Happy 100 Bette Davis

Bette Davis would have been 100-years-old this Saturday April the 5th and I just wish (I wish) I could have met her in my life. I wouldn't have cared if she hollered at me, made me pull her anti-aging tape straps under her wig, blew cigarette smoke in my face or crisply informed me that my apartment was a "dump" -- whatever -- I'd take abuse from Ms. Davis just to listen to that voice. And maybe, perhaps more than likely, she would have been nice. (After all, I'm nothing like her back-stabbing, ungrateful daughter B.D.) In any case, I would loved to have solicited some advice from that woman. Bette Davis as life coach. That could work for me.

For if there is or was any female figure to whom others should turn to in times of crisis, loneliness and despair, it is Miss Bette. Why? Because Bette Davis is every woman (and some men) wrapped into one: ugly and beautiful, sweet and biting, honest and deceitful, classy and vulgar. There isn't a side of Bette that every woman doesn't see in herself. Her face -- those buggy eyes flickering with homeliness and yet an odd beauty (never forget how uniquely gorgeous Bette was as a young starlet), sadness, insanity, malevolence, rage and finally, strength. And her little body -- coiled up and ready to strike (as in Another Man’s Poison) or sloppy and cruelly casual (like in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?: “Here’s your lunch” she announces to Joan before promptly serving her a rat) or lovely and wary (as in All This, and Heaven Too) or brassy and swishy (as in Jezebel) or an elegant liar (as in The Letter) or mousy turned gorgeous (as in Now, Voyager) or just plain gloriously melodramatic then vulnerable (as in All About Eve) or heart-breakingingly desperate (as in The Star). There are moments when Bette seems almost turned inside out, as if she’s revealing the innards of the female psyche --  which is exactly why she can appear so damn terrifying at times.

But she had her soft moments (watch her opposite Charles Boyer in aforementioned All This, and Heaven Too and you'll see what I mean). In later years Bette recalled, "Christ, I was always bitching about how I hated my face in those days. Compared to what I look like now, I was an absolute living doll!"

She was a doll -- a doll that could easily contend with Chucky, but a doll nonetheless. God knows she had those famous, buggy-beautiful eyes, silky skin and an ample chest, but Davis, like most women, lived with numerous imperfections. But she didn't harp on these flaws or engage in diva delusions, instead she gleefully, sometimes perversely played up her problem areas. And it sometimes made her all the more attractive. In All About Eve, she's supposed to be an insecure, aging star, yet even when a young Marilyn Monroe walks on (who looks like a peach, even after undoubtedly consuming numerous benzos and splits of champagne), you can't take your eyes off Bette. And it wasn't just her looks -- it was her way. Everything Bette did -- walking (in minced steps), talking (with exacting enunciation), smoking (in circular jabs) -- she did with a flourish. Like Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo and the great Tallulah Bankhead (who really should have made more movies) Bette was her own unforgettable invention, an unconventional glamour-puss, who stands the test of time. Unlike sanctioned beauty, Bette's particular magic is something that never fades.

Neither did Bette's ballsy view of life and relationships, so wonderfully expressed on (and frequently off) the big screen. For instance, what to do when dumped? Go out in a blaze of glory. Though her demise was devastating in Of Human Bondage, she pulled off a stunning, final fuck-you to poor Leslie Howard. Bette, who insisted on looking the damaged strumpet against director John Cromwell's wishes was not only one of the first actresses to choose looking this bad on screen but also appeared like some kind of riot girl/punk rock proto-type (young Courtney Love must have studied this scene). Sitting in a flophouse, emaciated and dying, but still snarling all ugly/sexy in her revealing slip, bleached blonde hair and runny eye makeup -- all it took was a few withering looks to leave Leslie Howard's passive-aggressive club footed doctor with an image to smolder for a lifetime. In a very un-Camille like performance, she seemed to be saying: "Here I am, warts and all. Can't handle it? Your loss. Now go live your boring life with you new girlfriend."

And what about giving someone the cold shoulder? Bette showed women how to deal with the delicate situation of the brush off (or tease) by sparing him the psych-speak and exiting with a baffler: As Ms. Davis' Southern belle character drawled in Cabin in the Cotton, "I'd love to kiss you, but I've just washed my hair." (Try this one out). And along these same lines, she also reveled in showing that not all women want marriage and babies. In Beyond the Forest (a movie she didn't want to make but was brilliant in nonetheless), Davis' character is married to Joseph Cotten -- not a bad catch by any stretch of the imagination. But she grows bored and becomes critical of what marital bliss and good living are supposed to be ("What a dump" she bitches about their house). Though cast as an evildoer in the film, I've always felt sympathy for her Rosa Moline --- she was limited, in love with another and then, dear God, pregnant. So how to remedy this situation? She hauled herself off the side of a mountain, pregnant belly in tow. Sure, it wasn't the nicest, safest move (and it certainly wasn't as glamorous as Gene Tierney’s tumble down the stairs in Leave Her to Heaven), but perhaps through the dictates of the Production Code, this was the only way she could not have that baby. And she wanted to move to Chicago -- high-tail it out of that stifling, small town where everyone talked shit about her. Who can really blame her?

And yet, as much as women and men say they love the feisty ladies, it often simply comes down to the bitch. What a bitch. And I think a few women are even worse regarding this insult (sit down and act like a nice little lady). Bette would say bullshit to all that (and then call Joan Crawford a bitch: "I wouldn't piss on her if she was on fire." But I digress...). Her motto? "No guts, no glory." Like other gutsy women, she made men's heads spin: Is she a bitch? Or an assertive fox? This is the continuous (and exciting) inward query (and you know hubby Gary Merrill got all hot and bothered by that alluring combo). Like a lot of strong women, she had a Napoleon complex, but we love that in men (Pacino, De Niro). We get a thrill watching Joe Pesci shove a pen in someone's eye. But Bette? That would scare the shit out of us. Just imagine what Bette could do to an attacker -- the carnage a maniacal Bette would leave defending herself -- all that flying fur (real of course), red scratching fingernails and a lit cigarette to the face. I honestly can’t see Bette Davis successfully getting mugged.

And I imagine that if Miss Davis couldn't win a physical fight, she could reign victorious via a verbal arsenal of movie lines that were nearly as lethal. No, she didn't write them, but it sure sounded like she did. Take, for instance:

Marked Woman: "I'll get even if I have to crawl back from the grave."

It's Love I'm After: "You're going to have love for breakfast, love for luncheon and love for dinner. Sweet, sugary, sticky worship. You're going to have a steady diet of it till you're ready to scream, you billy goat!"

And the more subtle diamond dagger from The Little Foxes: "I don't ask for things I don't think I can get."

Finally, some real life advice from Bette Davis herself (and before sad-sack Miles in Sideways): "Never, never trust anyone who asks for white wine. It means they're phonies."

Bette, Bette, Bette. She didn't act the Diva, she was the Diva. But strangely down to earth too. She hated airs, which contributed to her dislike towards Joan Crawford (that, and something to do with Franchot Tone) and one of the reasons she slammed poor co-star Celeste Holm from All About Eve -- bemoaning perky Holm's on set salutations, Bette snarled, "ugh manners." As artificial as her carefully constructed lips were (that line!), Davis detested fakes, and forced, silly sentiments, things that would, as Bette said, “provoke anyone of sensibility to nausea.” Of her legendary All About Eve character Margo, Bette stated: "Margo Channing was not a bitch. She was an actress who was getting older and was not too happy about it. And why should she? Anyone who says that life begins at forty is full of it. As people get older their bodies begin to decay. They get sick. They forget things. What's good about that?"

Well, you could be alive Miss Davis -- and with all of your grit and gusto -- even at 100. I certainly wish you were. Like that Oscar statuette you placed on the dashboard during your dipsomaniacal drive through Hollywood in The Star, I'd love to ask just once: "Come on Bette, let's you and me get drunk."

Happy Birthday Bette.

Comments

[COOP]

Excellent writing. Thanks.

[Steve-O]

Great job, Kim. I alternate being attracted and repulsed by her in films (especially during the 40s). Beyond the Forest is a wonderfully unique film for it's time. It blows me away that she was able to play such an independent woman (crazy, but independent none the less)

What a dump! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q692iEqZEa4

[Campaspe]

Zowie, you are on a tear of late. This is just superb, absolutely worthy of La Davis. Funny you should mention that famous exchange on the All About Eve set that so offended Celeste Holm. Davis was rude, of course, but I too always figured she was saying "bleh, don't be such a phony."

And that top publicity still must be one of the loveliest shots of her I have ever seen.

[Joe Valdez]

Please keep these pieces coming, Kim. It's rare to find articles written with such effusive passion for their subjects, while abeing full of great information and reminding readers what these stars should be remembered for. I never knew I liked Bette Davis until I read your piece. Great work.

[Theron Neel]

I've always been a Bette Davis fan, but I saw "Cabin in the Cotton" for the first time last night (I know, I know), and Bette was amazing. I literally could not take my eyes off her when she was on screen. So young, so blonde, and such a bitch - awesome!

[uncle buck]

Spot on, Kim.
great writing and pics.
thanks for the vid too.
She was...genius.

[Henry FTP]

Terrific job of catching the essence of Bette Davis, one of the true pioneers who kicked a large chunk out of the glass ceiling. The studios made her pay for that in the 1950s, rarely employing her yet getting rich over rerunning her films on television. Nowadays she would have had a renaissance in character roles, particularly on television, and of course she helped make that possible. Kudos to Wolcott for the link.

[SW]

I fell in love with Bette Davis as an eight year old boy watching 'The Petrified Forrest' on the late movie. Utter confusion set in as I was unable to reconcile her with the feisty old lady on the Mike Douglas show. What a life!

[Melissa]

I first got into Bette Davis as a preteen, renting Dark Victory and being mesmerized by her voice and presence. Since then, my favorites of her have been Of Human Bondage, Baby Jane, and even liking her small role in Three on a Match. I wish I could've met her too. My mom saw an old interview with her on TCM and thought she was so biting and witty and funny, though she was in her 70s and could get away with giving up Hollywood secrets.

I'm reading her biography right now, Dark Victory. I never thought she was ugly. She was unusual-looking, but I always thought she was beautiful.

[Busby Seo Challenge]

What a nice Challenge !!!!!!!!Busby Seo Challeng

[Oddmonster]

This was a really great article. Just top-notch. I'll definitely be adding you to my regular reads list.

[Tania]

Great piece of writing, I've enjoyed it through and through. And now to celebrate, I'm going to have a private Bette Davis retrospective.

[4starJosh]

Kim, I love your blog. I read you and Roger daily. Probably because you both are so passionate about the subjects you write about and film in general. Getting drunk with Ms. Davis would rock. Keep giving us gems from the dark side.

[Ily]

My favorite was All About Eve, I have seen this movie more than 20 times. She is absolutely awesome in this movie. I also love Dark Victory, Jezebel, and A stolen Life. She is by far my favorite of the old actress.