Sunday, March 30, 2008
Bold, Bad and Beautiful Bette Davis
Thanks to Terrence Rafferty in today's New York Times, I'm reminded that April 5, 2008, marks the 100th birthday of the indominatable queen of 1930's-1940's Hollywood: Bette Davis. It's tempting to think of her as The Best Actress Ever.
Thanks to Ms. Davis, I have a favorite film that won't leave me: "All About Eve." I count it the best written script of any movie I've ever seen. "Godfather II" isn't far behind, but for my money, "Eve" supersedes it, thanks to the way Bette Davis lives, breathes and speaks those unforgettable lines in the character of Margo Channing.
So what makes Bette a legend? First, last and always, her "Bette Davis" eyes. And yes, the mouth, the hair, the figure, and the face with a thousand shades that mesmerize. Even her shoulders and hands were expressive beyond compare.
Yet the Real Prize in the woman was character--HER character. Because she was more insightful than anyone else about her own psyche, she was able to draw from every aspect of "self" to apply the proper moment, deed or gesture to any scene or character she ever was assigned.
For full-out genius, watch her in "All About Eve," "Jezebel," "Of Human Bondage," "Now, Voyager" and "The Letter." Half a dozen others we could name won't dim once you see them, either, but the ones cited are sure to make you light a hundred candles for bold, bad and beautiful Bette next Saturday.
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1 comment:
Nice post indeed and it brings up a bit of trivia about the Academy Awards "Oscar" being named after one of her husbands. Also, a strange comment Jack once made about my mother reminding him of her, and finally a clip in a documentary I saw last night on Louisiana PBS about the leper colony in Carrville, LA who once received generous help from Bette Davis and Tallulah Bankhead when no other celebrities would have anything to do with that sad cause...reminds me of how decades later Elizabeth Taylor stepped up to the plate to speak out for AIDS patients and for the government to help and do research...when no other celebrities were saying or doing anything.
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