|
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, though her greatest successes were romantic dramas. For the actress, see Bette Davis, for the meteorologist, see Betty Davis (meteorologist). ...
Bold text Betty Davis is currently a meteorologist for The Weather Channel, on Weekend Weather Center. ...
Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Now, Voyager is a 1942 film which tells the story of a middle-aged spinster who, repressed by the domination of her mother, winds up in a sanatorium, where her self-confidence is boosted by an understanding psychiatrist. ...
is the 95th day of the year (96th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...
Nickname: Motto: Art is the Handmaid of Human Good Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts Coordinates: , Country State County Middlesex Settled 1653 Incorporated 1826 A city 1836 Government - Type Manager-City council - Mayor William F. Martin, Jr. ...
is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ...
Neuilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine département in France. ...
William Grant Sherry (born 1914) is a painter and artist. ...
Gary Merrill (August 2, 1915 - March 5, 1990) was a U. S. film and television actor whose credits included more than fifty feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of TV guest appearances. ...
Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ...
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. ...
Dangerous is a 1935 drama film starring Bette Davis as an alcoholic actress who has fallen on hard times and is helped back to her feet by a fan (Franchot Tone), whose own engagement is threatened by his relationship with the actress. ...
Jezebel is a 1938 film that tells the story of a headstrong young Southern woman during the years prior to the American Civil War, and how her actions cost her the love of the man she truly loves. ...
The César Award is the national film award of France first given out in 1975. ...
César: Prize (César dhonneur) ...
An Emmy Award. ...
This is a list of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie winners: 1974: Mildred Natwick - The Swoop Sisters 1975: Jessica Walter - Amy Prentiss 1976: Rosemary Harris - Notorious Woman 1977: Patty Duke - Captains and Kings 1978: Meryl Streep - Holocaust 1979: Bette Davis - Strangers...
The Golden Globe Awards are American awards for motion pictures and television programs, given out each year during a formal dinner. ...
The Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in motion pictures has been given annually since 1952 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at the Golden Globe Award ceremonies in Hollywood, California. ...
The Venice Film Festival ( ) is the oldest film festival in the world. ...
Kid Galahad is a 1962 musical film starring Elvis Presley as a boxer. ...
Marked Woman is the title of a crime melodrama film released by Warner Brothers Studios in 1937. ...
The New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress is one of the awards given by the New York Film Critics Circle to honor the finest achievements in filmmaking. ...
For other uses, see All About Eve (disambiguation). ...
The Best Actress Award (French: Prix dinterprétation féminine) is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. ...
For other uses, see All About Eve (disambiguation). ...
The following are a list of Saturn Award winners for Best Supporting Actress (in a film): Categories: | ...
Burnt Offerings is Iced Earths third album, released April 18, 1995, by Century Media Records. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
is the 95th day of the year (96th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...
is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ...
Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ...
For other uses, see Actor (disambiguation). ...
This article is about motion pictures. ...
For other usages see Theatre (disambiguation) Theater (American English) or Theatre (British English and widespread usage among theatre professionals in the US) is that branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle — indeed...
In film theory, genre refers to the primary method of film categorization. ...
A crime film, in its most general sense, is a film that deals with crime, criminal justice and the darker side of human nature. ...
The historical drama is a film genre in which stories are based more or less accurately upon historical events and famous persons. ...
In the performing arts, a period piece is a work set in a particular era. ...
A comedy is a dramatic performance of a light and amusing character, usually with a happy conclusion to its plot. ...
While most films have some aspect of romance between characters (at least as a subplot) a romance film can be loosely defined as any film in which the central plot (the premise of the story) revolves around the romantic involvement of the storys protagonists. ...
After appearing in Broadway plays, Davis moved to Hollywood in 1930, but her early films for Universal Studios were unsuccessful. She joined Warner Bros. in 1932 and established her career with several critically acclaimed performances. In 1937, she attempted to free herself from her contract and although she lost a well-publicized legal case, it marked the beginning of the most successful period of her career. Until the late 1940s, she was one of American cinema's most celebrated leading actresses, known for her forceful and intense style. Davis gained a reputation as a perfectionist who could be highly combative, and her confrontations with studio executives, film directors and costars were often reported. Her forthright manner, clipped vocal style and ubiquitous cigarette contributed to a public persona which has often been imitated and satirized. Broadway theatre is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ...
...
This article is about the American media conglomerate. ...
“WB†redirects here. ...
Unlit filtered cigarettes. ...
Davis was the co-founder of the Hollywood Canteen, and was the first female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She was the first actor to receive 10 Academy Award nominations and the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. Her career went through several periods of decline, and she admitted that her success had often been at the expense of her personal relationships. Married four times, she was once widowed and three times divorced, and raised her children as a single parent. Her final years were marred by a long period of ill health, but she continued acting until shortly before her death from breast cancer, with more than 100 film, television and theater roles to her credit. The Hollywood Canteen operated at 1451 Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood, California between October 3, 1942 and the end of World War II as a club offering food and entertainment for American servicemen, usually on their way overseas. ...
Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study in Hollywood, California Founded on May 11, 1927 in California, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
Breast cancer is cancer of breast tissue. ...
In 1999, Davis was placed second, behind Katharine Hepburn, on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female stars of all time. Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an iconic American actress of film, television and stage. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
Part of the AFI 100 Years. ...
[edit] Background and early acting career Ruth Elizabeth Davis, known from early childhood as "Betty", was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, the daughter of Ruth ("Ruthie") Augusta (née Favor), and Harlow Morrell Davis, a patent attorney;[unreliable source?][1] her sister, Barbara ("Bobby"), was born October 25, 1909. The family was Protestant, of English, French, and Welsh ancestry.[2] In 1915, Davis's parents separated and Betty and Bobby attended a Spartan boarding school called Crestalban in Lanesborough, which is located in the Berkshires.[3] In 1921, Ruth Davis moved to New York City with her daughters, where she worked as a portrait photographer. Betty was inspired to become an actress after seeing Rudolph Valentino in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) and Mary Pickford in Little Lord Fauntleroy (1921),[4] and changed the spelling of her name to "Bette" after Honoré de Balzac's La Cousine Bette.[5] She received encouragement from her mother, who had aspired to become an actress. Nickname: Motto: Art is the Handmaid of Human Good Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts Coordinates: , Country State County Middlesex Settled 1653 Incorporated 1826 A city 1836 Government - Type Manager-City council - Mayor William F. Martin, Jr. ...
Née redirects here. ...
is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...
This article is about the English as an ethnic group and nation. ...
The Welsh are, according to Hastings (1997), an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language, which is a Celtic language. ...
Lanesborough is a town located in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. ...
The Berkshires are a branch of the Appalachian Mountains in Western Massachusetts. ...
New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ...
Rudolph Valentino (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926) was an Italian actor. ...
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse was a 1921 silent movie produced by Metro Pictures Corporation, directed by Rex Ingram and starring Rudolph Valentino, Pomeroy Cannon, Josef Swickard and Alice Terry. ...
For the Katie Melua song, see Mary Pickford (Used to Eat Roses). ...
Little Lord Fauntleroy is a sentimental childrens novel by American (English-born) author Frances Hodgson Burnett, serialized in St. ...
Balzac redirects here. ...
La Cousine Bette (English: Cousin Bette) is an 1846 novel by Honoré de Balzac. ...
She attended Cushing Academy, a boarding school in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, where she met her future husband, Harmon O. Nelson, known as "Ham". In 1926, she saw a production of Henrik Ibsen's The Wild Duck with Blanche Yurka and Peg Entwistle. Davis later recalled that it inspired her full commitment to her chosen career, and said, "Before that performance I wanted to be an actress. When it ended, I had to be an actress... exactly like Peg Entwistle."[6] She auditioned for admission to Eva LeGallienne's Manhattan Civic Repertory, but was rejected by LeGallienne who described her attitude as "insincere" and "frivolous".[7] She was accepted by the John Murray Anderson School of Theatre (where Lucille Ball was also a pupil), and studied dance with Martha Graham. Cushing Academy is a boarding school in Ashburnham, Massachusetts. ...
The title of Baron Ashburnham was created in the Peerage of England in 1689. ...
This article is about the U.S. state. ...
Ibsen redirects here. ...
The Wild Duck (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is a 1884 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. ...
Blanche Yurka (June 18, 1887 – June 6, 1974) was an American theatre and film actress. ...
Peg Entwistle Peg Entwistle (February 6, 1908 – September 18, 1932) was a Hollywood actress, famous for her suicide. ...
Eva Le Gallienne (January 11, 1899–June 3, 1991) was an actress, producer, and director well-known during the first half of the 20th century. ...
John Murray Anderson (September 20, 1886 - January 30, 1954) was a theatre director and producer, songwriter, screenwriter, and lighting designer. ...
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an iconic American comedienne, film, television, stage and radio actress, glamour girl and star of the landmark sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show and Heres Lucy. ...
For the supercentenarian, see Martha Graham (supercentenarian). ...
She auditioned for George Cukor's stock theater company, and although he was not impressed, he gave Davis her first paid acting assignment – a one-week stint playing the part of a chorus girl in the play, Broadway. She was later chosen to play Hedwig, the character she had seen Peg Entwistle play, in The Wild Duck. After performing in Philadelphia, Washington and Boston, she made her Broadway debut in 1929 in Broken Dishes, and followed it with Solid South. A Universal Studios talent scout saw her perform and invited her to Hollywood for a screen test. George Dewey Cukor (July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director. ...
For other uses of Broadway, see Broadway. ...
This article is about the American media conglomerate. ...
Screen Test was a British childrens quiz show produced by the BBC which ran from 1969 to 1984. ...
[edit] Transition from stage to film Accompanied by her mother, Davis traveled by train to Hollywood, arriving on December 13, 1930. She later recounted her surprise that nobody from the studio was there to meet her; a studio employee had waited for her, but left because he saw nobody who "looked like an actress". She failed her first screen test but was used in several screen tests for other actors. In a 1971 interview with Dick Cavett, she related the experience with the observation, "I was the most Yankee-est, most modest virgin who ever walked the earth. They laid me on a couch, and I tested fifteen men ... They all had to lie on top of me and give me a passionate kiss. Oh, I thought I would die. Just thought I would die."[8] A second test was arranged for Davis, for the film A House Divided (1931). Hastily dressed in an ill-fitting costume with a low neckline, she was rebuffed by the director William Wyler, who loudly commented to the assembled crew, "What do you think of these dames who show their chests and think they can get jobs?"[9] Carl Laemmle, the head of Universal Studios, considered terminating Davis's employment, but the cinematographer Karl Freund told him she had "lovely eyes" and would be suitable for The Bad Sister (1931), in which she subsequently made her film debut.[10] Her nervousness was compounded when she overheard the Chief of Production, Carl Laemmle Jr., comment to another executive that she had "about as much sex appeal as Slim Summerville", one of the film's co-stars.[11] The film was not a success, and her next role in Seed (1931) was too brief to attract attention. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
is the 347th day of the year (348th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Richard Alva Dick Cavett (born November 19, 1936) is an Emmy-winning American television talk show host known for his conversational style and in-depth discussion of issues. ...
Director Herbert Brenon with actress Alla Nazimova on the set of War Brides, 1916 A director is a person who directs the making of a film. ...
William Wyler (July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a prolific, Oscar-winning motion picture director. ...
Carl Laemmle Birthplace of Carl Laemmle in Laupheim Carl Laemmle (17 January 1867 – 24 September 1939), born in Laupheim, Württemberg, Germany, was a pioneer in American film making and a founder of one of the original major Hollywood movie studios. ...
Cameraman redirects here. ...
Karl W. Freund (January 16, 1890-May 3, 1969) was a German cinematographer who worked on over 100 films, including Metropolis (1927), Dracula (1931), and Key Largo (1948). ...
The Bad Sister is a 1931 American drama film made by Universal Pictures, directed by Hobart Henley, produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. ...
Carl Laemmle Jr. ...
Slim Summerville (July 10, 1892 – January 6, 1946) was an American film actor, best known as a comedy performer. ...
Seed is a 1931 film made by Universal Pictures, produced and directed by John M. Stahl and co-produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. ...
Universal Studios renewed her contract for three months, and she appeared in a small role in Waterloo Bridge (1931) before being lent to Columbia Pictures for The Menace, and to Capital Films for Hell's House (all 1932). After nine months, and six unsuccessful films, Laemmle elected not to renew her contract. Waterloo Bridge is a 1931 drama film made by Universal Pictures, directed by James Whale and produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. ...
The Columbia Pictures logo from 1993 to the present Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. ...
George Arliss chose Davis for the lead female role in The Man Who Played God (1932), and for the rest of her life, Davis credited him with helping her achieve her "break" in Hollywood. The Saturday Evening Post wrote, "she is not only beautiful, but she bubbles with charm", and compared her to Constance Bennett and Olive Borden.[12] Warner Bros. signed her to a five-year contract. George Arliss (10 April 1868- 5 February 1946) was a British actor. ...
The Man Who Played God is a 1932 film drama produced by Warner Brothers. ...
Constance Campbell Bennett (October 22, 1904 - July 24, 1965) was a US actress known as much for her elegant persona as for her acting career. ...
Olive Borden (Sybil Tinkle) (July 14, 1907 - October 1, 1947) was an American actress in silent and early talking motion figures, known for her pitch black hair and overall beauty. ...
In 1932, she married "Ham" Nelson, who was scrutinized by the press; his $100 a week earnings compared unfavorably with Davis's reported $1,000 a week income. Davis addressed the issue in an interview, pointing out that many Hollywood wives earned more than their husbands, but the situation proved difficult for Nelson, who refused to allow Davis to purchase a house until he could afford to pay for it himself.[13]
 As the shrewish Mildred in Of Human Bondage (1934), Davis was acclaimed for her dramatic performance. After more than 20 film roles, the role of the vicious and slatternly Mildred Rogers in a film adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's novel Of Human Bondage (1934), earned Davis her first major critical acclaim. Many actresses feared playing unsympathetic characters, and several had refused the role, but Davis viewed it as an opportunity to show the range of her acting skills. Her costar, Leslie Howard, was initially dismissive of her, but as filming progressed his attitude changed and he subsequently spoke highly of her abilities. The director, John Cromwell, allowed her relative freedom, and commented, "I let Bette have her head. I trusted her instincts." She insisted that she be portrayed realistically in her death scene, and said, "the last stages of consumption, poverty and neglect are not pretty and I intended to be convincing-looking".[14] Image File history File links BetteDavisinOfHumanBondage. ...
Image File history File links BetteDavisinOfHumanBondage. ...
The 1934 film Of Human Bondage was the first film adaptation of the 1915 novel of the same name by the British author W. Somerset Maugham. ...
Leslie Howard (April 3, 1893 - June 1, 1943) was an English stage and Academy Award nominated film actor. ...
John Cromwell (December 23, 1887 – September 26, 1979) was an American actor, producer and director. ...
Tuberculosis (commonly shortened to TB) is an infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also affect the central nervous system (meningitis), lymphatic system, circulatory system (Miliary tuberculosis), genitourinary system, bones and joints. ...
The film was a success, and Davis's confronting characterization won praise from critics, with Life Magazine writing that she gave "probably the best performance ever recorded on the screen by a U.S. actress".[15] Davis anticipated that her reception would encourage Warner Bros. to cast her in more important roles, and was disappointed when Jack Warner refused to loan her to Columbia Studios to appear in It Happened One Night, and instead cast her in a melodrama, Housewife.[16] When Davis was not nominated for an Academy Award for Of Human Bondage, The Hollywood Citizen News questioned the omission and Norma Shearer, herself a nominee, joined a campaign to have Davis nominated. This prompted an announcement from the Academy president, Howard Estabrook, who said that under the circumstances "any voter ... may write on the ballot his or her personal choice for the winners", thus allowing, for the only time in the Academy's history, the consideration of a candidate not officially nominated for an award.[17] Claudette Colbert won the award for It Happened One Night but the uproar led to a change in Academy voting procedures the following year, whereby nominations were determined by votes from all eligible members of a particular branch, rather than by a smaller committee,[18] with results independently tabulated by the accounting firm Price Waterhouse.[19] A cover of Life Magazine from 1911 Life has been the name of two notable magazines published in the United States. ...
It Happened One Night is a 1934 romantic comedy directed by Frank Capra, in which a pampered socialite (Claudette Colbert) tries to get out from under her fathers thumb, and falls in love with a roguish reporter (Clark Gable). ...
Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ...
Edith Norma Shearer (August 10, 1902 (some sources indicate 1900) – June 12, 1983) was an Academy Award-winning Canadian-American actress. ...
Claudette Colbert (September 13, 1903 – July 30, 1996) was an Academy Award-winning French-born American actress. ...
...
Davis appeared in Dangerous (1935) as a troubled actress and received very good reviews. E. Arnot Robertson wrote in Picture Post, "I think Bette Davis would probably have been burned as a witch if she had lived two or three hundred years ago. She gives the curious feeling of being charged with power which can find no ordinary outlet." The New York Times hailed her as "becoming one of the most interesting of our screen actresses".[20] She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the role, but commented it was belated recognition for Of Human Bondage. Dangerous is a 1935 drama film starring Bette Davis as an alcoholic actress who has fallen on hard times and is helped back to her feet by a fan (Franchot Tone), whose own engagement is threatened by his relationship with the actress. ...
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. ...
For the rest of her life, Davis maintained that she gave the statue its familiar name of "Oscar" because its posterior resembled that of her husband, whose middle name was Oscar,[21][22] although her claim has been disputed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, among others.
In her next film, The Petrified Forest (1936), Davis co-starred with Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart, but Bogart, in his first important role, received most of the critics' praise. Davis appeared in several films over the next two years but most were poorly received. The Petrified Forest (1936) is a predecessor to film noir, with an original screenplay by Delmer Daves and Charles Kenyon derived from the play by Robert E. Sherwood. ...
Leslie Howard (April 3, 1893 - June 1, 1943) was an English stage and Academy Award nominated film actor. ...
Bogart redirects here. ...
[edit] Legal case Convinced that her career was being damaged by a succession of mediocre films, Davis accepted an offer in 1936 to appear in two films in England. Knowing that she was breaching her contract with Warner Bros., she fled to Canada to avoid legal papers being served upon her. Eventually brought to court in England, she later recalled the opening statement of the barrister, Sir Patrick Hastings, who represented Warner Brothers. Hastings urged the court to "come to the conclusion that this is rather a naughty young lady and that what she wants is more money". He mocked Davis's description of her contract as "slavery" by stating, incorrectly, that she was being paid $1,350 per week. He remarked, "if anybody wants to put me into perpetual servitude on the basis of that remuneration, I shall prepare to consider it". The British press offered little support to Davis, and portrayed her as overpaid and ungrateful.[23] “WB†redirects here. ...
Sir Patrick Gardiner Hastings (March 17, 1880 - February 26, 1952) was a noted British barrister who served as Attorney General for England and Wales in 1924 and inadvertently brought down the first Labour government. ...
Davis explained her viewpoint to a journalist, saying "I knew that, if I continued to appear in any more mediocre pictures, I would have no career left worth fighting for."[24] Davis's counsel presented her complaints – that she could be suspended without pay for refusing a part, with the period of suspension added to her contract, that she could be called upon to play any part within her abilities regardless of her personal beliefs, that she could be required to support a political party against her beliefs, and that her image and likeness could be displayed in any manner deemed applicable by the studio. Jack Warner testified, and was asked, "Whatever part you choose to call upon her to play, if she thinks she can play it, whether it is distasteful and cheap, she has to play it?" Warner replied, "Yes, she must play it."[25]
The case, decided by Branson J. in the English High Court, was reported as Warner Bros. Studios Incorporated v. Nelson in [1937] 1 KB 209. Davis lost the case and returned to Hollywood, in debt and without income, to resume her career. Olivia de Havilland mounted a similar case in 1943 and won. Olivia Mary de Havilland (born July 1, 1916) is a two-time Academy Award winning actress in American motion pictures and is the last surviving principal cast member from Gone with the Wind. ...
[edit] Success as "The Fourth Warner Brother" Davis began work on Marked Woman (1937), as a prostitute in a contemporary gangster drama inspired by the case of Lucky Luciano. The film, and Davis's performance, received excellent reviews and her stature as a leading actress was enhanced. Marked Woman is the title of a crime melodrama film released by Warner Brothers Studios in 1937. ...
Charles Lucky Luciano (born Salvatore Lucania) (November 24, 1897 – January 26, 1962) was a Sicilian-American mobster. ...
During the filming of her next film, Jezebel, Davis entered a relationship with the director, William Wyler. She later described him as the "love of my life", and said that making the film with him was "the time in my life of my most perfect happiness".[26] The film was a success, and Davis's performance as a spoiled "Southern belle" earned her a second Academy Award, which led to speculation in the press that she would be chosen to play a similar character, Scarlett O'Hara, in Gone with the Wind. Davis expressed her desire to play Scarlett, and while David O. Selznick was conducting a search for the actress to play the role, a radio poll named her as the audience favorite. Warner offered her services to Selznick as part of a deal that also included Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, but Selznick did not consider Davis as suitable, and rejected the offer.[27] Jezebel is a 1938 film that tells the story of a headstrong young Southern woman during the years prior to the American Civil War, and how her actions cost her the love of the man she truly loves. ...
William Wyler (July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a prolific, Oscar-winning motion picture director. ...
For other uses, see Southern Belle (disambiguation). ...
Scarlett OHara (full name Katie Scarlett OHara Hamilton Kennedy Butler) of French-Irish ancestry is the protagonist in Margaret Mitchells 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and in the later film of the same name. ...
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 film adapted from Margaret Mitchells 1936 novel of the same name. ...
David O. Selznick David Oliver Selznick (May 10, 1902–June 22, 1965), was one of the icon Hollywood producers of the Golden Age. ...
Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (June 20, 1909 – October 14, 1959) was an Australian film actor, most famous for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films and his flamboyant lifestyle. ...
Olivia Mary de Havilland (born July 1, 1916) is a two-time Academy Award winning actress in American motion pictures and is the last surviving principal cast member from Gone with the Wind. ...
In contrast to Davis's success, her husband, Ham Nelson, had failed to establish a career for himself, and their relationship faltered. In 1938, Nelson obtained evidence that Davis was engaged in a sexual relationship with Howard Hughes and subsequently filed for divorce citing Davis's "cruel and inhuman manner".[28] For the Welsh murderer, see Howard Hughes (murderer). ...
 By the late 1930s, Davis was Warner Brothers' most successful actress, and they began to portray her as a figure of glamor, such as in the trailer for the film Dark Victory (1939). She was emotional during the making of her next film, Dark Victory (1939), and considered abandoning it until the producer Hal Wallis convinced her to channel her despair into her acting. The film became one of the highest grossing films of the year, and the role of Judith Traherne brought her an Academy Award nomination. In later years, Davis cited this performance as her personal favorite.[29] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
DVD cover showing Bette Davis. ...
DVD cover showing Bette Davis. ...
Hal B. Wallis (September 14, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American motion picture producer. ...
She appeared in three other box office hits in 1939, The Old Maid with Miriam Hopkins, Juarez with Paul Muni and The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex with Errol Flynn. The latter was her first color film, and was her only color film made during the height of her career. To play the elderly Elizabeth I of England, Davis shaved her hairline and eyebrows. During filming she was visited on the set by the actor, Charles Laughton. She commented that she had a "nerve" playing a woman in her sixties, to which Laughton replied, "Never not dare to hang yourself. That's the only way you grow in your profession. You must continually attempt things that you think are beyond you, or you get into a complete rut." Recalling the episode many years later, Davis remarked that Laughton's advice had influenced her throughout her career.[30] The Old Maid is a 1939 romantic drama film, produced by Warner Brothers. ...
Ellen Miriam Hopkins (October 18, 1902 – October 9, 1972) was an Oscar-nominated American actress. ...
Juarez is a 1939 film with Brian Aherne. ...
Paul Muni (September 22, 1895 – August 25, 1967) was an Academy Award-winning and Tony Award-winning American stage and film actor. ...
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), is a romantic drama film based on the relationship between Queen Elizabeth I (played by Bette Davis) and Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (played by Errol Flynn). ...
Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (June 20, 1909 – October 14, 1959) was an Australian film actor, most famous for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films and his flamboyant lifestyle. ...
Elizabeth I redirects here. ...
Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was an English stage and film actor. ...
 Davis's distinctive eyes were used to dramatic effect, such as in this close-up from The Letter trailer (1940). By this time, Davis was Warner Bros.' most profitable star, described as "The Fourth Warner Brother", and she was given the most important of their female leading roles. Her image was considered with more care; although she continued to play character roles, she was often filmed in close-ups that emphasized her distinctive eyes. All This and Heaven Too (1940) was the most financially successful film of Davis's career to that point, while The Letter was considered "one of the best pictures of the year" by the Hollywood Reporter, and Davis won admiration for her portrayal of an adulterous killer.[31] During this time she was in a relationship with her former costar George Brent, who proposed marriage. Davis refused, as she had met Arthur Farnsworth, a New England innkeeper. They were married in December 1940. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
The Letter is a 1940 film noir which tells the story of a woman who murders her lover, and then must face his widow and her husband. ...
All This, and Heaven Too is a 1940 film which tells the story of a governess, accused of having an affair with her employer, a Duc, who is then accused of the Duchesses murder. ...
The Letter is a 1940 film noir which tells the story of a woman who murders her lover, and then must face his widow and her husband. ...
The Hollywood Reporter is one of two major trade papers of the film industry in the United States, the other being Variety. ...
Brent (right) in Experiment Perilous George Brent (March 15, 1904 - May 26, 1979 was an actor in American cinema. ...
This article is about the region in the United States of America. ...
In January 1941, Davis became the first female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences but antagonized the committee members with her brash manner and radical proposals. Faced with the disapproval and resistance of the committee, Davis resigned, and was succeeded by Jean Hersholt, who implemented the changes she had suggested. Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study in Hollywood, California Founded on May 11, 1927 in California, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures. ...
Jean Hersholt (July 12, 1886 - June 2, 1956) was an Danish actor. ...
William Wyler directed Davis in Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes (1941), but they clashed over the character of Regina Giddens. Taking a role originally played on stage by Tallulah Bankhead, Davis felt Bankhead's original interpretation was appropriate and followed Hellman's intent, but Wyler wanted her to soften the character. Davis refused to compromise. She received another Academy Award nomination for her performance, and she never worked with Wyler again. Lillian Florence Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was a successful American playwright, linked throughout her life with many left-wing causes. ...
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress, talk-show host and bon vivant. ...
[edit] War effort and personal tragedy
 Davis completed Mr. Skeffington (1944) after the death of her husband. The difficult production was marred by Davis's reported erratic behavior and was followed by some negative reviews of her performance. Following Pearl Harbor, Davis spent the early months of 1942 selling war bonds. After Jack Warner criticized her tendency to cajole crowds into buying, she reminded him that her audiences responded most strongly to her "bitch" performances. She sold two million dollars of bonds in two days, as well as a picture of herself in Jezebel for $250,000. She also performed for black regiments as the only white member of an acting troupe formed by Hattie McDaniel, that also included Lena Horne and Ethel Waters.[32] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Mr. ...
This article is about the harbor in Hawaii. ...
Categories: Stub ...
This article is about Jack Warner, the head of Warner Brothers. ...
Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1895 – October 26, 1952) was an African American actress. ...
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (born June 30, 1917 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City, New York) is a popular singer of African-American descent. ...
Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896–September 1, 1977) was an Oscar-nominated American blues vocalist and actress. ...
At John Garfield's suggested opening of a servicemen's club in Hollywood, Davis, with the aid of Warner, Cary Grant and Jule Styne, transformed an old nightclub into the "Hollywood Canteen", which opened on October 3, 1942. Hollywood's most important stars volunteered to entertain servicemen. Davis ensured that every night there would be a few important "names" for the visiting soldiers to meet.[33] She appeared as herself in the film Hollywood Canteen (1944) which used the canteen as the setting for a fictional story. Davis later commented, "There are few accomplishments in my life that I am sincerely proud of. The Hollywood Canteen is one of them." In 1980, she was awarded the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal, the United States Department of Defense's highest civilian award, for her work with the Hollywood Canteen.[34] John Garfield (March 4, 1913 – May 21, 1952) was an Academy Award nominated American actor. ...
For the vocal coach, see Carrie Grant. ...
Jule Styne (December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was a British-born American songwriter, especially famous for a series of Broadway Musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows. ...
The Hollywood Canteen operated at 1451 Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood, California between October 3, 1942 and the end of World War II as a club offering food and entertainment for American servicemen, usually on their way overseas. ...
is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
The United States Department of Defense (DOD or DoD) is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the military. ...
Davis had initially shown little interest in the film Now, Voyager (1942) until Hal Wallis advised her that female audiences needed romantic dramas to distract them from the reality of their lives. It became one of the best known of her "women's pictures". In one of the film's most imitated scenes Paul Henreid lights two cigarettes as they are held in his lips before passing one to Davis. Film reviewers complimented Davis on her performance, the National Board of Review commenting that she gave the film "a dignity not fully warranted by the script".[35] Now, Voyager is a 1942 film which tells the story of a middle-aged spinster who, repressed by the domination of her mother, winds up in a sanatorium, where her self-confidence is boosted by an understanding psychiatrist. ...
Hal B. Wallis (September 14, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American motion picture producer. ...
Henreid in Casablanca Paul Georg Julius Hernreid Ritter von Wassel-Waldingau, (January 10, 1908 - March 29, 1992), known professionally as Paul Henreid, was an actor and film director probably best known for his roles in Casablanca and Now, Voyager. ...
During the early 1940s several of Davis's film choices were influenced by the war, for instance Watch on the Rhine (1943) and Thank Your Lucky Stars, (1943) a lighthearted all-star musical cavalcade, with each of the featured stars donating their fee to the Hollywood Canteen. Davis performed a novelty song, "They're Either Too Young or Too Old", which became a hit record after the film's release. Watch on the Rhine is a 1943 film which tells the story of a man who, in attempting to return to the United States during World War II, is blackmailed by a Nazi sympathiser. ...
Thank Your Lucky Stars is a 1943 film made by Warner Brothers as a World War II fundraiser. ...
Look up cavalcade in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Old Acquaintance (1943) reunited her with Miriam Hopkins in a story of two old friends who deal with the tensions created when one of them becomes a successful novelist. Davis felt that Hopkins tried to upstage her throughout the film. The director Vincent Sherman recalled the intense competitiveness and animosity between the two actresses, and Davis often joked that she held back nothing in a scene in which she was required to shake Hopkins in a fit of anger.[36] DVD cover for Old Acquaintance based on original film poster Old Acquaintance is a 1943 film drama made by Warner Bros. ...
Ellen Miriam Hopkins (October 18, 1902 – October 9, 1972) was an Oscar-nominated American actress. ...
Vincent Sherman (July 16, 1906 – June 18, 2006), born in Vienna, Georgia), USA, was a Hollywood director. ...
In August 1943, Davis's husband, Arthur Farnsworth, collapsed while walking along a Hollywood street, and died two days later. An autopsy revealed that his fall had been caused by a skull fracture which had occurred about two weeks earlier. Davis testified before an inquest that she knew of no event that might have caused the injury, and a finding of "accidental death" was reached. Highly distraught, she attempted to withdraw from her next film Mr. Skeffington (1944), but Jack Warner, who had halted production following Farnsworth's death, convinced her to continue. This article is about the medical procedure. ...
An inquest is a formal process of state investigation. ...
Mr. ...
Although she had gained a reputation for being forthright and demanding, her behavior during filming of Mr. Skeffington was erratic and out of character. She alienated the director, Vincent Sherman, by refusing to film certain scenes, and insisted that some sets be rebuilt. She improvised dialogue, causing confusion among other actors, and infuriated the writer Julius Epstein, who was also called upon to rewrite scenes at her whim. Davis later explained her actions with the observation, "when I was most unhappy I lashed out rather than whined". Some reviewers criticized Davis for the excess of her performance; James Agee wrote that she "demonstrates the horrors of egocentricity on a marathonic scale",[37] but despite the mixed reviews, she received another Academy Award nomination. Vincent Sherman (July 16, 1906 – June 18, 2006), born in Vienna, Georgia), USA, was a Hollywood director. ...
Julius J. Epstein (born August 22, 1909, New York, New York; died December 30, 2000, Los Angeles, California) was an American screenwriter, who had a long career, most noted for the adaptation -— in partnership with his twin brother, Philip, and others —- of the unproduced play Everybody Comes to Ricks...
James Rufus Agee (November 27, 1909 – May 16, 1955) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, screenwriter, journalist, poet, and film critic. ...
[edit] Professional setbacks Davis married an artist, William Grant Sherry, who also, when necessary, worked as a masseur, in 1945. She had been drawn to him because he claimed that he had never heard of her and was therefore not intimidated by her.[38] William Grant Sherry (born 1914) is a painter and artist. ...
Davis refused the title role in Mildred Pierce,[39] a role for which Joan Crawford ultimately won an Academy Award, and instead made The Corn Is Green (1945). Davis played a dowdy English teacher, who saves a young Welsh miner from a life in the coal pits, by offering him education. The film was well received by critics but did not find a substantial audience. A Stolen Life (1946) received poor reviews, but was one of her biggest box-office successes. It was followed by Deception (1946), the first of her films to lose money.[40] Mildred Pierce is an American film noir released in 1945 and directed by Michael Curtiz. ...
For other persons named Joan Crawford, see Joan Crawford (disambiguation). ...
Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ...
This article is about the country. ...
A Stolen Life is a 1946 drama film, directed by Curtis Bernhardt. ...
Deception is a 1946 film noir directed by Irving Rapper. ...
Possessed (1947) had been tailor-made for Davis[41] and was to have been her next project after Deception (1946). However, she was pregnant and went on maternity leave. Joan Crawford played her role in Possessed and was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actress. In 1947, Davis gave birth to a daughter, Barbara (known as B.D.) and later wrote in her memoir that she became absorbed in motherhood and considered ending her career. Her relationship with Sherry began to deteriorate and she continued making films, but her popularity with audiences was steadily declining.[42] Possessed can refer to: Possessed (1931 film), a drama starring Clark Gable from 1931. ...
This article or section includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...
For other persons named Joan Crawford, see Joan Crawford (disambiguation). ...
B. D. Hyman (born Barbara Davis Sherry, May 1, 1947 in Santa Ana, California) is an American pastor and author. ...
Among the film roles offered to Davis following her return to film making, was Rose Sayer in The African Queen. When informed that the film was to be made in Africa, Davis refused the part, telling Jack Warner, "If you can't shoot the picture in a boat on the back lot, then I'm not interested." Katharine Hepburn played the role.[43] Davis was also offered a role in a film version of the Virginia Kellogg prison drama Women Without Men. Originally intended to pair Davis with Joan Crawford, Davis made it clear that she would not appear in any "dyke movie", and the lead roles were played by Agnes Moorehead and Eleanor Parker when it was filmed as Caged (1950).[44] She lobbied Jack Warner to make two films, Ethan Frome, and another which would be a biography of Mary Todd Lincoln, however Warner vetoed each proposal. The African Queen is a 1951 film made by Horizon Pictures and Romulus Films, and distributed by United Artists. ...
Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an iconic American actress of film, television and stage. ...
Virginia Kellogg (December 3, 1907 - April 8, 1981) was a two-time Oscar nominated film writer. ...
Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900 – April 30, 1994) was an Oscar-nominated American character actress. ...
Eleanor Jean Parker (born June 26, 1922) is an American film and television actress. ...
Caged is a 1950 film which tells the story of a young woman who is sent to prison for being an accessory to a robbery. ...
Ethan Frome is a novel that was released in 1911 by the Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Edith Wharton. ...
Mary Ann Todd Lincoln (December 13, 1818 – July 16, 1882) was the First Lady of the United States when her husband, Abraham Lincoln, served as the sixteenth President, from 1861 until 1865. ...
In 1948, Davis was cast in Winter Meeting, and although she was initially enthusiastic, she soon learnt that Warner had arranged for "softer" lighting to be used to disguise her age. She recalled that she had seen the same lighting technique "on the sets of Ruth Chatterton and Kay Francis, and I knew what they meant".[45] She began to regret accepting the role, and to add to her disappointment, she was not confident in the abilities of her leading man, Jim Davis. She disagreed with amendments made to the script because of censorship restrictions and found that many of the aspects of the role that had initially appealed to her, were no longer to be included. The film was later described by Bosley Crowther as "interminable" and he noted that "of all the miserable dilemmas in which Miss Davis has been involved ... this one is probably the worst". It failed at the box office and the studio lost nearly one million dollars.[46] Ruth Chatterton Ruth Chatterton (December 24, 1893 - November 24, 1961) was an American actress. ...
Kay Francis (January 13, 1905 – August 26, 1968) was an American actress who, after a brief beginning on Broadway in the 1920s, moved to film and achieved her greatest success between 1930 and 1936. ...
Marlin Jim Davis (August 26, 1909 – April 26, 1981), was an American actor, best known for his role as Jock Ewing in the CBS prime-time soap Dallas, a role which he held up until his death in April 1981. ...
Bosley Crowther (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American film critic. ...
Davis clashed with her co-star Robert Montgomery while making June Bride (1948), later describing him as "a male Miriam Hopkins... an excellent actor, but addicted to scene-stealing".[47] The film marked her first comedy in several years, and earned her some positive reviews, but it was not particularly popular with audiences and returned only a small profit. Despite the lacklustre box office receipts from her more recent films, in 1949 she negotiated a four film contract with Warner Bros. which paid $10,285 per week, and made her the highest paid woman in the United States.[48] Robert Montgomery (May 21, 1904 – September 27, 1981) was an American actor and director. ...
Videotape cover June Bride is a 1948 American comedy film directed by Bretaigne Windust. ...
Ellen Miriam Hopkins (October 18, 1902 – October 9, 1972) was an Oscar-nominated American actress. ...
Jack Warner refused to allow her script approval, and cast her in Beyond the Forest (1949). Davis reportedly loathed the script, and begged Warner to recast the role, but he refused. After the film was completed, Warner released Davis from her contract, at her request. The reviews that followed were scathing; Dorothy Manners writing for the Los Angeles Examiner, described the film as "an unfortunate finale to her brilliant career".[49] Hedda Hopper wrote, "If Bette had deliberately set out to wreck her career, she could not have picked a more appropriate vehicle."[50] The film contained the line, "What a dump!", which became closely associated with Davis after impersonators used it in their acts. In later years, Davis often used it as her opening line at speaking engagements. Beyond the Forest is a 1949 film starring Bette Davis. ...
Hedda Hopper on the July 28, 1947 cover of Time Magazine Hedda Hopper (May 2, 1885 – February 1, 1966) was an American actress and gossip columnist, whose long-running feud with friend turned arch-rival Louella Parsons became at least as notorious as many of Hoppers columns. ...
[edit] Starting a freelance career By 1949, Davis and Sherry were estranged and Hollywood columnists were writing that Davis's career was at an end. She filmed The Story of a Divorce (released in 1951 as Payment on Demand) but had received no other offers. Shortly before filming was completed, the producer Darryl F. Zanuck offered her the role of the aging theatrical actress, Margo Channing, in All About Eve (1950). Claudette Colbert, for whom the part had been written, had severely injured her back, and although production had been halted for two months in the hope that she might recover, she was unable to continue. Davis read the script, described it as the best she had ever read, and accepted the role. Within days she joined the cast in San Francisco to begin filming. During production, she established what would become a life-long friendship with her costar, Anne Baxter, and a romantic relationship with her leading man, Gary Merrill, which led to marriage. The film's director Joseph L. Mankiewicz later remarked, "Bette was letter perfect. She was syllable-perfect. The director's dream: the prepared actress."[51] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
For other uses, see All About Eve (disambiguation). ...
Payment on Demand is a film released in 1951 directed by Curtis Bernhardt and starring Bette Davis and Barry Sullivan. ...
Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902–December 22, 1979) was a producer, writer, actor and director who played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors (the length of his career being rivalled only by that of Adolph Zukor). ...
For other uses, see All About Eve (disambiguation). ...
Claudette Colbert (September 13, 1903 – July 30, 1996) was an Academy Award-winning French-born American actress. ...
This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...
For the fictional soa |
