Happy Birthday, Bette Davis!!!

My #1 gal---the spectacular Bette Davis---is having a birthday today. (April 5, 1908 - October 6, 1989 )

Born Ruth Elizabeth Davis, Bette began her career on the stage in the late 1920's before making her way to Hollywood, where, by 1934, she was well on her way to becoming a major star.  Although appearing in both comedies and dramas, Bette's greatest success came from her dramas; she was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award ten times, coming away with the win on two occasions.  (Only Meryl Streep and Katharine Hepburn have received more Best Actress nominations than Bette.)  In my opinion, she was completely brilliant---and definitely Oscar-worthy---in nearly every role she ever took on and, therefore, ought to have won far more than just twice.

One thing I so appreciate about Bette is that she was far more concerned with putting forth a believable performance than she was in being a glamour girl---she was always willing to look plain if the part called for it...hideous, even, if necessary. In fact, when playing Mildred in Of Human Bondage, "Davis rejected any Hollywood attempt to make her look pretty in her death scene...(director) John Cromwell was so shocked when she walked on set that he asked her to modify it, but she refused...she wrote: "I made it very clear that Mildred was not going to die of a dread disease looking as if a deb had missed her noon nap.  The last stages of consumption, poverty, and neglect are not pretty, and I intended to be convincing looking."  (From Bette Davis, Larger Than Life)

About a year after getting into classic movies, I discovered this completely sensational actress.  Always a lover of intensely dramatic films, I was on the search for something meaty and highly charged, and knowing that Miss Davis was that kind of actress, I took a chance and branched out from Claudette Colbert, Loretta Young, and Audrey Hepburn.  I was hooked on Bette from that very first film---immediately, she went right to the top of my favorite actress list...and I am now on a mission to see all of her works if possible.

My all-time favorite Bette film is also my all-time favorite movie period.---Now, Voyager (reviewed HERE), also starring Paul Henreid and Claude Rains.  This beautiful movie, in which Bette's character transforms from an ugly, dumpy, emotionally unstable woman into a confident, beautiful one, is one of the films for which she received an Academy Award nomination.  Her character---Charlotte Vale---is my favorite female film character, and the way Bette brought her to life was completely amazing.  I cannot recommend this gorgeous movie highly enough.

Rounding out the list of my top five favorite Bette Davis films are:

2.  Dark Victory  (with George Brent---a role which is said to have been Bette's personal favorite---reviewed HERE)

3.  All About Eve (with Gary Merrill, Anne Baxter, and a host of others)

4.  The Letter  (with Herbert Marshall---the movie which began my love affair with Bette---reviewed HERE)

5.  Mr. Skeffington (with Claude Rains)

Limiting myself to five favorite Bette films is next to impossible.  These are all 5-star films for me, and, in actuality, there are a few more 5-star films which also could be on this list.

So, here's to you, Miss Bette Davis, on your 104th birthday!  You were the most incredible actress I have ever seen, and you will always be my #1.  Thank you for beautifying my life through so many fabulous movies---including my favorite movie of all-time.