The movie Bette Davis was ashamed of making: “People will be horrified”
Bette Davis, the woman with eyes so beautiful there are songs written about them, is still regarded as one of the greatest actors to come out of Hollywood. Davis, who started out in dance and theatre, made her way into cinema through Bad Sister in 1931, subsequently shooting to fame and starring in the likes of All About Eve and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?. Of course, Davis also lived through two world wars, even contributing to the creation of the Hollywood Canteen for troops in 1942, offering food, dancing and entertainment.
Known for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters throughout her career, Davis enjoyed spanning the gamut of genres and styles but found most success in romantic dramas. Unheard of for women in the 20th Century, Davis’ raw, unbridled intensity kept her at the top of her profession for 50 years, but her career wasn’t without its bumps.
Of course, Davis’ lifelong feud with Joan Crawford loomed over most of her career, and in 1936, she was sued by Warner Bros for breaching her contract while overseas. But in 1988, just one year before she passed away, fresh controversy came across the 80-year-old’s desk. After one week of shooting Larry Cohen’s Wicked Stepmother, Davis left for dental work and never returned. Cohen stirred the public story that Davis remained unwell after her medical appointment, but Davis had other reasons.
In a past interview with the Los Angeles Times, Davis said: “I would be ashamed to have people think I sanctioned something like this”. In the run-up to Wicked Stepmother opening in 1989, Davis was anxious to distance herself from the film, even though audiences would see her starring in scenes during the first half-hour.
Davis viewed the first week’s footage before she left for New York, saying: “People will be horrified at the footage on me”. She continued: “I think that for the good of my future career, I honestly had no choice” but to go public with the story. She emphasised: “I was perfectly able, had the conditions been right, to return to the film. Perfectly able”.
The relentlessly feisty Davis continued to blame Cohen for her decision not to return and sharply criticised his directorial style, saying he refused to heed any of her advice. She explained: “I’ve always tried to be very, very honest with audiences. Whatever I did, I believed in myself. I was really very upset with these rushes. Many of the scenes that I wasn’t in had nothing to do with the script I had approved. Much of that week’s work had, well, to me, many vulgar moments”.
Sadly, Davis passed away just eight months after its release, making Wicked Stepmother her final film. It sees a mother/daughter pair of witches descend on a yuppie family’s home and cause havoc, but they share one body, so the other must live as a cat the rest of the time. Luckily, most remember the great Bette Davis for her prouder works earlier in her career, as well as her feisty character and an attitude that was truly ahead of her time.
