Ruth Elizabeth Davis ( ; 5 April 1908 - October 6, 1989) is an American film, television, and theater actress. Considered one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she is renowned for her willingness to play unsympathetic and sarcastic characters, and is renowned for her performances in various film genres, from contemporary melodrama to historical and period films, tension horror, and sometimes comedy, although his greatest success is his role in romantic drama.
After appearing in the Broadway drama, Davis moved to Hollywood in 1930. However, the early films for Universal Studios (and as loans to other studios) did not work. He joined Warner Bros in 1932, and established his career with several critically acclaimed performances. In 1937, he tried to free himself from his contract. Although he lost a well-publicized legal case in the studio, it marked the beginning of the most successful period of his career. Until the late 1940s, he was one of America's most prominent women, known for his strong and intense style. Davis gained a reputation as a perfectionist who can be very aggressive and confrontational. He clashed with studio executives and film directors, as well as many of his playmates. His straightforward stance, idiosyncratic speech, and cigarettes everywhere contribute to a public personality, often imitated.
Davis is one of the founders of the Hollywood Cafeteria, and is the first female president of the Mobile Image Arts Academy and Science. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, was the first to collect 10 Academy Award nominations for acting, and was the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. His career went through several periods of eclipse, and he admitted that his success often sacrificed his personal relationships. Married four times, she had been a widow and three times divorced, and raised her children as single parents. His last years were damaged by a long period of illness, but he continued acting until shortly before his death from breast cancer, with more than 100 film, television and theater roles for his credit. In 1999, Davis placed second behind Katharine Hepburn on the American Film Institute's list of the biggest female stars in Hollywood classic cinema.
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1908-1929: Masa kecil dan akting awal karir
Ruth Elizabeth Davis, known from early childhood as "Betty", was born on April 5, 1908, in Lowell, Massachusetts, daughter of Harlow Morrell Davis (1885-1938), a law student from Augusta, Maine, and then a patent lawyer, and Ruth Augusta (nÃÆ' Â © e FavÃÆ'³r; 1885-1961), from Tyngsboro, Massachusetts. Betty's younger sister is Barbara Harriet.
In 1915, Davis's parents separated, and Betty attended a boarding school called Crestalban in Lanesborough in Berkshires. In 1921, Ruth Davis moved to New York City with her daughter, where she worked as a portrait photographer. Betty changed the spelling of her name into "Bette" after Honorà © de Balzac La Cousine Bette .
Davis attends Cushing Academy, a boarding school in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, where he meets his future husband, Harmon O. Nelson, known as "Ham". In 1926, he saw the production of Henrik Ibsen The Wild Duck with Blanche Yurka and Peg Entwistle. Davis then remembers to Al Cohn from Newsday , "The reason I want to go to the theater is because of an actress named Peg Entwistle." She auditioned for admission to Manhattan Civic Repertory Eva Le Gallienne, but was rejected by LeGallienne, who described her attitude as "insincere" and "reckless".
Davis auditioned for the stock company George Cukor in Rochester, New York; though he was not particularly impressed, he gave Davis his first paid acting duties - a one-week stint playing part of the choir girl in Broadway drama. Ed Sikov sources Davis' first professional role for production in 1929 by Provincetown Players Virgil Geddes playing The Earth Between ; However, production is delayed by a year. In 1929, Davis was chosen by Blanche Yurka to play Hedwig, the character he saw Entwistle play in The Wild Duck. After performing in Philadelphia, Washington, and Boston, he made his Broadway debut in 1929 on Broken Dishes, and followed it with Solid South . 1930-1936: _Early_years_in_Hollywood "> 1930-1936: Early Years in Hollywood >
In 1930, Davis moved to Hollywood to filter tests for Universal Studios. Davis and his mother traveled by train to Hollywood. He then recounts his surprise that no one from the studio was there to meet him. In fact, a studio employee was waiting for him, but left because he did not see anyone who "looked like an actress". He failed on his first screen test, but was used in several screen tests for other actors. In a 1971 interview with Dick Cavett, he recounts his experiences with observations, "I am the Yankee-est virgin, the simplest virgin who ever walked on earth.They laid me on the couch, and I tested fifteen men... They all had to lie on top of me and give me a passionate kiss.Oh, I think I will die.Just think I will die. "The second test is set for Davis, for the 1931 A Divided Movie . Hastily wearing a fitting costume with a low neckline, he was rejected by film director William Wyler, who strongly commented to the assembled crew, "What do you think of the dames showing their breasts and thinking they can get a job ? ".
Carl Laemmle, head of Universal Studios, is considered to end Davis's work, but cinematographer Karl Freund tells him that he has "beautiful eyes" and will be suitable for Bad Sister (1931), where he then makes his film debut. His anxiety grew when he heard the production head, Carl Laemmle, Jr., commenting to other executives that he "had a lot of sex appeal like Slim Summerville", one of the movie stars. The film was not successful, and the next role in Seed (1931) was too short to attract attention.
Universal Studios renewed his contract for three months, and he appeared in a minor role at Waterloo Bridge (1931), before being loaned to Columbia Pictures for The Menace, and for Capital Film for < i> Hell's House (all 1932). After a year, and six unsuccessful films, Laemmle chose not to renew his contract.
Davis is preparing to return to New York when actor George Arliss chose Davis for the main female role in Warner Bros. image of The Man Who Played God (1932), and for the rest of his life, Davis credited him by helping him achieve " break "in Hollywood. The Saturday Evening Post wrote, "She is not only beautiful, but she is bubbly with charm", and compares it to Constance Bennett and Olive Borden. Warner Bros signed it with a five-year contract, and he stayed in the studio for the next 18 years.
Davis married Harmon Oscar Nelson on August 18, 1932, in Yuma, Arizona. Their marriage is scrutinized by the press; his $ 100 per week income was less profitable with Davis's $ 1,000-a-week earnings per week. Davis addressed this issue in an interview, pointing out that many Hollywood wives get over their husbands, but the situation proves difficult for Nelson, who refuses to allow Davis to buy a house until he can afford it alone. Davis did some abortions during the wedding.
After more than 20 film roles, Mildred Rogers's ruthless and fraudulent role in RKO Radio's Production Of Human Bondage (1934), the film adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham novel, made Davis the first for him. critical critical recognition. Many actresses are afraid of playing unsympathetic characters, and some have rejected the role, but Davis sees it as an opportunity to show her various acting skills. His playmate, Leslie Howard, initially ignored it, but as the film went on, his attitude changed, and he then spoke highly of his ability. Director John Cromwell allowed his relative freedom: "I let Bette have her head. I trust her instinct." He insisted that he was depicted realistically in his death scene, and said, "The last stage of consumption, poverty, and neglect is not pretty, and I intend to convince."
The film was a success, and the characterization of Davis won the praise of the critics, with the inscription "Life" he gave "probably the best performance ever recorded on screen by U.S. actress." Davis anticipated that his acceptance would encourage Warner Bros. to give him a more important role, and was disappointed when Jack L. Warner refused to lend him to Columbia Studios to appear on It Happened One Night, and instead toss him in melodrama < i> Housewife . When Davis was not nominated for an Academy Award for Of Human Bondage , The Hollywood Citizen News questioned his negligence, and Norma Shearer, himself nominee, joined the campaign to have Davis nominated. This prompted the announcement of the Academy president, Howard Estabrook, who said that under such circumstances, "any electorate... may write on his personal choice vote for the winners", making it possible, for the only time in Academy History, the consideration of a candidate not officially nominated for awards. However, the noise caused a change in the academy's voting procedure the following year, in which the nomination was determined by the vote of all qualified branch members, not by a smaller committee, with results tabulated independently by Price Waterhouse's accounting firm.
Davis appeared in
I think Bette Davis might be burned as a witch if she lived two or three hundred years ago. He gave the feeling of curiosity for being accused of having the power of being unable to find a regular outlet.
The New York Times praised him as "being one of the most exciting of our screen actresses". She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for the role, but commented that it was a belated admission to Of Human Bondage , calling the award a "entertainment prize". For the rest of his life, Davis stated that he gave the statue a familiar name "Oscar" because his posters resembled his husband, whose middle name was an Oscar, though, the Academy of Arts and Sciences Picture of Motion officially refers to another story.
In the next movie, The Petrified Forest (1936), Davis starred alongside Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart.
Legal case
Convinced that his career was being undermined by the succession of mediocre films, Davis accepted an offer in 1936 to appear in two films in England. Knowing that he broke his contract with Warner Bros., he fled to Canada to avoid legal documents alleged to him. Eventually, Davis took his case to court in England, hoping to get out of his contract. He then remembers the lawyer's opening statement, Patrick Hastings, who represents Warner Bros. Hastings urged the court to "come to the conclusion that this is a rather naughty young lady, and that what he wants is more money". He mocked Davis's description of his contract as "slavery" by stating, incorrectly, that he was paid $ 1,350 per week. He commented, "If anyone wants to put me in perpetual bondage on the basis of that reward, I will prepare to consider it." The British press offered little support for Davis, and described it as excessive and ungrateful.
Davis explains his point of view to a reporter: "I know that, if I continue to appear in a more ordinary picture, I will not have another career worth fighting for." His counselor presents a complaint - that he can be suspended without pay for refusing to part, with a period of suspension added to his contract, that he can be called to play any part of his ability, irrespective of his personal belief, that he can be asked to support a political party against his conviction, and that its image and likeness may be displayed in any manner deemed applicable by the studio. Jack Warner testified, and asked, "Whatever part do you choose to call him play, if he thinks he can play it, is it unpleasant and cheap, he has to play it?". Warner replied, "Yes, he has to play it." Davis lost the case, and returned to Hollywood, in debt and without income, to continue his career. Olivia de Havilland filed a similar case in 1943, and won.
1937-1941: Success with Warner Bros.
Davis began working on Marked Woman (1937), describing a prostitute in a contemporary gangster drama inspired by the Lucky Luciano case. For his appearance in the film, he was awarded the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival of 1937. The next picture was Jezebel (1938), and during production Davis entered into a relationship with director William Wyler. He then described it as "love in my life", and said that making a movie with him is "the time of my life for the most perfect happiness". The film was a success, and Davis's performance as a spoiled South man earned him a second Academy Award.
This led to media speculation that he would be chosen to play Scarlett O'Hara, the same character, at Gone with the Wind . Davis expressed his desire to play Scarlett, and while David O. Selznick was conducting a search for the actress to play the role, the radio poll named him a favorite of the audience. Warner offered his services to Selznick as part of a deal that also included Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, but Selznick did not consider Davis a good match, and declined the offer, while Davis did not want Flynn to play Rhett Butler. Newcomer Vivien Leigh plays Scarlett O'Hara, de Havilland gets the role of Melanie, and both are nominated for an Oscar, with Leigh's victory.
Jezebel marks the beginning of the most successful phase of Davis's career, and over the next few years, he enrolled in the annual Quigley Polls of the Ten Star Moneymakers, compiled from film showcases throughout the United States for stars that have generated the most revenue in their cinema over the previous year.
Unlike Davis's success, her husband, Ham Nelson, has failed to build a career for herself, and their relationship stalled. In 1938, Nelson obtained evidence that Davis was involved in sexual relations with Howard Hughes, and later filed for divorce, citing "a cruel and inhuman way Davis".
Davis was emotional during the next filming, Dark Victory (1939), and was thought to have abandoned him until producer Hal B. Wallis convinced him to channel his despair into his acting. The film became one of the best-selling films of the year, and the role of Judith Traherne brought her an Academy Award nomination. In the years that followed, Davis called this performance his personal favorite.
He 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 is his first color film, and the only color film he made during the peak of his career. To play the elderly Elizabeth I of England, Davis shaved off his hairline and eyebrows.
During filming, he was visited on set by actor Charles Laughton. He commented that he had "nerves" playing a woman in his 60s, to which Laughton replied, "Do not ever dare hang yourself.that's the only way you grow in your profession.You should keep trying the things you think in outside of you, or you get into a complete habit. "Remembering the episode a few years later, Davis said that Laughton's advice had influenced him throughout his career.
At this time, Davis is Warner Bros. the most profitable star, and he was given the leading role of the most important woman. His shadow is considered more cautious; although he continues to play the role of character, he is often filmed at close range emphasizing his typical eye. All This, and Heaven Also (1940) was the most successful successful film financially from Davis at the time.
The Letter (1940) was considered "one of the best photos of the year" by The Hollywood Reporter, and Davis won admiration for his role as an adulterous killer, a role derived from Katharine Cornell. During this time, he had a relationship with former star George Brent, who proposed marriage. Davis refused, as he had met Arthur Farnsworth, the owner of a New England inn. Davis and Farnsworth were married at Home Ranch, in Rimrock, Arizona, in December 1940.
In January 1941, Davis became the first female president of the Academy of Art and Motion Picture Science, but angered the members of the committee with his insolent behavior and radical proposals. Davis rejected the idea that he was "just a puppet". Faced with the rejection and rejection of the committee, Davis resigned, and was replaced by his predecessor Walter Wanger.
Davis starred in three films in 1941, the first of which was The Great Lie , with George Brent. It was a very different role for Davis, because he played a good and sympathetic character.
William Wyler directed Davis for the third time at Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes (1941), but they clashed over the character of Regina Giddens, a role originally played on Broadway by Tallulah Bankhead (Davis has been portrayed in an initiated role film by Bankhead on stage twice before - on Dark Victory and Jezebel). Wyler encourages Davis to emulate Bankhead's interpretation of the role, but Davis wants to make his own role. She received another Academy Award nomination for her performance, and never worked with Wyler again.
1942-1944: War effort and personal tragedy
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Davis spent the early months of 1942 selling war bonds. After Jack Warner criticized his tendency to persuade the crowd to buy, he reminded him that his audience responded very strongly to his "bitch" appearance. He sold $ 2 million worth of bonds in two days, as well as a picture of himself at Jezebel for $ 250,000. He also appeared for the black regiment as the only white member of the acting troupe formed by Hattie McDaniel, who included Lena Horne and Ethel Waters.
At the suggestion of John Garfield to open a warrior club in Hollywood, Davis - with the help of Warner, Cary Grant, and Jule Styne - transformed the old nightclub into Hollywood Canteen, which opened on October 3, 1942. The most important Hollywood stars volunteered to entertain soldier. Davis made sure that every night, some important "names" would be there for visiting soldiers to meet.
She appeared as herself in the movie Hollywood Canteen (1944), who used the canteen as a setting for fiction. Davis then commented, "There are some achievements in my life that I am proud of, The Hollywood Canteen is one of them." In 1980, he was awarded the Distinguished Civil Service Medal, the highest civilian honor of the US Department of Defense, for his work with Hollywood Canteen.
Davis showed little interest in the movie Now, Voyager (1942), until Hal Wallis advised her that the female audience needs a romantic drama to distract them from the reality of their lives. It became one of the most famous of his "photographs of women". In one of the most imitated film scenes, Paul Henreid lit two cigarettes while looking into Davis's eyes, and gave one to him. Movie reviewers praised Davis for his performance, the National Review Board commented that he gave the film a "dignity not entirely guaranteed by the script".
During the early 1940s, several choices of Davis films were influenced by wars, such as Watch on the Rhine (1943), by Lillian Hellman, and Thank You Lucky Stars (1943) ), the all-star musical championship is lightweight, with each feature star donating their fees to Hollywood Cafeteria. Davis sang the novelty song, "They're either Too Young or Too Old", which became a hit record after the release of the movie.
Old Contacts (1943) united him with Miriam Hopkins in the story of two old friends who dealt with the tension created when one of them became a successful novelist. Davis felt that Hopkins was trying to outrun it throughout the movie. Director Vincent Sherman recalled the fierce and hostile competition between the two actresses, and Davis often joked that he had not held back anything in the scene that required him to shake Hopkins angrily.
In August 1943, Davis's husband, Arthur Farnsworth, collapsed while walking along Hollywood street, and died two days later. The autopsy revealed that his fall was caused by a skull fracture he had suffered two weeks earlier. Davis testified before the hearing that he knew there were no events that might cause injury. Unintentional findings of death are attained. Extremely discouraged, Davis attempted to withdraw from the next film. Skeffington (1944), but Jack Warner, who stopped production after Farnsworth's death, convinced him to continue.
Though he has gained a reputation for being candid and demanding, his behavior during the filming of Master. Skeffington uncertain, and out of character. He alienated Vincent Sherman by refusing to film certain scenes and insisted that some sets would be rebuilt. He improvised dialogue, caused confusion amongst other actors, and angered the author, Julius Epstein, who was called to rewrite the scenes as he wished. Davis then explains his actions with observation, "When I am least happy, I whip, rather than whine." Some reviewers have criticized Davis for his excessive performances; James Agee writes that he "shows the horror of egocentrism at the marathon scale"; but despite his mixed reviews, he received another Academy Award nomination. 1926-1944:
1945-1949: Professional setback
In 1945, Davis married artist William Grant Sherry, who also worked as a masseur. He was attracted to him because he claimed to have never heard of him and therefore, was not intimidated by him. That same year, Davis rejected the title role in Mildred Pierce (1945), the role that Joan Crawford won the Academy Award, and instead made The Corn Is Green (1945)), based on the game by Emlyn Williams.
Davis plays Miss Moffat, an English teacher who saved a young Wales miner (John Dall) from life in coal pits, by offering education to him. That part has been played in the theater by Ethel Barrymore, but Warner Bros. feels that the film version should portray the character as a younger woman. Davis disagrees, and insists on playing the written part, and wears a gray wig and pads under his clothes, to create a bad appearance.
The film was well accepted by critics, and earned $ 2.2 million in profit. Critics E. Arnot Robertson observed:
Only Bette Davis... who can fight very successfully, the obvious intent of the game adapter to frustrate sex as an impetus for the main character in young miners.
He concludes that "the subtle interpretation he emphasizes to give" remains focused on "the excitement the teacher gives to instilling knowledge".
The next film, A Stolen Life (1946), is Davis's only film with his own production company, BD Productions. Davis plays a double role, as twins. The film received bad reviews, and was described by Bosley Crowther as "a very sad part"; but, with a $ 2.5 million profit, it was one of the biggest box office successes. In 1947, the US Treasury referred to Davis as the highest paid woman in the country, with his share of the film accounting earnings for most of his income. The next film is Deception (1946), the first film to lose money.
Possessed (1947) was created specifically for Davis, and will be the next project, after Deception . However, she was pregnant and went on maternity leave. Joan Crawford plays her role in Possessed , and was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actress. In 1947, at the age of 39, Davis gave birth to his daughter Barbara Davis Sherry (known as B.D.), and later wrote in her memoirs that she became absorbed in motherhood and considered ending her career. As he continues to make movies, however, his relationship with his daughter B.D. began to deteriorate, and its popularity with the audience continued to decline.
Among the film's role offered to Davis after he returned to the making of the film was Rose Sayer at The African Queen (1951). When told that the film would be shot in Africa, Davis rejected the passage, telling Jack Warner, "If you can not shoot the picture on the boat at the back, then I'm not interested." Katharine Hepburn plays the role, and is nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actress.
Davis was offered a role in the prison drama version of Virginia Kellogg Women Without Men . Originally intended to pair Davis with Joan Crawford, Davis insists that he will not appear in "cannabis film". It was filmed as Caged (1950), and the lead role was played by Eleanor Parker (nominated for Academy Award as Best Actress) and Agnes Moorehead. He lobbied Jack Warner to make two films, Ethan Frome and a biography of Mary Todd Lincoln; however, Warner vetoed each proposal.
In 1948, Davis was instrumental in the melodrama Winter Meeting . Although initially enthusiastic, he soon learned that Warner had arranged for "softer" lighting to be used to disguise his age. He remembers that he has seen the same lighting technique "on Ruth Chatterton and Kay Francis devices, and I know what they mean". To add to his disappointment, he is not confident with his main male ability - James Davis in his first major screen role. He disagrees with the changes made to the script due to censorship restrictions, and finds that many aspects of the role that originally appealed to him have been cut off. The film is described by Bosley Crowther as "endless", and he notes that "out of all the sad dilemmas in which Miss Davis is involved...... this one is probably the worst". Failed at the box office, and the studio lost nearly $ 1 million.
While making June Bride (1948), Davis clashed with co-star Robert Montgomery, then described him as "Miriam Hopkins's men... excellent actor, but addicted to stealing the scene". The film marked his first comedy in a few years, and gave him some positive reviews, but was not very popular among viewers, and made little profit.
Despite the disappointing box office reception of his newer films, in 1949, he negotiated a four-movie contract with Warner Bros. who pays $ 10,285 a week and makes her the highest paid woman in the United States. However, Jack Warner refused to allow his script approval, and threw it at Beyond the Forest (1949). Davis reportedly hated the script, and begged Warner to reconstruct the role, but he refused. After the film is completed, his request for release from his contract is respected.
The reviews about the movie are very sharp. Dorothy Manners, writing for the Los Angeles Examiner, described the film as "a sad ending to a brilliant career". Hedda Hopper writes, "If Bette deliberately planned to destroy her career, she could not choose a more appropriate vehicle." The film contains a line, "What a dump!", Which becomes closely related to Davis afterwards referenced in Edward Albee Who woke Virginia Woolf? , and imitators start using it in their actions. <19> 1949-1960: _Starting_a_freelance_career "> 1949-1960: Starting a freelance career
Davis filmed The Story of a Divorce (released by RKO Radio Pictures in 1951 as Payment by Request ). Shortly before the filming was over, producer Darryl F. Zanuck offered him the role of aged actress Margo Channing in All About Eve (1950). Davis read the script, described it as the best he had ever read, and accepted the role. Within days, he joined the players in San Francisco to start filming. During production, he established what would be a lifelong friendship with his co-star Anne Baxter and a romantic relationship with prominent man Gary Merrill, leading to a marriage. Film director, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, later remarked, "Bette is a perfect letter, he is a perfect syllable, a director's dream: a ready-made actress."
Critics responded positively to Davis's performance, and some of his lines became famous, especially "Tighten your seatbelt, it will be a bumpy night". She was once again nominated for an Academy Award, and critics like Gene Ringgold described Margo as "her best ever appearance". Pauline Kael writes that most of Mankiewicz's vision of "theater" is "nonsense", but praises Davis, writes "[this movie] is saved by a show that is the real thing: Bette Davis is the most instinctive and convincing. -sia, afraid, a woman who is too far away in her reactions and emotions - makes everything come alive. "
Davis won the Best Actress Award from the Cannes Film Festival, and the New York Film Critics Circle Award. He also received the San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award as Best Actress, who had been named by them as the Worst Actress of 1949 for Beyond the Forest. During this time, he was invited to leave his handprints on the front page of Grauman's Chinese Theater.
On July 3, 1950, Davis's divorce from William Sherry was completed, and on July 28, he married Gary Merrill. With Sherry's approval, Merrill adopted B.D., daughter of Davis with Sherry. In January 1951, Davis and Merrill adopted a five-day-old baby girl named Margot Mosher Merrill (born January 6, 1951), after the character Margo Channing. Davis and Merrill live with their three children on a plantation on the coast of Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Davis, after his semi-retirement in the mid-1950s, again starred in several movies during his time in Maine, including 1955 The Virgin Queen , where he played Queen Elizabeth I.
The family went to England, where Davis and Merrill starred in a murder film-mystery, Poison of Others (1951). When he received a warm and failed review at the box office, Hollywood columnist wrote that Davis's comeback had subsided, and the Academy Award nomination for The Star (1952) did not stop his decline.
Davis and Merrill adopted a baby boy, Michael (born January 5, 1952), in 1952, and Davis appeared on the Broadway revue, Two's Company, directed by Jules Dassin. He felt uncomfortable working outside his field of expertise; he has never been a musician, and his limited theater experience has been more than 20 years before. He was also seriously ill, and operated for osteomyelitis of the jaw. Margot was diagnosed with severe brain damage due to an injury she suffered during or shortly after her birth, and was placed in an institution around age 3. Davis and Merrill began to debate frequently, and B.D. then recalled episodes of alcohol abuse and domestic violence.
Some of Davis's films in 1950 succeeded, and many of his appearances were condemned by critics. The Hollywood Reporter writes about the behavior "that you would expect to find in the [Davis] nightclub", while London critic Richard Winninger writes,
Miss Davis, with more talk than most stars about what film she made, seems to have fallen into selfishness. The criteria for the movie of his choice will seem that no one has to compete with the full look of every aspect of Davis art. Only bad movies are good enough for him.
His films during this period included The Virgin Queen (1955), Storm Center (1956), and The Catered Affair (1956). When his career declined, his marriage continued to deteriorate, until he filed for divorce in 1960. The following year, his mother died. During the same time, he tried television, appearing in three episodes of the popular Western NBC Wagon Train as three different characters in 1959 and 1961; His first appearance on TV was February 25, 1956, at the General Electric Theater .
In 1960, Davis, a registered Democrat, appeared at the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, where he met President John F. Kennedy in the future, whom he greatly admired. Beyond acting and politics, Davis is an active and practicing Episcopalian.
1961-1970: _Renewed_success "> 1961-1970: Updated success
In 1961, Davis opened in the production of Broadway The Night of the Iguana for mediocre mostly reviews, and left production after four months due to a "chronic illness". He later joined Glenn Ford and Ann-Margret for the film Frank Capra A Pocketful of Miracles (1961) (a remake of the 1933 Capra movie, Lady for a Day), based on on a story by Damon Runyon.
She accepted her next role, in the horror movie Grand Guignol What Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), after reading the script and believing it could attract the same audience that just made Alfred Hitchcock Psycho (1960) a success. He negotiated an agreement that would pay 10% of his gross profits worldwide in addition to his salary. The film became one of the biggest successes of the year.
Davis and Joan Crawford play two elder sisters, former actresses who are forced by circumstances to share a ravaged Hollywood mansion. The director, Robert Aldrich, explained that Davis and Crawford each realized how important the film was to their respective careers, and commented, "Just to say they really hate each other, but they really behave perfectly."
After the filming is complete, their public comments against each other allow tension to develop into a lifelong feud. When Davis was nominated for an Academy Award, Crawford contacted other Best Actress nominees (who could not attend the ceremony) and offered to receive awards on their behalf, if they won. When Anne Bancroft was announced as the winner, Crawford received an award on behalf of Bancroft.
Davis also received only a BAFTA Award nomination for this performance. Princess Barbara (credited as B. D. Merrill) played a small role in the film, and when Davis and she visited the Cannes Film Festival to promote it, she met Jeremy Hyman, an executive for Seven Arts Productions. After a brief courtship, she married Hyman at the age of 16, with Davis permission.
In October 1962, it was announced that four episodes of the CBS-TV series Perry Mason will feature a special guest star who will replace Raymond Burr during his recovery from operations. A Perry Mason fan , Davis is the first guest star. "The Case of Constant Doyle" began filming on December 12, 1962, and aired January 31, 1963.
In September 1962, Davis placed an advertisement on Variety under the title "Situations wanted - women artists", which read: "Mother of three - 10, 11 & amp; 15 - divorce. years of experience as an actress in Motion Pictures.He is still and more friendly than rumors will have it.Want to keep working in Hollywood. (Has owned Broadway.) "Davis said that he meant it as a joke, and he retained his comeback for several years.
Dead Ringer (1964) is a criminal drama in which she plays twin sisters. The plot was previously filmed in Mexico with Dolores del Rio. Where Love Has Gone (1964) is a romantic drama based on the novel Harold Robbins. Davis plays the mother of Susan Hayward, but her filming is hampered by a heated debate between Davis and Hayward.
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) is Robert Aldrich's follow up to What Happened to Baby Jane? . Aldrich plans to reunite Davis and Crawford, but Crawford withdraws his allegations of illness soon after the filming begins. He was replaced by Olivia de Havilland. The film was a huge success, and brought new attention to its veteran players, which also included Joseph Cotten, Mary Astor, and Agnes Moorehead.
The following year, Davis plays the lead role in Aaron Spelling's sitcom Aion Spelling The Decorator . The premiere episode was filmed, but not shown, and the project was stopped. By the end of the decade, Davis had appeared in the British films The Nanny (1965), The Anniversary (1968), and Connecting Rooms (1970) ), but his career stalled again. 1973-1983: _Later_career "> 1971-1983: The next career
In the early 1970s, Davis was invited to perform in New York City, in a stage presentation,
In 1972, Davis played a lead role in two television movies, each intended as a pilot for the upcoming series for ABC and NBC, Madame Sin, with Robert Wagner, and The Judge and Jake Wyler , with Joan Van Ark, but in each case, the network decided not to produce the series.
She appeared on the production stage of Miss Moffat, a musical adaptation of her film The Corn Is Green, but after the show was panned by Philadelphia critics during a pre-Broadway run, She mentioned injuries backs, and leaving the show, which was soon closed.
He played a supporting role in Comencini's Lo Scopone scientifico (1972) with Italian actor Alberto Sordi and Joseph Cotten, Burnt Offerings (1976), Dan Curtis, and The Disappearance of Aimee (1976), but he clashed with Karen Black and Faye Dunaway, the stars of the last two productions, because he felt that he did not extend the appropriate level of respect and that their behavior on film sets was unprofessional.
In 1977, Davis became the first woman to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Film Institute. The broadcasting event included comments from several Davis colleagues, including William Wyler, who joked that given a chance, Davis would still want to film back the scene from The Letter that Davis nodded. Jane Fonda, Henry Fonda, Natalie Wood and Olivia de Havilland were among the honorable players, with de Havilland commenting that Davis "got the role I always wanted".
After the broadcast, she found herself in demand again, often having to choose between several offers. He received a role in the television miniseries The Dark Secret of Harvest Home (1978) and theatrical film Death on the Nile (1978), the mystery of Agatha Christie's murder. Most of his remaining work is for television. She won an Emmy Award for Foreigners: The Story of a Mother and Her Daughter (1979) with Gena Rowlands, and was nominated for her performance at White Mama (1980) and Little Gloria... Happy at Last (1982). He also played a supporting role in the Disney film Back from the Magic Mountain (1978) and The Watcher in the Woods (1980).
The name Davis became famous for a younger audience when Kim Carnes's song "Bette Davis Eyes" (written by Jackie DeShannon) became a worldwide hit and best-selling record of 1981 in the US, where she stayed at number one on the music chart for more than two months. Davis's grandson impressed that he was the subject of the hit song and Davis regarded it as a compliment, wrote to Carnes and the songwriter, and received a gift from the gold and platinum record from Carnes, and hung it on the wall.
He continued to act on television, appearing in Family Reunion (1981) with his grandson J. Ashley Hyman, Piano for Mrs. Cimino (1982) and Hak Way (1983) with James Stewart. In 1983, she was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award. 1983-1989: _Illness, _awards_and_final_works "> 1983-1989: Disease, award, and final work span>
In 1983, after filming a pilot episode for the TV series
During this time, his relationship with his daughter, B.D. Hyman, deteriorated when Hyman became a born-again Christian and tried to persuade Davis to follow him. With his stable health, he traveled to England to film the mystery of Agatha Christie with Mirror Murder (1985). Upon his return, he learns that Hyman has published My Mother's Keeper, where he records the difficult mother-son relationship and describes the scenes of Davis's over-bearing and drunk behavior.
Some friends Davis commented that Hyman's description of the incident was not accurate; someone says, "so many books out of context". Mike Wallace re-broadcast the 60 Minutes interview he'd made with Hyman a few years earlier in which he praised Davis about his skills as a mother, and said that he had adopted many of Davis's principles in his own upbringing. children.
Hyman's critics noted that Davis has financially supported Hyman's family for several years and recently saved them from losing their homes. Regardless of the bitterness of their previous divorce years, Gary Merrill also defended Davis. Interviewed by CNN, Merrill says that Hyman is motivated by "cruelty and greed". Davis's adoptive son Michael Merrill ended his contact with Hyman, and refused to talk to him again, as did Davis, who also repealed his rights.
In his second memoir of 1986, Davis writes, "I still have not recovered from the fact that a child I will write about me behind me, not to say about the type of book. will never recover fully from BD books as I have from strokes, both of which ruin the experience. "His verdict ends with a letter to his daughter, where he greets him several times as" Hyman ", and describes his actions as" a lack of conspicuous loyalty and gratitude for a very special life that I feel you have given. " He concludes by referring to Hyman's book title, "If it refers to money, if my memory is right, I've been your keeper for years, I keep doing it, because my name has made you a book about me success."
Davis appeared in As Summers Die (1986) and Lindsay Anderson's The Whales of August (1987), where he played blind sister Lillian Gish. Despite being in poor health at the time, Davis memorized his own lines and others as usual. The film received good reviews, with one critic writes, "Bette crawling across the screen like a testicle-sized old bee in the windshield, growling, shocking, twitching - a misspelling symphony." Davis became honouree of the Kennedy Center Honors for his contribution to the film in 1987.
His last appearance was the title role in Larry Cohen Wicked Stepmother (1989). At this time, his health failed, and after a dispute with Cohen, he walked off the set. The script was rewritten to put more emphasis on the character Barbara Carrera, and the reworked version was released after Davis's death.
After leaving the Wicked Stepmother and no further movie bids (though he is interested in playing centenarians at Craig Calman's Turn of the Century and working with him in adapting to the stage play for the long scenario Davis appeared on several talk shows, and was interviewed by Johnny Carson, Joan Rivers, Larry King, and David Letterman, discussing his career, but refused to discuss his daughter. His appearance is very popular; Lindsay Anderson observes that the public is happy to see her behave "very bitchy": "I always do not like that because she is encouraged to behave badly, and I always hear her portrayed with those terrible words, full of vigor."
During 1988 and 1989 Davis was awarded for his career, receiving the Kennedy Center Honor, the Honorary Legion of France, the Italian Campione d'Italia, and the Lifetime Achievement Lincoln Center Film Awards Institute. She appeared on British television in a special broadcast from South Bank Center, discussing the film and her career, another guest is the famous Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky.
Maps Bette Davis
Death
Davis collapsed during the American Cinema Awards in 1989, and later discovered that his cancer had returned. He recovered enough to travel to Spain, where he was honored at the Donostia International Film Festival-San SebastiÃÆ'¡n, but during his visit, his health deteriorated rapidly. Too weak for a long trip back to the US, he traveled to France, where he died on October 6, 1989, at 11:20 pm, at the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Davis is 81 years old.
She is buried in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, with her mother Ruthie and Bobby's sister, with her name in a larger size. On his tombstone it says: "He did it the hard way", a tombstone he mentioned in his memoir of Mother Goddam because it had been suggested to him by Joseph L. Mankiewicz shortly after they filmed All About Eve .
Reception and inheritance
In early 1936, Graham Greene concluded Davis:
Even the most unflattering films... seemed temporarily better than they were for that, the right and nervous sound, pale blond hair, popping, neurotic eyes, a kind of pretending dirty beauty.... I preferred to watch Miss Davis from a number of competent photos.
In 1964, Jack Warner spoke of "the quality of magic that transformed this sometimes bland and uncrowded little girl into a great artist", and in an interview in 1988, Davis said that, unlike many of his contemporaries, he had forged career without the beauty benefits. She admits she was frightened during the making of her earliest films, and that she became difficult due to necessity. "Until you are known in my profession as a monster, you are not a star," he said, "[but] I never fought for anything in a dangerous way, I never fought for anything other than the good of the movie." During the making of All About Eve (1950), Joseph L. Mankiewicz told him about the perception in Hollywood that he was difficult, and he explained that when the audience saw him on screen, they did not consider that his appearance was the result of many people works behind the scenes. If he is presented as a "horse's mule... forty feet wide, and thirty feet high", that's all the audience "will see or care about".
While praised for his achievements, Davis and his films are sometimes ridiculed; Pauline Kael describes Now, Voyager (1942) as a "classic shlock", and by the mid-1940s, his occasional and hysterical appearance had been the subject of a caricature. Edwin Schallert, for Los Angeles Times , praised Davis's performance at Mr. Skeffington (1944), while observing, "The copycat will be more fun than the monkey box that imitates Miss Davis"; and Dorothy Manners, at the Los Angeles Examiner, said of her appearance in poor reception Beyond the Forest (1949), "There is no caricature of a nightclub that ever changes like that imitation "Time magazine noted that Davis was being watched compulsively, even while criticizing his acting technique, summarizing his performance on Dead Ringer (< 1964) with his observations, "His acting, as always, is not really acting: It's a shameless embarrassment, but try to turn!"
Davis attracted followers in the gay subculture, and was often imitated by imitators like Tracey Lee, Craig Russell, Jim Bailey, and Charles Pierce. Seeking to explain his popularity with gay audiences, journalist Jim Emerson writes, "Is he just a camp doll figure because his fragile and melodramatic acting style is not going well? Or is it 'Greater Than Life', which is difficult for who survives? Maybe some of them. "
The choice of the film is often unconventional: Davis seeks out the role of a manipulator and murderer in an era when the actress usually prefers to play sympathetic characters, and he excels in it. He loves the authenticity of the glamor, and is willing to change his own appearance if it matches his character.
When he entered old age, Davis was recognized for his achievements. John Springer, who had arranged his lecture tour in the early 1970s, wrote that regardless of the achievements of many of his contemporaries, Davis is a "star in his thirties and into his forties", achieving a determination for his characterization and ability to assert himself, even when the material is mediocre. Individual performances continue to receive praise; in 1987, Bill Collins analyzed The Letter (1940), and described his performance as "brilliant, subtle achievement," and wrote, "Bette Davis made Leslie Crosbie one of the most remarkable women in the film. "In a 2000 review for All About Eve (1950), Roger Ebert noted," Davis is a character, an icon with great style, even realistic excesses. " In 2006, Premiere magazine ranked Margo Channing's role in this film as the fifth in the list of 100 Biggest Show of All Time, commenting, "There is something very brave about his willingness to play like that unattractive emotions such as jealousy, bitterness, and need. "While reviewing What Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) in 2008, Ebert asserted that, "No one who has seen the film will forget it."
A few months before his death in 1989, Davis was one of several actors featured on the cover of Life magazine. In a retrospective film celebrating film and star in 1939, Life concluded that Davis was the most important actress of his time, and highlighted Dark Victory (1939) as one of the most films important this year. His death made front-page news around the world as "the closing of another chapter of the Golden Age of Hollywood". Angela Lansbury summarizes the feelings of people from the Hollywood community who attended her funeral, remarking, after a sample of the screened Davis film, that they had witnessed "the remarkable legacy of acting in the twentieth century by a real master of crafts" That should give "encouragement and illustrations for future generations of future actors ".
In 1977, Davis became the first woman to receive the AFI Life Achievement Award. In 1999, the American Film Institute published a list of "100 Year AFI... 100 Stars", which is the result of an industry-industry poll to determine the "50 Greatest American Screen Tales" to raise public awareness and appreciation of classic movies. Of the 25 actresses listed, Davis is ranked second behind Katharine Hepburn.
The United States Postal Service honors Davis with a memorial stamp in 2008, marking the 100th anniversary of his birth. This cap features a picture of herself in the role of Margo Channing on All About Eve . The Celebration of the First Publication Day took place on September 18, 2008, at Boston University, which housed Davis's vast archives. The keynote speakers include his son Michael Merrill and Lauren Bacall. In 1997 her estate patrons, Merrill and Kathryn Sermak, her former assistant, founded The Bette Davis Foundation, which gave college scholarships to promising actors and actresses.
Academy Awards milestone
In 1962, Bette Davis became the first person to secure 10 Academy Award nominations for acting. Since then only three have surpassed this figure, Meryl Streep (with 21 nominations and three wins), Katharine Hepburn (12 nominations and four wins), and Jack Nicholson (12 nominations and three wins).
Steven Spielberg purchased Davis' Oscars for Dangerous (1935) and Jezebel (1938), when they were offered for auction for $ 207,500 and $ 578,000, respectively, and returned them to the Mobile Image Arts and Sciences Academy.
Davis's appearance in Of Human Bondage (1934) was widely recognized and when he was not nominated for an Academy Award, several influential people put up a campaign to include his name. The Academy relaxes its rules for that year (and the following year too) to allow consideration of any nominated players in written election; therefore, performance annually is technically eligible for consideration. For a period of time in the 1930s, the Academy revealed second and third ranked voters in each category, Davis placed third for best actress on Grace Moore who was nominated formally. The nomination database and academy winner recorded this under the best actress category of 1934 and under the search of Bette Davis.
In popular culture
Music
References were made to Bette Davis on Bob Dylan's "Desolation Row", and in the song "Celluloid Heroes" by Kinks. Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes" is no. 1 single 1981. Davis is mentioned in the 1990 Madonna song "Vogue". He and Cary Grant, another famous actor from the silver screen era, are mentioned in the song "Silver Screen Romance" by American rock band Good Charlotte. She, along with Clark Gable and James Dean, was mentioned in the 1999 song Girl on TV by boy band LFO. "Industrial Disease" (1982) by Dire Straits refers to "Bette Davis knees".
Books
The feud between Davis and Joan Crawford is depicted in Shaun Considine's 1989 book Bette and Joan: The Divine Feud . It was sparked by competition over film roles, Academy Awards, and Nada Franchising, Davis co-star in 1935's Dangerous . A book by former assistant Kathryn Sermak, "Miss D. and me: Live with the Invincible Bette Davis", was released in 2017. This book is about the period when Sermak worked for Davis as his personal assistant between 1979 and 1989.
Movies and TV
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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