedly based on a true occurrence and that had me sharing the Duchesse's suspicions that everything wasn't quite as chaste as I was being told.

B