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What's your fave Bette Davis movie(s)?


rhonda37216
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1. Now, Voyager

2. The Little Foxes

3. Jezebel

4. Dark Victory

5. All About Eve

6. Deception

7. Dangerous

8. Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte

9. All This and Heaven Too

10. Private Lives of Elizebeth and Essex.

 

honorable mention for Marked Woman, Of Human Bondage and A Catered Affair.

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I'm also a newbie to TCM. The first Bette Davis movie I watched the other day was Dark Victory. That was the first old movie I got teary-eyed. It was so sad. Then I seen Petrified Forest the other day and I didn't like it as much. Looking forward to seeing more of her movies. Drew Barrymore in the Wedding Singer looked alot like Betty Davis in The Petified Forest.

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All About Eve

The Little Foxes

Jezebel

Now Voyager

Mr. Skeffington

 

When I was a child, the radio and television ads for Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? would terrify me and send me crying to my room. The movies that I need to see or rediscover: Watch on the Rhine, Old Acquaintance, and The Old Maid.

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"Beyond the Forest" is Bette at her most evil best. She's so sexy and voluptuous that she stuns with her ability to transform herself from school mar'm's (Corn is Green," "dying heireses (dark victory) and wealthy dowagers (now voyager). Watch and be amazed at one of her greatest and most controversial roles--one you'll never see on TCM which reasons that only it knows will not allow it to be televised.

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I saw Beyond the Forest at a revival in San Francisco's Castro Theatre. The performances were so over-the-top as to seem somewhat of a car wreck (or train wreck, in this case) to me. It had high kitsch appeal (along with Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?) though. But this was long ago; perhaps I should make an effort to see it again with new eyes...

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  • 3 weeks later...

"Deception" -- with Bette's favorite co-star, Claude Rains and her "Now, Voyager" love interest, Paul Henreid is pretty good, though it never tops any top ten faves lists. La Davis looks rather chic and uptown in that one. She's got a gorgeous loft, too.

 

I think it's directed by Irving Rapper (who also directed "Now, Voyager") and I remember reading that Rapper's cinematic "trademark" was always including a scene where it's raining -- as it is in "Deception" and at the beginning of "Voyager." The Brothers Warner did rain rather well - this might be because precipitation photographs better in black and white than it does in color (remember the stories of how MGM technicians had to add milk -- was it? -- to get the rain to "read" on film for "Singin' In The Rain"?)

 

I thought Bette was a lovely Gabrielle in "The Petrified Forest" and her scenes with Leslie Howard were genuinely, wistfully romantic.

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Jack Burley, that description of Beyond the Forest only makes me want to see it more. I love kitsch and I love Bette Davis and Joseph Cotten. And the little clips I've seen of it scattered throughout her documentaries only frustrate me.

 

Favorite Bette movies:

The Anniversary

Jezebel

Kid Galahad

Of Human Bondage

Dark Victory

The Catered Affair

Bordertown (I love the way she yells at her drunk husband in the car, something along the lines of "You fat, drunken pig!")

And my all time favorite, Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte. I think that was the first Bette Davis movie I watched, and it still remains my favorite. It's one of those movies where I think the whole cast was excellent: Oliva de Havilland, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead, Mary Astor.

 

Thanks to TCM, I now have a huge Bette Davis library. I plan to spend this weekend, watching a whole marathon in a nice, cool air conditioned house!

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Oh Gosh this is a hard one! lol.... I adore Miss Davis so much.. her talent was and is undeniable.

 

"Dark Victory" was I believe the first Bette Davis movie I saw, and it still touches me. I cry every time.

 

"Now, Voyager" what a transformation and what a lovely love story!! brilliant.

 

" All this, and Heaven Too"... I saw this one a couple of years ago, and watched it again the other night on TCM ... she is wonderful in this one.

 

I watched " What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?" last night for the first time, and I have to say that she was absolutely creepy !!! but I loved her and felt a sadness for her character.

 

I love anything she is in , so it's truly hard to say what my favourite is.... but I tried~ ;)

 

" I'd Love to kiss you, but I just washed my hair" ~Bette Davis

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I have an appreciation for kitcsh too, I just put it in a different category. There are great good movies, and there are great bad movies. Beyond the Forest joins Valley of the Dolls and Showgirls in the latter category. And believe me, I love them for it. They're all "musts" whenever revived at the local rep. houses.

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Bette! There's no one like her, there never will be!

 

I love all her films, but I have to say, "The Star" really gets me ... "Taaaake your ten-percent hands off me!" It's too funny. :-)

 

And when she delivers the monologue in the film about being broke, you sure as heck believe it!

 

As far as her other roles, I love "The Little Foxes" "Mr. Skeffington" "Now Voyager" "The Corn is Green" "All About Eve" "The Man who Came to Dinner" "Jane" "Another Man's Poison" and I could go on. I also love, "Dead Ringer" and "Deception" with Claude Raines, and Paul Henried, and another film in which she played a twin co-starring Glen Ford. The name escapes me, but I have it on VHS.

 

Oh, and "Whales of August." Oops. :-)

 

Too bad she passed on the lead role in "Mildred Pierce."

 

Still though, I think ? "Taaaake your ten-percent hands off me!" ... was one of her greatest lines, ever.

 

Be well,

 

 

Splendorflight

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hello, Splendorflight [nice handle]:

 

The film with Bette and Glenn Ford is called "A Stolen Life" - I quite enjoyed it, as I do with any Glenn Ford film...

 

Now, I just finished watching "Another Man's Poison" - my feelings about that one are a bit mixed...some problems with a few things...

 

"Deception" is better - Claude Rains [as Hollenius] must have had a lot of fun playing that role...and jealousy isn't in my line, but how come these actors get such wonderful places to live? That loft of hers with the huge window is so cool...

 

I have "Mr. Skeffington" on tape but need to put some time aside to watch it...this movie-watching is such hard work [sigh]...

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"NOW VOYAGER" has got to be my all time favorite..so many "ugly ducklings" can identify and the ending is wonderful..How many actresses now would be willing to play the main character in the beginning of this movie? "None" would be my guess..

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> hello, Splendorflight [nice handle]:

>

> The film with Bette and Glenn Ford is called "A

> Stolen Life" - I quite enjoyed it, as I do with any

> Glenn Ford film...

>

> Now, I just finished watching "Another Man's Poison"

> - my feelings about that one are a bit mixed...some

> problems with a few things...

>

> "Deception" is better - Claude Rains [as Hollenius]

> must have had a lot of fun playing that

> role...and jealousy isn't in my line, but how come

> these actors get such wonderful places to live? That

> loft of hers with the huge window is so cool...

>

> I have "Mr. Skeffington" on tape but need to put some

> time aside to watch it...this movie-watching is

> such hard work [sigh]...

 

Hey Wordmaster!

 

Thanks for the compliment on my screen name, I got it from a song Nancy Wilson of Heart wrote but never released.

 

Yes, that's the name "A Stolen Life!" As I can?t move, I can?t get the tape, so I couldn?t remember the title. I love it though - the deception, the thinking she can get away with it, and all the rest - classic Bette.

 

You know, there are indeed some problems with "Another Man's Poison" but I think I like it for the story and the amazing twist at the end. Of course, as I understand it, Bette had just come off "All About Eve" and it almost seems to be the follow-up to that movie - in some whacked out way! :-)

 

I totally agree about the sets in "Deception" they're marvelous, yet somehow, spare. I too love that huge artist-like studio window in the middle of her loft. It's classic old Hollywood. In fact, I too thought the same thing - why can't I find a place like that? LOL. :-)

 

"Mr. Skeffington" does indeed take an investment of time. Happily, though, I don't think it takes smelling salts to recover from the experience. You know how some films are like that?

 

I mean, as great as I think Joan Crawford is in "The Damned Don't Cry," I need time to recover from that - a long nap. Hey, what can I say for myself - I'm an old guy! :-) Though it's not as long as "Mr. Skeffington"... man, "The Damned Don't Cry,? wipes me out.

 

I've noticed that some Stanwyck films are like that as well, but I don't want to go off on a Stanwyck tangent. LOL.

 

Thanks for your reply!

 

 

Be well,

 

 

Splendorflight

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> "NOW VOYAGER" has got to be my all time favorite..so

> many "ugly ducklings" can identify and the ending is

> wonderful..How many actresses now would be willing to

> play the main character in the beginning of this

> movie? "None" would be my guess..

 

 

Hi Zunie!

 

I totally agree with your post, and in some strange way, I can relate to "Charlotte" before her transformation.

 

This is one Bette film that should be left alone - you know? Living in a world of the ?re-make? it would be sad to see "Now Voyager" redone, and in color - yuck. I'm not sure anyone could play it as well as Bette.

 

I think some of the top 80s actresses would have done the role justice when they were younger - people like Glenn Close, Meryl, Jessica Lange (maybe) Sally Field, Jane, etc, but - today? humm?. I don't know. I tend to agree with your thoughts.

 

Be well,

 

 

Splendorflight

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Now Voyager...is probably my all-time favorite of Bette's. As some of you have stated...her transformation is so wonderful to watch.

 

The Little Foxes...has one of my favorite scenes...the end couch and stair scene with her husband. She's truely chilling.

 

I also adore....

All About Eve

The Man who Came to Dinner

Mr. Skeffington

The Letter

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

 

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Mamieka

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Now Voyager...is probably my all-time favorite of Bette's.

 

I think it's one of my favorites too.

 

But even better, I like the Bugs Bunny cartoon where he's at the bottom of the ocean (why? I have no idea) in a blond wig, singing 'wrong, would it be wrong to love?'. Funny stuff.

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