Bette Davis | Hollywood Yesterday

BOTD: The LEGEND, Herself, Bette Davis

April 5, 2021 By Joi Leave a Comment

Bette Davis, All About Eve

Ruth Elizabeth Davis was born April 5, 1908, in Lowell, Massachusetts and would go on, one day, to take Hollywood and the world by storm! Bette Davis is one of those stars who I am convinced was born with “it.” She had acting and star quality in her blood and boy did she ever know what to do with it!

If you aren’t familiar with Bette Davis’ movies, I hope you’ll spend some time going through her filmography.

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Bette Davis, Dark Victory

Though I love all (except one!) of the Bette Davis movies I’ve seen, my top six personal favorites, and what I’d call “essential Bette Davis films” are….

Jezebel (1938)

Dark Victory (1939)

In This Our Life (1942)

Now, Voyager (1942)

All About Eve (1950)

The Star (1952)

Just please don’t let “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane” be the first (or second, or third, or fourth…) Bette Davis movie you watch. You’ll never guess which of her films is the one I don’t like!

Picture of the Day: Theresa Harris and Bette Davis, Jezebel

November 4, 2020 By Joi Leave a Comment

Theresa Harris and Bette Davis, Jezebel

Like most old Hollywood lovers, I have my own, personal regrets:

… that the film Bette Davis and Joan Crawford made together wasn’t better (massive apologies to those who love Whatever Happened to Baby Jane – I dislike it… a lot).
… that Dorothy Dandridge didn’t win the Best Lead Actress for Carmen Jones – she absolutely should have.
… that Barbara Stanwyck wasn’t recognized by the Academy for her outstanding acting. Where were their heads?!
… that Irene Dunne wasn’t, at the very least, given a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy.
… that Lena Horne wasn’t given the role of Julie LaVerne in Showboat (1951). Blame this one on the horrifying, idiotic racism that existed at the time.
… that Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz ever got a divorce! Seriously, this one breaks my heart.
… that Marilyn Monroe didn’t realize her own talent and worth. Her contributions to Hollywood simply cannot be overstated.
… that Theresa Harris was never given a role worthy of her beauty, talent, and extra special screen presence.

It always makes me sick to my stomach that, when I want a picture to post or tweet of Theresa Harris, I have to look for her co-stars. Find them, and you’ll find her… supporting them in their starring role. Before anyone points it out, I am, of course, very aware that many actors and actresses made entire careers from being character actors and actresses. I also will be the first to acknowledge the GREAT worth of these supporting stars. Many, many, many “good” films were made “great” based upon the character stars.

Also, a career in film is highly admirable, rewarding, and glorious whether you are a lead or supporting star. I get every bit of that… trust me.

However, Theresa Harris had all of the qualifications to be both a supporting actress and a lead actress. Again, due to the time in which this beautiful actress lived, she was never given the chance she would have been given had she been born later. As a fan of hers, it simply bothers me, that’s all.

How frustrating it must have been to know you were every bit as talented and beautiful as many stars getting the lead roles (heck, more so than plenty!) – and yet, you were never given your shot.

Argh!

By nature, I’m a very positive person, so I don’t want to spend any more time with this line of thinking. I’d rather focus on the fact that Theresa Harris got to be a movie actress! She worked on some very special films (Jezebel and Baby Face to name just two). She also not only met some of Hollywood’s biggest legends, but worked alongside them. Heck, she even stole scenes from more than a few of them!

Today’s picture of the day is from one of my absolute favorite movies, Jezebel (1938). The movie stars Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, George Brent, Theresa Harris, Spring Boyington, Margaret Lindsay, and Fay Bainter. It was superbly directed by William Wyler and is one of the first movies that comes to my mind when I hear the words, “Perfect film.”

I just wish Theresa Harris’ character had more screen time – it would have made the movie EVEN better.

You can find the excellent film Jezebel (link to the dvd on Amazon) on Amazon.

Death on the Nile Photos in Honor of Agatha Christie’s Birthday

September 15, 2020 By Joi Leave a Comment

David Niven, Peter Ustinov, and Bette Davis in Death on the Nile

I love books. There you have it – an understatement to end all understatements! I love them so much, I collect many different types, so they’re always near me. In fact, it occurred to me recently that (when home) three things are always within my reach…

Raspberry Tea
Coffee
Chocolate
At least one cat
At least one book

Even as I type this out, I have raspberry tea and a cup of coffee to my left, two cats to my right, and Mary Astor’s wonderful autobiography right in front of me. What can I say, I get antsy if any of these four life sources are out of my reach.

Hmmm… maybe that’s why I’m such a homebody. I can take my tea, chocolate, and coffee with me but not my cats and book collections.

One of my favorite authors (tying with Emily Dickinson and my daughter Emily, named in her honor) is the wonderful Agatha Christie. I collect her books and read them again and again. True story: seven or eight years ago, I was making out my New Year’s resolutions and I must have been in a cheeky mood because I wrote down… “Always be in the middle of an Agatha Christie mystery” AND “Eat chocolate every single day.”

I guess I just wanted to MAKE CERTAIN at least two of the resolutions were kept? They were… to the tune of that year and every year since.

Cheeky Kentuckian.

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Agatha Christie Books

There have been numerous films made from Agatha Christie mysteries. While I’ve never seen one that was quite as good as the book, itself, they are always entertaining – especially when they have a cast like Death on the Nile had! Peter Ustinov (as Hercule Poirot), Bette Davis, David Niven, George Kennedy, Maggie Smith, Angela Lansbury, Jack Warden, Simon MacCorkindale, Lois Chiles… outstanding cast and a darn good movie.

How impressive IS this cast? Seven of the cast members account for a total of twenty-eight acting Oscar nominations with eight wins!

Death on the Nile Cast

Death on the Nile marked the first of Sir Peter Ustinov’s six performances as Hercule Poirot.

This film was the first, of three, produced screenplays from novels by Dame Agatha Christie, written by Anthony Shaffer. The others were Evil Under the Sun (1982) and Appointment with Death (1988).

As I said, the books are better, but that’s to be expected… Agatha Christie was a mad genius!… but the movies are always extremely entertaining, especially with this cast.

You can find Death on the Nile (link leads to the dvd on Amazon) on Amazon. I’m not sure which Agatha Christie adaptations are available on Prime, it’d certainly be worth checking for this one… or any of them.

Maggie Smith and Bette Davis in Death on the Nile

Maggie Smith and Bette Davis, Death on the Nile

Bette Davis, Ex Lady (1933)

November 27, 2019 By Joi Leave a Comment

Bette Davis, Ex Lady (1933)

Bette Davis was one of the most incredibly talented stars of all time. She simply gave one breathtaking performance after another. Ex Lady was no exception. While the film isn’t as well known or celebrated as some of her other films, it is certainly more than worth watching. She is, of course, mesmerizing.

Jezebel, Starring Bette Davis and Henry Fonda (Fast Facts)

November 27, 2019 By Joi Leave a Comment

Bette Davis and Henry Fonda, Jezebel (1938)

I have loved every single Bette Davis movie I have ever seen except for one. Ironically, one of her most popular ones is my least favorite – What Ever Happened to Baby Jane… hate it! Halfway through the movie, I was like, “I don’t CARE what happened to her or any of the rest of them!” Well, I cared about the rat, but it was too late for him.

At least I can say this, I’ve never seen a bad Bette Davis performance.

Henry Fonda fares a bit better with me – I have never seen a Henry Fonda film I didn’t like and, like Bette Davis, I’ve never seen a bad Henry Fonda performance.

These two teaming up could only be something magical, which is (of course) exactly what Jezebel is. Magical. The costumes are stunning and the stars are stunning. Visually, it’s just a very beautiful movie. Fortunately, it’s as entertaining as it is beautiful.

Bette Davis gives the performance of a lifetime in Jezebel and you can’t help but be transfixed by her every move. Whenever I watch Jezebel, I think how stunningly she would have played the role of Scarlet O’Hara in Gone with the Wind. Not that Vivien Leigh wasn’t perfection, mind you… I’m just saying that Bette Davis could have played the role to perfection as well.

If you don’t believe me, watch Jezebel.

Below are a few fast facts related to this iconic movie:

Reportedly, the emotionally-charged and artistic experience left Bette Davis very emotional. She cried for days after filming wrapped up.
Bette Davis took 45 takes to perfect the scene where she lifts her riding skirt with her crop.
Bette Davis realized that William Wyler was an extra special director when he insisted she come view the dailies with him. No actor had ever invited her to view dailies with them before.
Bette Davis’ Oscar for Jezebel was sold at an auction in 2001 for $57,800. The buyer? Steven Spielberg – who then immediately donated it back to the Academy.
Bette Davis credited director William Wyler for making her a box office-star after he directed her Oscar-winning performance in Jezebel.
At one point William Wyler had considered casting his ex-wife (and Henry Fonda’s too, ironically enough) Margaret Sullavan as Jezebel. That would have, no doubt, caused an interesting set..
Humphrey Bogart (who had just worked with William Wyler on Dead End, 1937)) warned Bette Davis that she would hate working with Wyler because of his habit of doing MANY retakes without suggesting anything for the actors to change! On her first day of shooting, Wyler took 28 takes to get one simple scene in the dress shop just right. She found the situation frustrating, BUT when she watched the rushes, she realized that her performance had gotten better with each successive take. Never underestimate the importance of a brilliant director!
Because of excessive takes for each scene by Wyler, Jezebel ran a good 28 days behind schedule.
To keep from falling further behind on schedule, writer John Huston was asked to direct the duel scene. This would mark his first time directing.
William Wyler was known for never actors how he felt about a take was “printed” and it drove Bette Davis nuts. When she finally told him she needed more feedback and approval from her director, Wyler started saying “Marvelous, Miss Davis, just marvelous!” after each take. After a few times of this excessive flattery, she laughed and told him to go back to his old ways.
On hearing that he was about to make a film with William Wyler, Humphrey Bogart (who had just made Dead End with the director and had not enjoyed it) told Henry Fonda “…don’t touch it. Don’t go in there!”.
After winning the Best Actress Oscar for this film, Bette Davis was nominated for Best Actress for the next four successive years for Dark Victory (1939), The Letter (1940), The Little Foxes (1941) and Now, Voyager (1942).
The only film in which Bette Davis gives an acting Oscar winning performance in a Best Picture nominee.

Bette Davis Quotes: What a Way with Words (She’s More Entertaining than A Lot of Movies!)

October 10, 2019 By Joi Leave a Comment

“I will never be below the title.”

“If you want a thing well done, get a couple of old broads to do it.”

“Today everyone is a star – they’re all billed as ‘starring’ or ‘also starring’. In my day, we earned that recognition.”

(About Katharine Hepburn’s tie with Barbra Streisand for the 1968 Oscar) “I wanted to be the first to win three Oscars, but Miss Hepburn has done it. Actually it hasn’t been done. Miss Hepburn only won half an Oscar. If they’d given me half an Oscar I would have thrown it back in their faces. You see, I’m an Aries. I never lose.”

(About fourth husband, Gary Merrill) “Gary was a macho man, but none of my husbands was ever man enough to become Mr. Bette Davis.”

(When she was told that “at one time” she had a reputation for being difficult) “At one time?! I’ve been known as difficult for 50 years, practically! What do you mean ‘at one time?’ Nooo, I’ve been like this for 50 years. And it’s always always to make it the best film I can make it!”

(When told not to speak ill of the dead) “Just because someone is dead does not mean they have changed!”

(About her mother) “I had to be the monster for both of us.”

“If Hollywood didn’t work out, I was prepared to be the best secretary in the world.”

“I have been uncompromising, peppery, infractable, monomaniacal, tactless, volatile and offtimes disagreeable. I suppose I’m larger than life.”

“(Joan Crawford) and I have never been warm friends. We are not simpatico. I admire her, and yet I feel uncomfortable with her. To me, she is the personification of the Movie Star. I have always felt her greatest performance is Crawford being Crawford.”

(After blowing a line several times in Hollywood Canteen (1944), in which she plays herself) “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I think I just can’t play myself. I don’t know how! But, if you give me a drink – give me a cigarette – give me a gun – I’ll play any old bag you want me to. I just can’t play myself!”

“I was a person who couldn’t make divorce work. For me, there’s nothing lonelier than a turned-down toilet seat.”

“I always had the will to win. I felt it baking cookies. They had to be the best cookies anyone baked.”

“My favorite person to work with was Claude Rains.”

“I certainly would have given anything to have worked with John Wayne. He’s the most attractive man who ever walked the earth, I think.”

(During tension on the set of The Whales of August, about co-star Lilian Gish) “She ought to know about close-ups… she was around when they invented them!”