The Bette Davis Collection, Vol. 3 DVD Review

Bette Davis is probably best known for her villainous roles in her later years of acting. Davis was one of those remarkably rare actresses who refused to conform to the “rule of 40”, which says that a woman is no longer able to keep a career past this age. The roles that are left are normally just small bits as mothers, but Davis went on to make movies with strong characters, and often she was better bad than good. The earlier years show a completely different Davis who was able to play a beautiful young protagonist and then just as easily switch to a villainous role. There is one role in this set that shows her ability for these roles, but the other five focus on Davis in the more melodramatic and romantic roles.

The Old Maid (1939) In this epic mother’s melodrama Davis plays Charlotte, a woman who becomes pregnant only to lose her Civil War soldier lover. As a result Charlotte allows her child to be raised by her close friend and relative (Miriam Hopkins) to raise her child so that her daughter is given more opportunities. As her child grows Charlotte stays near as an overbearing aunt, never knowing or appreciating what the woman has done for her or that her aunt is actually her mother. It is an effective soap opera that takes place over a great deal of time, showing Davis as a young woman and an old maid.

All This and Heaven Too (1940) Based on a best-selling Rachel Field novel that was based on true facts, Davis plays a young governess who travels to Paris to work in the home of Duc de Praslin. The story has just about everything from romance to suspense as the Duc and the young governess develop an obvious attraction, but they care more for the children and never act on it. At the same time the wicked Duchess isn’t satisfied with this fact, and having convinced herself that there is an affair she sets out to destroy the governess. Another weeper of a soap opera, but effectively done.

The Great Lie (1941) The lie is actually a bit frustrating, even though this soaper is certain to satisfy the patient view. Davis is Maggie Van Allen, the kinder women in a love triangle. She loses the man she loves to Sandra Kovac (Mary Astor), a successful concert pianist. The man they both compete for is played by George Brent, but he is presumed dead in an airline crash shortly after choosing and impregnating Sandra. Since Sandra no longer wants the child Maggie offers to take and raise it, happy to have a piece of her lover even if the other half is her nemesis.

In This Our Life (1942) Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland are sisters with men’s names in this melodrama that gives Bette a chance to be bad. Davis is Stanley Timberlake, a careless woman who uses people and drives recklessly fast. She steals her sister’s husband only to leave her boyfriend to fall in love with her abandoned sister. Unable to allow anyone happiness Stanley is a horrible train wreck throughout the film, and Davis is impossible to look away from and far too easy to hate. Watch on the Rhine (1943) Based on Lillian Hellman’s 1941 stage play and adapted by Dashiell Hammett, this is certainly the strongest script, filled with a remarkable vision that was created and performed on stage before the US entered World War II. There are many spectacular scenes discussing fascism and pleading Americans to wake up. Because the Production Code insisted that murderers were punished for their crimes there was a variation in the ending when it was transferred to film. The film follows a family lead by an anti-fascist (Paul Lukas) and his wife (Davis).

Deception (1946) Another love triangle fuels yet another melodrama. This time Davis is a pianist Christine Radcliffe who was separated from her lover during World War II. When the dust settles she doesn’t know where to find her lover, the great cellist Karel Novak (Paul Henreid), so she seeks shelter with a wealthy composer (Claude Rains). Once Karel stumbles into her life she is vague about her relationship with Rains and watches as the two of them battle for her attentions using manipulation and passive-aggressive behavior. Loads of fun.