She will always be my favorite actress--the best American film actress. She brings something to every part--however minor--George Arliss said as much after he selected her to co-star in The Man Who Played God.
She fought for realism. When she played a woman suffering a breakdown in Bordertown, the studio thought the scene required the exaggerated silent screen version of insanity. She played it differently, offering to reshoot the scene if the audience didn't understand what was happening. Reshoots were not necessary.
In Marked Women, she asked a doctor to to bandage her as if a thug had sliced up her cheek in retaliation for talking to the cops. She knew the tiny band-aid the studio had applied just wouldn't work.
Bette Davis created memorable characters: Mildred in Of Human Bondage, Jule in Jezebel, Judith in Dark Victory, Leslie in The Letter, Margo in All About Eve, Jane in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? These are just a handful. She went all out even in lackluster films, raising them well above the scripted lines.
Happy Birthday Bette! Thank you for your art.
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