I asked about this in an earlier post. Such was the relationship between Bette and Joan during the making of Baby Jane that Bette had a Coca Cola machine installed in the studio..knowing full well it'd enrage Joan as at the time she was the widow of the boss of Pepsico. In retaliation Joan wore a metal belt during the scene where Bette has to drag Joan from the bed to hide her. Bette said she had a bad back for ages after that. To make the feud worse Joan actively campaigned against Bette winning her third Oscar for Baby Jane. Bette never forgave her until a decade after Joan's death when she said in a Barbara Walters interview " Crawford acted professionally on the movie set" (Baby Jane) and that the falling out was caused by her actions to campaign against her.. "I was hurt and angry she would do such a thing". However Bette also added that she will not tarnish Joan's accomplishments: "She came a long way from a little girl. This, I will never take away from her". Joan once said in an interview that she and Bette had nothing in common. In reality, they had a ample similarities in their personal lives. They both had fathers who abandoned their families at a young age; both rose from poverty to success while breaking into films during the late 1920s and early 1930s; both had siblings and mothers who milked them financially once they became famous; both became Oscar-winning leading ladies; both were staunch liberal Democrats and feminists; both had four husbands (both were widowed once and divorced three times); both adopted children, and both had daughters who wrote lurid books denouncing them as bad mothers.
The Hollywood Canteen operated in Los Angeles, California, from October, 1942, through November, 1945, as a club offering food, dancing and entertainment for servicemen, usually on their way overseas. The driving forces behind the creation of the Hollywood Canteen were Bette Davis and John Garfield, along with Jules Stein, President of Music Corporation of America. Bette Davis devoted an enormous amount of time and energy to the project and served as its president. Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
But by then she was hooked (on kisses, I presume). If I may vary a bit, Of Human Bondage was mentioned as well as the British author of that book, Somerset Maugham. As a young man, I read every book Somerset Maugham wrote, including all his short stories. I thought he was an interesting author. He was trained as a Doctor of Medicine and in that day, doctors in trainees had to ride on calls with the ambulance. He said he got most of his short stories and some of the books from what he learned on making calls riding with an ambulance. Not essential information but of interest I thought.
Thanks Nancy - great We watched the movie a few years back - the picture quality was awful, but we stuck with it 'cos it was Bette @Nancy Hart
https://www.goldderby.com/gallery/bette-davis-movies-15-greatest-films-ranked-from-worst-to-best/ Do you agree with those @Nancy Hart?
I only remember seeing about half of those 15, and it was a long time ago. Many of her movies would not be described as feel good movies, would they? I agree that All About Eve was probably the best of that group. What do you think? Have you seen all of them?
No most certainly not feel good movies. More raw and earthy. Probably why she excelled in that genre.. Have seen all except Little Foxes. Not sure about The Corn Is Green. May have eons ago. Bit harsh putting her life imitating art flick The Star at 12 imo. That is in my top 10.. about 7/8. Dead Ringer does not make the list. Nor do two she made in England -Another Man's Poison and The Nanny. Both whodunnit/psycho thrillers.
Bette Davis sings Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte, on Steve Allen's show I've Got a Secret (with Olivia de Havilland, 1965)