TCM Movie Review: Catching Up on Bette Davis and More

I re-watched parts of The Girl from 10th Avenue; I saw most of it on Bette Davis day. Bette is Miriam Brady who meets society lawyer Geoffrey Sherwood outside a church where his ex is getting married. Geoffrey is drunk and broken-hearted. Miriam tries to get him away before he creates a scene and gets arrested. After a night of drinking champagne, the two get married.

Miriam offers to sign off on an annulment, but the two remain married. Geoff sobers up, and Miriam tries to improve herself with the help of their landlady, Mrs. Martin (Alison Skipworth.)

Trouble develops when Geoff's ex Valentine (Katharine Alexander) wants him back. My favorite scene has Miriam introducing herself to Valentine in a fancy restaurant where Valentine is hosting a luncheon. Miriam retains her cool even when Valentine throws a grapefruit at her.

Things look bad, but Geoff realizes he loves Miriam and all is well. The film is silly fluff, but kind of fun fluff at that.

On to Dangerous: Bette portrays Joyce Heath, a drunken actress known as a jinx. Franchot Tone is Don Bellows. He helps her when she passes out in a dive bar, later falls in love with her and finances her comeback play.

But Joyce has a secret that keeps Don and her from finding happiness and almost costs him his career. In the end, Joyce lets Don go, and sacrifices her happiness to "pay her debts."

Casting note: Alison Skipworth is in this film as Don's housekeeper. She also appeared in a third film with Bette, Satan Met A Lady. Satan Met A Lady is the worst of three versions of The Maltese Falcon with Alison in the Sydney Greenstreet role.

Bette won her first Oscar for Dangerous, although it's considered a holdover award: she should have won for Of Human Bondage the year before.

More from Hattie McDaniel: Yesterday I caught part of the movie Margie starring Jeanne Crain. It's a cute movie about a girl growing up in the roaring twenties. I had forgotten that Hattie McDaniel is in this film. Of course, she plays a maid; it's a small part but she has at least one funny line.