{"id":137111,"date":"2026-04-05T08:30:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T12:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=137111"},"modified":"2026-04-04T15:49:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T19:49:39","slug":"there-wont-be-another-bette-davis-there-cant-be-mitchell-and-i-discuss-bette-davis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=137111","title":{"rendered":"“There won’t be another Bette Davis. There can’t be.” Mitchell and I discuss Bette Davis"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nFrom the audio files: Mitchell and I discuss one of our favorite topics: acting, and how the “old” style of acting – let’s call it before what’s loosely known as the Method- is not only under-appreciated in certain circles (most dishearteningly, in ACTOR circles, where it should be celebrated) but – worse – dismissed, as “phony” or “over the top” or “weird.” Someone like Bette Davis, whose mannerisms are so distinct, whose lines are parroted parody-like across the land … is seen as somehow LESS real than other more “modern” actresses. Or that her gestures are somehow “funny” or “campy” – as opposed to CONNECTED to her deep understanding of the characters she played. I don’t have to fight this so much in “cinephile” circles, but I definitely had these fights with other actors sometimes. (Pity the poor dumbbell who made the mistake of saying to me in an acting class that “Spencer Tracy was okay, he just played himself all the time, though.” I thought to myself, “You WISH you could be HALF as real as Spencer Tracy was EVER in ANY moment of ANY scene you EVER attempt.” I didn’t say that to his face. I just gave him a lecture on the history of acting, and also reminded him that Marlon Brando said the only actor he ever “studied” was Spencer Tracy. There is such a thing as a WRONG opinion.<\/p>\n

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\nMF: <\/strong><\/big> Barbra and Bette are weirdos<\/em>. So, I’m sorry that every moment every actor has has to feel like your<\/em> version of reality – you, being the viewer. But with Barbra and Bette Davis, specifically – they’re so weird, they have weird facial tics, they have weird gestures, but all of it is real to them<\/em>. I’ll give you a perfect example: Barbra swallowing aspirin in The Way We Were<\/em>. People are like, “It’s so phony, the way she does that.” How about – that’s just how she swallows aspirin? Stop making everyone having to be like you.<\/em> These actors are being truthful on a theatrical level. That’s why I call them weirdo actors. Bette Davis was a weirdo. [perfect Bette imitation<\/em>] “With aaallllll my heart, I still love the man I killt<\/em>!” It’s such a weird line reading but it is real to HER. Stop trying to make it real to YOU and see that it’s real for HER. It’s also why it’s impossible to take your eyes off Bette Davis. <\/p>\n

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\nBette Davis in “The Letter”<\/i><\/p>\n

SOM: <\/strong><\/big> The Letter. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

MF: <\/strong><\/big> I mean, can we talk about her fucking hand in The Letter.<\/em><\/p>\n

SOM: <\/strong><\/big> I’m obsessed with her hand in The Letter<\/i>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

MF: <\/strong><\/big> Watch that movie, and watch her hand, the one that shot the gun. In every scene, track that hand. Because I’m telling you, BETTE tracked that hand. Through the whole movie, she tracked that hand. This is next-level acting shit that nobody even talks about. I’ve never even read an article about The Letter<\/em> where they talk about it, but it’s so clear she’s doing it. The tension in the hand that shot the gun … it’s there in every scene, she keeps it going in every single moment in every single scene. <\/p>\n

SOM: <\/strong><\/big> And then of course there’s the back-ting she does in The Letter.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

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\nBette Davis in “The Letter”<\/i><\/p>\n

MF: <\/strong><\/big> Bette Davis was the best back-tress in the business.<\/p>\n

SOM: <\/strong><\/big> The whole movie is her back!<\/strong><\/p>\n

MF: <\/strong><\/big> Nobody does it better. Or Barbra – the way she holds her mouth, her gestures, certain words: “Hubbell – people aaaare<\/em> their principulllls!” Like, if you were to tell somebody you were going to do the line the way she does it, people might say, “Uhm … you sure about that?” But it’s totally real for her. <\/p>\n

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SOM: <\/strong><\/big> And then you can’t imagine it any other way. <\/strong><\/p>\n

MF: <\/strong><\/big> And also let’s remember this, it’s shit like that that becomes iconic. You can imitate them, sure, but you won’t even come close. Immortality means: there’s nobody else like you. There won’t be another Bette Davis. There can’t be. She came out of a time and place – Massachusetts – and an era of women’s pictures – there can’t be an equivalent. She already did it<\/em>. She already<\/em> opened a door – and she didn’t close it behind her – but you can’t go back through the door. You’ve gotta open another door. And speaking of opening doors, can we talk for a second about Bette in Of Human Bondage<\/em>. That character … What a HORRIBLE woman. She was a rising star at that point and she plays THAT absolutely wretched character?<\/p>\n

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SOM: <\/strong><\/big> She was so fearless that way.<\/strong><\/p>\n

MF: <\/strong><\/big> It’s insane!! Even watching it now, I still cannot believe she had the balls to do it. I cannot believe she chose to play that part and I cannot believe she played it as fearlessly as she played it. Who in recent memory has given a performance that truly ugly? I can’t think of anyone!<\/p>\n

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SOM: <\/strong><\/big> And you can’t compare that character to, say, femme fatales, who at least get to be sexy, even though they are evil. <\/strong><\/p>\n

MF: <\/strong><\/big> Every actress worth their salt has to play some version of the evil queen. Anjelica Huston, Michelle Pfeiffer, Angelina Jolie – but to be truly AWFUL like that woman? “I wipe my MOUTH” … So ugly. She was 26 years old! Just unbelievable.<\/p>\n

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SOM: <\/strong><\/big> Think about her in Three On a Match<\/em> – which is really a Joan Blondell and Ann Dvorak movie, and she’s the cute little blonde support staff tossing a beach ball around with the little kid on the beach. But Three On a Match<\/em> was only a year or so before Of Human Bondage<\/em>. Look at that leap she took. She had to take it and boy, she TOOK it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\nMF: <\/strong><\/big> To give a performance like she did in Of Human Bondage<\/em> – I still don’t think it’s fully appreciated what that meant to Hollywood at that time. Or – oh God, you know I go back and forth on this because I’m such a huge fan of hers I can never pick a favorite role – but Mr. Skeffington<\/em>. Talk about fearless, about exposing the vanity of her character and yet you have empathy for her because she’s so trapped in it. She’s trapped in it and goes insane from it. <\/p>\n

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\nMF: <\/strong><\/big> It’s like finding out my grandmother was depressed because she didn’t have a successful marriage. Meanwhile, my grandmother seemed like such a rock to us. She kept generations of people safe and fed and housed but she saw herself as a failure because of what was expected of women – and that’s what that movie was ultimately about. And then when you compare Mr. Skeffington<\/em> to Now Voyager, Dark Victory, Little Foxes<\/em>. I mean, that’s a definitive performance. Has anyone ever played that role better? But then look at how lovely and quiet she is in The Man Who Came to Dinner<\/em>. She’s so contemporary and subtle and she lets everybody else do the “acting”. It shows you that there were all sorts of people inside Bette Davis and she was just more fucking creative than everybody else. Why not be Fanny Skeffington? Why not be Regina? Or Mildred? Bette Davis plays these harridans but then she’s the sweet one in The Great Lie<\/em>, with Mary Astor.<\/p>\n

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\nSOM: <\/strong><\/big> And you buy it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

MF: <\/strong><\/big> You totally buy it. Mary Astor’s a bitch and she’s brilliant at it. “Can’t we do something about that lamp?” <\/p>\n

SOM: <\/strong><\/big> I love Mary Astor. <\/strong><\/p>\n

MF: <\/strong><\/big> She won the Oscar. <\/p>\n

SOM: <\/strong><\/big> How about Bette Davis in The Star<\/em>? So meta. Her character is trying to make a comeback, she’s ruined her marriage, her husband has custody, and so one night she gets wasted, grabs her Oscar statue, and drives around Beverly Hills, drunk and talking to her statue. And she MEANS it. It comes from such a raw place. Same with All About Eve<\/em>. She was able to play actresses dealing with aging in a way that is still somewhat definitive.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\nMF: <\/strong><\/big> And it’s still<\/em> a problem in Hollywood. She called it out and that bullshit is still with us. She also has that gorgeous speech – which is kind of anti-feminist but whatever – in the car in All About Eve<\/em>: “That’s one career all females have in common, whether we like it or not: being a woman. Unless there’s a man to come home to, you’re not really a woman.” It’s a little sexist but there’s honesty in it.<\/p>\n

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\nSOM: <\/strong><\/big> It’s truthful. <\/strong><\/p>\n

MF: <\/strong><\/big> Even the funny lines she makes desperately true. “Bill’s thirty-two. He looks thirty-two. He looked it five years ago, he’ll look it twenty years from now. I hate men.” Genius. Mankiewicz frames it to make it a little showpiece for her – but when she says those lines, Bette Davis is not fucking kidding. I just want people to get how connected<\/em> people like Bette Davis and Barbra Streisand are to their own weird choices. I want people to stop judging them for not being normal people with normal behavior. [suddenly screaming<\/em>] THEY’RE BARBRA STREISAND AND BETTE DAVIS, FOR GOD’S SAKE. They are both weird<\/i> women and they are both irreplaceable<\/em>. There is nobody like either of them on earth. They are fascinating to talk about but difficult to explain to people who don’t just immediately get that, who are like “They seem phony to me.” Phony to you<\/em>, but Bette Davis believed every goddamn word she said, and if you look at it that<\/em> way, then it’s the most real acting you’re ever gonna see. <\/p>\n

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From the audio files: Mitchell and I discuss one of our favorite topics: acting, and how the “old” style of acting – let’s call it before what’s loosely known as the Method- is not only under-appreciated in certain circles (most … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,4,39],"tags":[2695,532,269,600],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137111"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=137111"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":186294,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137111\/revisions\/186294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=137111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=137111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=137111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}