In today’s stop along our grand Bette Davis adventure, we are studying NOW VOYAGER (1941). It is undoubtedly a dramatic tale of romance, but also rooted in a theme of psychiatry and mental health. As a bonus, we are treated to a character makeover. This is a coming out tale. Who doesn’t love a dazzling ‘before and after’ reveal? NOW VOYAGER is based upon a … Continue reading The Background Story: Bette Davis in NOW VOYAGER
In our last film, DARK VICTORY (1939), we explored a medical mystery surrounding a privileged socialite. Today we are discussing THE LETTER (1940), another mystery, yet this time of murder and less mystery; and Bette Davis is not just another socialite of privilege, but very much of white colonial privilege. Today we’ll address whether she is portraying a true vixen or perhaps a deeply complicated … Continue reading Bette Davis Delivers in THE LETTER
One of the captivating traits found in a Pre-Code film is a dark tone, that often reflects a discernible note of danger. I suppose it’s a flair for the dramatics that draws many to the dark side of Pre-Code cinema. There are many such themes of sins and malice found in George Abbott’s The Cheat (1931) . The alluring Tallulah Bankhead is Elsa Carlyle, an extravagant spender who lives beyond … Continue reading Tallulah Bankhead Exposes THE CHEAT (1931)
In our Bette Davis journey, we have arrived at the year 1939, which history has claimed was the greatest in cinematic history. I tend to agree. It was also a pinnacle time in Bette’s career. As we discussed last week, she won the Oscar for her performance in JEZEBEL (1938) at the 1939 Academy Awards. Many films competed in 1939’s crowded array of offerings, in … Continue reading Bette Davis earned a DARK VICTORY
For this installment of our Bette Davis study, we’ll explore another significant role for Davis as “Julie Marsden” in William Wyler’s JEZEBEL (1938). As we have addressed in our introduction, the often contradictory and complicated, undoubtedly attention-grabbing, and fiery, yet with a heart-of-gold persona of Bette Davis, “Julie” will pull us in to a similar path of discovery. JEZEBEL was nominated for the Academy Award … Continue reading Exploring JEZEBEL (1938)
As we begin our filmography of Bette Davis films, we’ll start with a Pre-Code from 1933, Robert Florey’s EX-LADY. For those of you who have not taken my Pre-Code course or those who simply need a reminder, let’s start with a little refresher of what exactly a “Pre-Code” is. Pre-Code cinema (1929 – 1934) refers to a very specific timeline in film history when the … Continue reading Bette Davis Defies Gender Conventions in EX-LADY (1933)
A charming, small town in ‘Middle America.’ A simple way of life where neighbors are friendly, polite, but cautiously on guard of strangers that behave strangely. In Herk Harvey’s only feature film/now cult classic, CARNIVAL of SOULS (1962), the small college town of Lawrence, Kansas was the perfect setting for the eery, atmospheric horror. In the early 1960s, with a population of little over 30,000 … Continue reading A Haunting Hometown: CARNIVAL of SOULS (1962)
Welcome! In this series we will explore the legendary actress Bette Davis through an introduction of her life and a selection of her films. By examining her life, we gain a glimpse into understanding her drive to become one of the best actresses on the Hollywood screen. Fans beloved her but the larger-than-life Bette was frequently misunderstood. The brutally honest but hard-working yank has often … Continue reading A Film Study: BETTE DAVIS
Today we’ll meet Cary Grant as Mortimer Brewster, a very different sort of ‘challenged married man’ than we met in his prior film, PENNY SERENADE. In contrast, Frank Capra’s ARSENIC and OLD LACE is madcap macabre whirled into a hilarious, bigger-than-Brooklyn tale. Before being made into a film, ARSENIC and OLD LACE was a huge hit on the Broadway stage. Playwright Joseph Kesselring was said … Continue reading A Spooky Study: ARSENIC and OLD LACE
In my last entry, we discussed Cary Grant’s first feature-length film, Frank Tuttle’s THIS IS THE NIGHT. That year, Cary starred in many Paramount films, under the first year of his contract. Today’s session, we’ll cover MY FAVORITE WIFE (1940). From 1932 to this film in 1940, Cary worked in 35 films. By the late 1930s, Cary finished up his Paramount contract, signed onto a … Continue reading Cary Grant Steps Out in MY FAVORITE WIFE
Outspoken & Freckled 