
Acting
Bette Davis
Born 1908-04-05 · Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres; from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, though her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas. After appearing in Broadway plays, Davis moved to Hollywood in 1930, but her early films for Universal Studios were unsuccessful. She joined Warner Bros. in 1932 and established her career with several critically acclaimed performances. In 1937, she attempted to free herself from her contract and although she lost a well-publicized legal case, it marked the beginning of the most successful period of her career. Until the late 1940s, she was one of American cinema's most celebrated leading ladies, known for her forceful and intense style. Davis gained a reputation as a perfectionist who could be highly combative, and confrontations with studio executives, film directors and costars were often reported. Her forthright manner, clipped vocal style and ubiquitous cigarette contributed to a public persona which has often been imitated and satirized. Davis was the co-founder of the Hollywood Canteen, and was the first female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, was the first person to accrue 10 Academy Award nominations for acting, and was the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. Her career went through several periods of eclipse, and she admitted that her success had often been at the expense of her personal relationships. Married four times, she was once widowed and thrice divorced, and raised her children as a single parent. Her final years were marred by a long period of ill health, but she continued acting until shortly before her death from breast cancer, with more than 100 films, television and theater roles to her credit. In 1999, Davis was placed second, after Katharine Hepburn, on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female stars of all time.
Acting credits
7.2As Hercule Poirot enjoys a luxurious cruise down the Nile, a newlywed heiress is found murdered on board and every elegant passenger becomes a prime suspect.
Death on the Nile
1978
6.5A young man finds himself attracted to a cold and unfeeling waitress who may ultimately destroy them both.
Of Human Bondage
1934
8.1From the moment she glimpses her idol at the stage door, Eve Harrington is determined to take the reins of power away from the great actress Margo Channing. Eve maneuvers her way into Margo's Broadway role, becomes a sensation and even causes turmoil in the lives of Margo's director boyfriend, her playwright and his wife. Only the cynical drama critic sees through Eve, admiring her audacity and perfect pattern of deceit.
All About Eve
1950
7.5In 1900, a clan attempts to strike a deal with a Chicago industrialist to get him to build cotton mills in their Deep South town.
The Little Foxes
1941
7.9A former vaudeville child star viciously torments her paraplegic sister in their decaying Hollywood mansion.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
1962
6.6Juliet Forrest is convinced that the reported death of her father in a mountain car crash was no accident. Her father was a prominent cheese scientist working on a secret recipe. To prove it was murder, she enlists the services of private eye Rigby Reardon. He finds a slip of paper containing a list of people who are 'The Friends and Enemies of Carlotta'.
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1982
6.0Flubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1942.
Breakdowns of 1942
1942
7.2An Irish cabby in the Bronx watches his wife go overboard planning their daughter's wedding.
The Catered Affair
1956
8.0Based on the first centenary of the largest exporter of films in the world, that is Hollywood, is the story told by its protagonists, actors and writers and other people who made life in this business, interspersing images of famous movies.
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
1995
6.8A beautiful but vain woman who rejects the love of her older husband must face the loss of her youth and beauty.
Mr. Skeffington
1944
7.0In 1850s Louisiana, the willfulness of a tempestuous Southern belle threatens to destroy all who care for her.
Jezebel
1938
7.3An aging, reclusive Southern belle plagued by a horrifying family secret descends into madness after the arrival of a lost relative.
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
1964
6.5A family moves into a large old mansion in the countryside which seems to have a mysterious and sinister power over its new residents.
Burnt Offerings
1976
6.4Brash hoodlum Tom Connors enters Sing Sing cocksure of himself and disrespectful toward authority, but his tough but compassionate warden changes him.
20,000 Years in Sing Sing
1932
5.6A gangster's widow fights for love despite society's disapproval.
That Certain Woman
1937
7.2When a teacher reads an essay written by Morgan Evans, one of the boys, moved by his rough poetry she decides to hold classes in her house and believes that Morgan is smart enough to attend Oxford.
The Corn Is Green
1945
7.4A woman suffers a nervous breakdown and from an oppressive mother before being freed by the love of a man she meets on a cruise.
Now, Voyager
1942
7.3Nan Reynolds encourages her copywriter husband Bill to open his own agency. Nearly out of business, he finally gets a client. Former girlfriend Patricia Berkeley writes a very successful commercial for the client and neats up their old romance. Wife and girlfriend struggle over Bill.
Housewife
1934
5.9Tony and Tia are other-worldly twins endowed with telekinesis. When their Uncle Bene drops them off in Los Angeles for an earthbound vacation, a display of their supernatural skill catches the eye of the nefarious Dr. Gannon and his partner in crime, Letha, who see rich possibilities in harnessing the children's gifts. They kidnap Tony, and Tia gives chase only to find Gannon is using her brother's powers against her.
Return from Witch Mountain
1978
7.3After a woman shoots a man to death, a damning letter she wrote raises suspicions.
The Letter
1940
6.9On the eve of World War II, the German Kurt Müller, his American-born wife Sara, and their three children, having lived in Europe for years, visit Sara's wealthy mother near Washington, DC. Kurt secretly works for the anti-Nazi resistance. A visiting Romanian count, becoming aware of this, seeks to blackmail him.
Watch on the Rhine
1943
5.9After an American family moves to an old country manor in rural England, one of the daughters is tormented by the spirit of the owner's long lost daughter, who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago during a solar eclipse.
The Watcher in the Woods
1980
7.3A New York gangster and his girlfriend attempt to turn street beggar Apple Annie into a society lady when the peddler learns her daughter is marrying royalty.
Pocketful of Miracles
1961
6.8Mystery novelist Janet Frobisher, lives in an isolated house, having been separated for years from her criminal husband. She has fallen in love with her secretary's fiancé and when her estranged husband unexpectedly returns, Janet poisons him, but just as she's about to dispose of the body, one of her husband's criminal cohorts also shows up.
Another Man's Poison
1951
