Bette Davis

  • John Cromwell – Of Human Bondage (1934)

    John Cromwell1931-1940ClassicsDramaUSA
    Of Human Bondage (1934)
    Of Human Bondage (1934)

    Bette Davis rose from the ranks of Warner Bros. contract players to become a screen superstar when she was loaned out to RKO to appear in John Cromwell’s adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham’s Of Human Bondage.

    Leslie Howard (Gone With the Wind) stars as Philip, a British medical student who becomes infatuated with a most unlikely woman: a vulgar waitress named Mildred (Davis). Undeterred by Mildred’s obvious contempt of him (and her disgust for his disabled foot), Philip lavishes his affection upon the tawdry woman, and allows his personal and professional life to disintegrate as a consequence of her sadistic whims.Read More »

  • Joseph L. Mankiewicz – All About Eve (1950)

    Joseph L. Mankiewicz1941-1950DramaQueer Cinema(s)USA
    All About Eve (1950)
    All About Eve (1950)

    Quote:
    “All About Eve” is a literate, adult film of the calibre that will do big league, big town business. In addition it has all the elements for the general runs.

    The whyfore of the producer’s insistence for “scheduled performances” becomes obvious as the story unfolds from its banquet scene that honors a new Broadway legit great and the flashbacks which deal with the brittle, hard-bitten and frequently bitter saga that tells us “All About Eve.”

    Anne Baxter, in the title role, is the radiant newcomer who has attained the thespic heights. And as she mounts the podium to receive the supreme accolade, the intimates who figured in her breathless success story project their own vignettes on what made this hammy glammy run.Read More »

  • Frank Capra – Pocketful of Miracles (1961)

    1961-1970ComedyDramaFrank CapraUSA

    A 1961 American comedy film starring Bette Davis and Glenn Ford, and directed by Frank Capra. The screenplay by Hal Kanter and Harry Tugend is based on the screenplay Lady for a Day by Robert Riskin, which was adapted from the Damon Runyon short story “Madame La Gimp”.
    The film proved to be the final project for both Capra and veteran actor Thomas Mitchell but also featured the film debut of Ann-Margret.
    Supporting player Peter Falk was nominated for an Academy Award but George Chakiris won that year for West Side Story. Capra said that Falk’s performance was a bright spot in this “miserable film.”
    The 1989 film Miracles starring Jackie Chan and Anita Mui is based on Pocketful of Miracles.Read More »

  • Seth Holt – The Nanny (1965)

    1961-1970Hammer FilmsMysterySeth HoltThrillerUnited Kingdom

    Synopsis:
    Bette Davis is an English nanny whose charge is a rude 10-year-old Joey, just discharged from a disturbed children’s home where he’d spent two years undergoing treatment for drowning his little sister in the bath. He returns to an unloving father, fragile mother, and doting nanny — whom he hates. Suspicion arises again when his mother is poisoned, and Joey continues to insist Nanny is responsible. Joey contends the nanny was responsible for his little sister’s death, and only the upstairs neighbour girl believes him.Read More »

  • Gordon Hessler – Scream, Pretty Peggy (1973)

    1971-1980Gordon HesslerThrillerTVUSA

    A sculptor hires young college girls to take care of his elderly mother and his supposedly insane sister, both of whom live in the old family mansion with him.Read More »

  • Archie Mayo – It’s Love I’m After (1937)

    Archie Mayo1931-1940ComedyDramaUSA

    An actor of the stage finds himself pursued by a lovestruck fan while trying to patch up a tempestuous relationship with his actress lover.Read More »

  • Franklin Gollings – Connecting Rooms (1970)

    Drama1961-1970Franklin GollingsUnited Kingdom

    Quote:
    Connecting Rooms is a 1970 British drama film written and directed by Franklin Gollings. The screenplay is based on the play The Cellist by Marion Hart. The plot explores the relationships shared by the residents of a seedy boarding house owned by dour Mrs. Brent. Among them are busker Wanda Fleming, who is flattered by the attention paid her by rebellious pop songwriter wannabe Mickey Hollister, and former schoolmaster James Wallraven, who has been accused of pedophilia and reduced to working as a janitor in an art gallery.Read More »

  • Lindsay Anderson – The Whales of August (1987)

    1981-1990ArthouseDramaLindsay AndersonUnited Kingdom

    Quote:
    Summer people in Maine: things are changing. Whales no longer pass close to the shore as they did during the youth of two elderly widowed sisters who have a seaside home where they’ve summered for 50 years. Libby is blind, contrary, and seemingly getting ready to die. Sarah is attentive to her sister, worried about continuing to care for her, and half interested in an old Russian aristocrat who fishes from their shore. It’s the eve of Sarah’s 46th wedding anniversary. The Russian offers some fish he’s caught, Sarah invites him to dinner, and Libby gets her back up. Sarah wonders if it isn’t time to sell the place and find a home for Libby. What alternatives do old people have?Read More »

  • Edward Dmytryk – Where Love Has Gone (1964)

    Drama1961-1970Edward DmytrykRomanceUSA

    Synopsis:
    Contractor Luke Miller returns to the San Francisco home of his ex-wife, sculptress Valerie Hayden, after learning that their 15-year-old daughter, Dani, has been arrested for the murder of Valerie’s lover. His plane is met by lawyer Gordon Harris, who callously engineered Luke’s divorce and deprived him of the right to visit his daughter. Now, however, Harris asks Luke’s help in providing a favorable family setting for the juvenile court hearing but discourages any hopes of gaining Dani’s custody once the case is resolved. Luke’s return revives memories of his former life with Valerie and her domineering mother, Mrs. Gerald Hayden.Read More »

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