BEST BETTE DAVIS MOVIES
“Of Human Bondage” (1934) Davis plays cruel waitress Mildred, who coldly toys with an earnest admirer’s (Leslie Howard) emotions, in this adaptation of the W. Somerset Maugham classic.
“Dangerous” (1935) Davis earned her first Academy Award as an actress whose drinking problem leads to trouble for her and others.
“The Petrified Forest” (1936) Working again with Leslie Howard, with Humphrey Bogart added, Davis stars in the Robert E. Sherwood play about crossed paths at a diner. “Satan Met a Lady” (1936) This variation on “the Maltese Falcon” casts Davis as the femme fatale who tries to sway a private eye (Warren William) her way. “Jezebel” (1938) Sort of a pre-“Gone With the Wind,” this Davis staple saw her score her second Oscar as a willful Southern belle trying to win back her ex-fiance (Henry Fonda). “Dark Victory” (1939) In one of Davis’ most popular movies, she stars as a socialite who develops
a brain tumor, then falls in love with the doctor (George Brent) who operates on her. “The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex”
(1939) Davis and Errol Flynn have the title roles in the tempestuous royal love story.
“The Letter” (1940) Another W. Somerset Maugham work was the source of Davis’ turn as a murder suspect whose claim of self-defense might unravel because of a certain letter.
“The Little Foxes” (1941) Lillian Hellman’s play centers on a wealthy Southern family – with Davis playing one member – beset by problems while also causing them for others. “The Corn Is Green” (1945) A schoolteacher (Davis) becomes the patron of a promising student (John Dall) in the screen version of Emlyn Williams’ play. “A Stolen Life” (1946) Davis plays twin sisters, one of whom “steals” the other’s identity – and husband (Glenn Ford) – after a drowning. “All About Eve” (1950) “It’s going to be a bumpy night,” indeed. The classic backstage drama stars Davis as a veteran stage star targeted by an ambitious admirer (Anne Baxter). “The Catered Affair” (1956) In Gore Vidal’s adaptation of Paddy Chayefsky’s play, Davis is among the family members enmeshed in a young couple’s (Debbie Reynolds, Rod Taylor) wedding plans. “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” (1962) Davis’ later career got a big jolt from this legendary chiller, pairing her with Joan Crawford as former-actress siblings engaged in psychological terror. “Death on the Nile” (1978) Agatha Christie’s puzzler places Davis among the suspects during a cruise on which Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) probes an heiress’ murder. “The Watcher in the Woods” (1980) Davis met Disney in this melodrama about an American family experiencing strange phenomena upon moving into an English estate.