Biography: Bette Davis: If Looks Could Kill VHS
One of Hollywood's most tempestuous stars dazzled audiences with her talent, beauty and strong-willed approach to her career. Davis' stormy life on and off the screen is traced with help from people who knew and admired (and were intimidated by) her, as well as film clips from her best work. 50 min.
Hell's House(1932) VHS
Bootlegger Pat O'Brien lets teenage assistant Junior Durkin take the rap during a police raid and get sent to a brutal reform school in this two-fisted Prohibition drama that features an early appearance by Bette Davis as Durkin's girlfriend. 72 min.
Three On A Match(1932) VHS
A trio of childhood girlfriends meet years later and find that their lives are intertwined in a web of love triangles, mobsters, alcohol and drugs. Compelling Mervyn LeRoy melodrama stars Bette Davis, Joan Blondell and Ann Dvorak, with support from Warren William, Lyle Talbot and Humphrey Bogart (in his first gangster role). 64 min.
Cabin In The Cotton(1932) VHS
An early starring role for Bette Davis, this Michael Curtiz melodrama casts her as the rich Southern belle daughter of an unscrupulous storekeeper who is cheating the local farmers. Enter sharecropper's son Richard Barthelmess, a man caught between his own people and their wealthy employer, and between Davis and his childhood sweetheart. Dorothy Jordan, Berton Churchill also star. 79 min.
Bureau Of Missing Persons(1933) VHS
Gritty, often humorous thriller with gruff cop Pat O'Brien looking for a change of pace with a transfer to the force's missing persons department, but finding a strict superior (Lewis Stone) and a mysterious woman (Bette Davis) searching for her lost husband. With Glenda Farrell, Allen Jenkins. 73 min.
Ex-Lady(1933) VHS
Advertising copywriter Gene Raymond wants to marry modern-minded woman Bette Davis, who doesn't believe in matrimony and suggests that they live together instead. They do, starting their own ad agency as well, but business problems and jealousy eventually get in the way of the liberated relationship. Frank McHugh and Monroe Owsley co-star. 67 min.
Of Human Bondage(1934) VHS
Somerset Maugham's classic story of the ill-fated romance between a wealthy doctor (Leslie Howard) and a vulgar lower-class waitress (Bette Davis). Kay Johnson, Reginald Denny co-star. 83 min.
Fashions Of 1934(1934) VHS
Con artist William Powell and dress designer Bette Davis cavort around the Parisian world of fashion. Busby Berkeley's classic "Spin a Little Web of Dreams" production number is a standout; songs include "Broken Melody." Reginald Owen, Frank McHugh co-star. 78 min.
Dangerous(1935) VHS
Bette Davis garnered her first Academy Award for her portrayal of a faded stage actress-turned-alcoholic who manipulates the architect who takes her in for her own purposes. Tear-jerking drama co-stars Franchot Tone, Margaret Lindsay, John Eldredge. 78 min.
The Petrified Forest(1936) VHS
Classic gangster drama that made Humphrey Bogart a star. Based on Robert Sherwood's play about fugitive mobsters holding the residents of an isolated Arizona cafe hostage, the film also stars Bette Davis as a dreamy waitress and Leslie Howard as a bored drifter. 83 min.
Satan Met A Lady(1936) VHS
The second film adaptation of ``The Maltese Falcon'' (Bogart's was still five years away) features Bette Davis as the woman of mystery who draws detective Warren William into a deadly search for a fabulous jeweled ram's horn. Alison Skipworth plays the sinister ``Fat Woman''(!); with Arthur Treacher. 75 min.
Marked Woman(1937) VHS
When call girl Bette Davis threatens to testify in court against the city's gang boss, her sister is murdered and her own face slashed. Gritty Warner Bros. crime drama, based in part on the trial of Lucky Luciano, also stars Humphrey Bogart as a crusading D.A. With Eduardo Ciannelli, Jane Bryan, Mayo Methot (the third Mrs. Bogart). 97 min.
Kid Galahad(1937) VHS
Top-notch boxing effort has honest promoter Edward G. Robinson getting duped by crooked rival Humphrey Bogart. He sees a chance to return to the top with a feisty young bellhop who turns out to be unbeatable in the ring, but Robinson worries when his protege attracts the eye of his girlfriend (Bette Davis). Wayne Morris, Jane Bryan co-star; Michael Curtiz directs. AKA: "Battling Bellhop." 94 min.
Jezebel(1938) VHS
Bette Davis may have been looked over for the role of Scarlett in "Gone With the Wind," but she won her second Oscar for this drama of a manipulative Southern belle who strings along fiance Henry Fonda. The cast includes George Brent and Best Supporting Actress winner Fay Bainter. 103 min.
The Sisters(1938) VHS
Set during a four-year period at the turn of the century, this compelling drama focuses on the joys and hardships of the lives of three sisters in a small Montana town. Expertly chronicled are the romances, marriages and relationships encountered by the trio (Bette Davis, Anita Louise and Jane Bryan). With Errol Flynn, Beulah Bondi and Alan Hale. 98 min.
That Certain Woman(1938) VHS
A soap opera favorite starring Bette Davis as the widow of a gangster who tries to turn her life around by taking a job as secretary for an attorney. His playboy son (Henry Fonda) falls in love with her and, against his father's wishes, they get married. But a child, class, cash and a car crash play parts in the ensuing tragic events. Ian Hunter, Anita Louise and Donald Crisp also star. 96 min.
The Old Maid(1939) VHS
Classic Civil War tearjerker that gained fame for its stars' on-screen and off-screen rivalries. Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins are cousins in love with George Brent. Davis has Brent's daughter, but when he's killed she must raise the child as a charge in her orphanage, and can say nothing when Hopkins adopts her. Co-stars Jane Bryan, Jerome Cowan. 95 min.
Dark Victory(1939) VHS
The height of Hollywood soap opera with Bette Davis discovering she has a brain tumor, and George Brent as her surgeon, who falls in love with her. Co-stars Humphrey Bogart, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ronald Reagan. 106 min.
Juarez(1939) VHS
Another magnificent portrayal by Paul Muni, this time as Mexican leader Benito Juarez, who valiantly fought for his country's freedom from Spain during the 1860s. Bette Davis, Brian Aherne, John Garfield and Claude Rains add stellar supporting turns; William Dieterle directs. 123 min.
All This, And Heaven Too(1940) VHS
Lush romantic melodrama set in 19th-century France, with Charles Boyer and Bette Davis as the forbidden lovers whose affair leads to murder and scandal. Also stars Barbara O'Neil, Walter Hampden. 143 min.
The Letter(1940) VHS
A classic suspense film directed by William Wyler, this drama stars Bette Davis as a woman accused of murder. She says it was self-defense, but will a mystery letter save her or condemn her? Herbert Marshall and Gale Sondergaard also star in this taut thriller, based on a story by Somerset Maugham. 95 min.
The Great Lie(1941) VHS
The romantic triangle between pilot George Brent, socialite Bette Davis and pianist Mary Astor takes a tragic turn when he is lost on a mission in South America, leaving Davis and a pregnant Astor behind. Classic ``three-hankie'' tale of love and devotion earned Astor an Academy Award; with Grant Mitchell, Hattie McDaniel. 107 min.
The Bride Came C.O.D.(1941) VHS
The unusual comedy pairing of James Cagney and Bette Davis makes for lively romantic sparks. Cagney is the pilot hired by tycoon Eugene Pallette to bring wayward daughter Davis home, but complications mount when they're forced to land in a desert ghost town. Jack Carson, Stuart Erwin co-star. 90 min.
The Little Foxes(1941) VHS
Bette Davis is unforgettable in this filming of Lillian Hellman's caustic drama, as the matriarch of a down-and-out Southern family drives her loved ones unmercifully in her quest for wealth and status. Herbert Marshall, Teresa Wright co-star; William Wyler directs. 116 min.
Now, Voyager(1942) VHS
One of the all-time-great melodramas, with spinster Bette Davis finding support from psychiatrist Claude Rains and romance with sophisticated Paul Henreid. Features a lush Max Steiner score, classic dialogue ("Why ask for the moon when we have the stars?"), and tips on multiple cigarette lighting. 117 min.
In This Our Life(1942) VHS
Scheming sibling Bette Davis plots to steal sister Olivia de Havilland's fiance not once but twice in this grand soap opera-style drama from director John Huston. The cast includes George Brent, Charles Coburn, Dennis Morgan, Hattie McDaniel; look for Humphrey Bogart and the cast of "The Maltese Falcon" as customers in a bar scene. 97 min.
The Man Who Came To Dinner(1942) VHS
Wonderful film adaptation of the Kaufman/Hart stage comedy stars Monty Woolley as acerbic New York critic Sheridan Whiteside, who manages to take over the small town household where he's convalescing after an accident. Bette Davis co-stars as Woolley's long-suffering secretary; with Richard Travis, Ann Sheridan, Billie Burke, Jimmy Durante. 112 min.
Thank Your Lucky Stars(1943) VHS
Warner Bros.' contribution to the war effort was this songfest featuring their star players performing numerous hits. The plot revolves around the mishaps of Eddie Cantor and a look-alike cab driver. Stars include Humphrey Bogart, Joan Leslie, Olivia de Havilland, John Garfield, Bette Davis singing "They're Either Too Young or Too Old" and Errol Flynn singing "That's What You Jolly Well Get." 127 min.
Watch On The Rhine(1943) VHS
Paul Lukas won an Academy Award for his portrayal of a German underground leader chased by the Nazis from his homeland to America. Bette Davis co-stars as his wife in the riveting drama, adapted from Lillian Hellman's play by Dashiell Hammett. 114 min.
Mr. Skeffington(1944) VHS
Grand romantic drama stars Bette Davis as a scheming New York socialite who marries banker Claude Rains in order to save her thieving brother. It is a loveless marriage that ends soon after their daughter's birth, but years later tragedy brings them together. Also stars Marjorie Riordan, Richard Waring. 147 min.
Hollywood Canteen(1944) VHS
Star-studded follow-up to "Stage Door Canteen," filled with Hollywood favorites, patriotic spirit and classic songs. The plot involves soldiers Dane Clark and Robert Hutton catching entertainment at the famed Canteen before being shipped to New Guinea, and Hutton meeting dream girl Joan Leslie. With the Andrews Sisters, Jack Benny, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Eddie Cantor and many more. 124 min.
The Corn Is Green(1945) VHS
Moving drama set in a 1900s Welsh mining town, with Bette Davis as a recently arrived teacher who meets opposition when she tries to establish a school for the locals. John Dall is Davis' prize pupil, and Nigel Bruce is an antagonistic landowner. With Joan Lorring, Mildred Dunnock; based on Emlyn Williams' play. 114 min.
Deception(1946) VHS
First-class melodrama starring Bette Davis as a music teacher and kept woman of famous composer Claude Rains who falls in love with cello virtuoso Paul Henreid. When the jealous Rains learns of their involvement, he plans to ridicule Henreid before and during a big concert with his own orchestra. Bad plan, Claude. 112 min.
A Stolen Life(1946) VHS
Bette Davis co-stars with Bette Davis in this classic drama of twin sisters (one virtuous, the other deceitful) in love with the same man, and how a tragic accident leads to a desperate impersonation. With Glenn Ford, Dane Clark, Walter Brennan. 107 min.
June Bride(1948) VHS
A stylish farce starring Bette Davis as an editor on a leading woman's magazine who finds that her former fiancee, chauvinistic foreign correspondent Robert Montgomery, is now her new assistant. The pair are assigned to cover a "typical" wedding in Indiana, but once there, nothing turns out the way it was planned. With Fay Bainter, Betty Lynn. 97 min.
Winter Meeting(1948) VHS
This teary drama finds Bette Davis playing a lonely spinster and aspiring poetess who falls for a World War II naval hero at a party. Romance follows, but so does his calling to the priesthood and her emotional reunion with her bed-ridden mother. James Davis, Janis Paige and John Hoyt also star. 104 min.
Beyond The Forest(1949) VHS
Gripping melodrama of a small-town doctor's bored wife (Bette Davis) and her attentions towards a handsome neighbor also features fine supporting turns by Joseph Cotten, David Brian and Ruth Roman, the direction of King Vidor, and Davis' oft-imitated line, "What a dump!" 95 min.
All About Eve(1950) VHS
The 1950 Oscar for Best Picture went to Joseph L. Mankiewicz' sardonic look at show business glamour and the empty lives behind it. Bette Davis is veteran actress Margo Channing; Anne Baxter is Eve, her understudy desperate for stardom. With Hugh Marlowe, George Sanders, Thelma Ritter and a brief appearance by a young Marilyn Monroe. 138 min.
Another Man's Poison(1951) VHS
Mystery writer Bette Davis' quiet life on the Yorkshire moors--that is, if you ignore her plan to steal her secretary's fiance away--is interrupted by the arrival of her escaped convict husband. After killing him during a struggle, Davis must cope with blackmail by her spouse's fellow escapee (Gary Merrill) in this convoluted crime melodrama. With Emlyn Williams, Anthony Steel. 90 min.
Phone Call From A Stranger(1952) VHS
A sensitive human drama, told in episodic fashion. Four strangers on a transcontinental flight share their life stories. After the plane crashes, the sole survivor takes it upon himself to break the news to the victims' families. Gary Merrill, Shelley Winters, Michael Rennie, Keenan Wynn and Bette Davis star. 96 min.
The Star(1952) VHS
Penetrating study of Hollywood starring Bette Davis as an aging actress who has problems with work, booze, family and money, years after she won an Academy Award. After attempting to make a career comeback, she considers settling down with an admiring former actor (Sterling Hayden). Natalie Wood, Warner Anderson co-star. 91 min.
The Virgin Queen(1955) VHS
Returning to the role she played two decades earlier, Bette Davis stars as England's Elizabeth I. Richard Todd is roguish Sir Walter Raleigh, who uses the aging monarch's interest in him for his own gains, and Joan Collins is the lady-in-waiting who comes between them. Lavish costume drama also stars Herbert Marshall, Dan O'Herlihy. 92 min.
The Catered Affair(1956) VHS
Paddy Chayefsky's TV play was adapted by Gore Vidal for this big-screen drama. Bette Davis stars as the working-class Bronx housewife whose dreams of a grandiose wedding for daughter Debbie Reynolds begin to outgrow what cabbie husband Ernest Borgnine can afford. Understated tale also stars Rod Taylor, Barry Fitzgerald. 92 min.
John Paul Jones(1959) VHS
Robert Stack plays the famous American naval hero in this exciting historical epic which follows Jones' struggles commanding a small fleet of ships during the Revolutionary War, his adventures helping Russia after the war, and his final years living in France. Marisa Pavan, Charles Coburn and Macdonald Carey also star; Bette Davis has a cameo appearance as Catherine the Great; look for a young Mia Farrow as an extra. 126 min.
Pocketful Of Miracles(1961) VHS
Frank Capra's final film is a hilarious translation of a Damon Runyon tale set in 1930s New York, as gangster Glenn Ford repays street peddler Bette Davis for her "good luck" apples by passing her off as a well-to-do society lady for her visiting daughter (Ann-Margret in her film debut). Remake of Capra's 1933 "Lady for a Day" co-stars Peter Falk and Hope Lange. 136 min.
What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?(1962) VHS
Gothic psychological chiller from director Robert Aldrich stars Bette Davis as a former child star driven by jealousy and dementia to unmercifully torment sister Joan Crawford, a one-time respected actress who's now confined to a wheelchair, in their dilapidated West Hollywood mansion. Co-stars Victor Buono. 134 min.
Where Love Has Gone(1964) VHS
After the teenage daughter (Joey Heatherton) of a party girl/sculptor (Susan Hayward) is accused of killing her mother's newest boyfriend, the stage is set for a superior soap opera, adapted from the novel by Harold Robbins. Mike Connors is Heatherton's father, who seeks custody of his daughter; Bette Davis is the grandmother with a secret agenda. With DeForest Kelley. 114 min.
Dead Ringer(1964) VHS
In this psychological thriller, Bette Davis plays twin sisters involved in a complex web of deceit, suspense and blackmail. The story concerns one sister's love for her now-deceased brother-in-law and what occurs after she discovers the truth behind his death. Karl Malden, Peter Lawford and Philip Carey co-star; directed by Paul Henreid. 115 min.
Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte(1965) VHS
Director Robert Aldrich ("What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?") revisited the genre of macabre horror with this all-star suspense shocker about a family with several skeletons in its closet...and other parts of the house, too. Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Joseph Cotten, Victor Buono and Mary Astor star. 133 min.
The Nanny(1965) VHS
The creepy childminder played by Bette Davis in this suspenseful tale is a long way from Mary Poppins and Fran Fine, and her young charge is certain she was responsible for his sister's drowning, for which he was blamed, years earlier. Is the boy telling the truth, and will anyone believe him before Davis puts him to rest...for good? With William Dix, Pamela Franklin. 95 min.
The Anniversary(1968) VHS
Bitterly funny black comedy stars Bette Davis as an eyepatch-wearing widow who uses a dinner marking her wedding anniversary as a chance to tighten her control on her three grown sons' lives, despite their attempts to loosen her domineering grip. Jack Hedley, James Cossins, Christian Roberts also star. 95 min.
Burnt Offerings(1976) VHS
Dan Curtis ("Dark Shadows") directed this spooky horror yarn about a mysterious house where inexplicable, horrific deaths occur. Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Bette Davis and Burgess Meredith star. 115 min.
The Dark Secret Of Harvest Home(1978) VHS
A New York family moves to an isolated New England farming village where modern technology is shunned and the community is run by occult practitioners. Moody, chilling horror tale based on Tom Tryon's novel stars Bette Davis, Joanna Miles, David Ackroyd, Rosanna Arquette; Donald Pleasence narrates. 118 min.
The Watcher In The Woods(1980) VHS
An American family rents an English manor house that is haunted by the spirit of a young girl, and only the family's two children and an elderly woman can solve the unearthly reason for her presence. Scares, Disney-style, with Bette Davis, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Carroll Baker, Kyle Richards. 83 min.
Family Reunion(1981) VHS
Superb drama stars Bette Davis as a feisty New England teacher who sets out to see America by bus after retiring following 50 years of service. Soon, however, she discovers that her town is the target for greedy shopping mall developers, and she plans to do something to stop them. With J. Ashley Hyman (Bette's grandson), David Huddleston. 195 min.
A Piano For Mrs. Cimino(1982) VHS
Bette Davis stars as a 72-year-old widow declared mentally incompetent by her children and doctor who, with the help of her granddaughter and a young lawyer, fights to retain control of her life. Timely, moving drama also stars Keenan Wynn, Penny Fuller, Christopher Guest. 92 min.
Murder With Mirrors(1985) VHS
Helen Hayes shines as Agatha Christie's indomitable amateur detective, Miss Jane Marple, as she comes to the aid of an old friend (Bette Davis) who thinks someone is trying to kill her for her ancestral estate. Leo McKern, John Mills co-star. 96 min.
Wicked Stepmother(1989) VHS
A bewitching black comedy, famous for the off-screen feud between director Larry Cohen and star Bette Davis (who walked before the film's completion). Davis and Barbara Carrera are a sinister mother-daughter duo who use black magic to lure men into their clutches. With Colleen Camp, Tom Bosley, David Rasche, Richard Moll. 90 min.