Bette Davis is splendid in her Oscar winning performance
Bette Davis won her first Academy Award for her stunning performance in this 1936 drama. Playing in the lead role as a jinxed alcoholic actress, she comes to the end of her career. Down and out, she meets a young architect (Franchot Tone) who saves her from self-destruction. While rehabilitating her, he falls in love with her and also breaks his engagement to his fiancé played by Margaret Lindsay. He risks his fortune to back the actress in a Broadway show and finally loses her in a deceit.
The story is based on Laird Doyle “Hard Luck Dame” and directed by Alfred E. Green. Bette Davis initially turned down the script, but Warner Bros. studio production chief Hal B. Wallis convinced her to accept the role. She wanted to look like an actress on the skids, and insisted on costumes appropriate for a woman who had seen better days. She was styled for a bob haircut for the film that later defined her persona in her professional career. Bette Davis was attracted to the lead actor Franchot Tone who was on a loan from MGM Studios. Davis carefully controlled the screenplay that would suit her ambitions to play this role; it paid off handsomely at the Academy Awards. Bette Davis went on to become one of the successful female performers in Hollywood during the golden era.
There is cop-out ending for this film which many viewers did not anticipate. But this was imposed by Hays Office due to the nature of the story. This is a powerful movie of Bette Davis and I recommend this to all her fans.
No comments:
Post a Comment