Bette Davis

Rating:
Summary: A better slant on a brilliant but bitter star...
Review: ...and what a star.

You can read the bio anywhere...born 1908 to hard-boiled New England family...could have been child of wealth but for divorced parents...coddled and championed at every turn by mother Ruthie, who had Hollywood dreams of her own...finally hit it big at Warner Brothers, where she spent 18 years arguing over contracts, scripts, directors and co-stars (thanks, Mother Ruthie, for making her believe that everything should go her way)...ended Warners 1949 and except for "All About Eve" and much later "Baby Jane", career steadily declined with lack-luster self-productions and horrid, intermittent screen appearences...finally another chance on TV, especially "Hotel", but lost again, this time to stroke...vicious book by adored daughter B.D.,...at the end, the brilliant and acclaimed "Whales of August" with Lillian Gish...cancer, more debilitations, distant daughter, paid companions (notably Kathyrn Sermak---read "This 'n That" by Michael Herskowitz for that story)...strong-willed and determined to the end not to exhibit weakness...death 1989 at 81.

What for me made this book different was the detailed but not over-bearing descriptions of each of her film experiences and how they both mirrored her life at the time and provided fodder for her future actions---whether in present or past tense, she always seemed to be playing out one of her screen performances.

Two backdrops also made for enjoyable reading...
...her mother Ruthie's insatiable push to make Bette a star--and, vicariously through her daughter, herself as well--and Ruthie's constant meddling in all (but one--thank you William Grant Sherry, B.D.'s father) of her daughter's marriages, and as many of Bette's personal and professional affairs as she could wiggle herself into
...Bette learning from her mother how to cruelly dominate, first her own sister Barbara and then everyone else who happened to cross her path as well, then unsuccessfully attempting to do the same to B.D. (and despite "Mother's Keeper", she adored her B.D. to the very end)

There are so many iterations on a life--Bette is no exception-- that one can read. What makes the difference is presentation of the material in both an informative and enjoyable format. This book held my attention from the very start.

Rating:
Summary: Not The Best About Bette
Review: As far as I'm concerned this is a horrible book on Bette Davis. I found this to be nothing more than a diatribe against a talented and extremly gifted actress (possibly the best screen actress of the 20th century). Ms. Leaming has no compassion for her subject nor any understanding of the complexities, passions, pressures and drives of Ms. Davis.

Bette Davis was a consumate professional, an actress who strove for excellence in both her working life and her personal life, she deeply cared for her family even though there were times when she wanted to scream (family members can do that to you, it doesn't mean that you do not love or care for those around you).

Ms. Davis was bascially an honest person who was truthful not only about those who touched her life but also about herself, telling on herself first and admitting wrongs. She also had a good sense of humor which was never touched on and that is too bad.

She was a human being period, she tried hard to be a good daughter, sister, wife, mother and actress. A woman who was torn by her love between family and career, a woman who left a wonderful legacy of screen acting

In the end, that is what truly matters, that she tried and I feel in more ways than one, succeeded.

My advice to anyone who wants to know all about Bette would be Donald Spoto's "More Than A Woman" or Lawrence Quirks "Fasten Your Seatbelts" the life of Bette Davis.

Rating:
Summary: Very boring and poorly written!
Review: I could barely finish this book,being a huge Bette Davis fan! I found it very boring! I kept turning the pages to try to get to an exciting part! the book was mostley based on documented material and not so much "the woman" than "the performer" I've started reading "Fasten Your Seatbelts" and it looks pretty good! try that instead don't waste your money on this! You'll be board to tears!!!

Rating:
Summary: thorough & original, but biased
Review: I have read all but two of the books Amazon lists about Bette Davis. This is one of the best. The writing is assurred but the writer herself has an agenda. Firstly, she frames Bette's most undisputed artistic achievements in terms of either personal failure (counterposed against coinciding personal events) or in terms of being short of what she might have achieved had she eschewed this mannerism or that feud. Uninformed readers would have no concept of how major a movie star Davis was or how hugely talented even her staunchest detractors acknowledged her to be. Additionally, this book was written with a lot of cooperation from Davis' discredited daughter, B.D. Hyman. It would appear that in exchange for unprecedented access to family archives & much direct information provided by B.D. herself, Leaming agreed to downplay the treachery & mistruths of Hyman's own account of her life with her mother. There are also some major factual & interpretive mistakes: that Davis fantasized the mysteries surrounding her second husband's death; that she made up the story of her first husband blackmailing her & Howard Hughes with a tape recording of her affair with the latter; that Davis' legendary battles with her bosses at Warner's were primarily about money & ego posturing & had little or nothing to do with artistic interests; that she was not a substantial source of income for daughter B.D. Hyman's family throughout Hyman's marriage; and that her father was neither cold nor distant towards his wife and daughters in the early stages of his marriage to Bette's mother. In fact, all of these assumptions have been disproven in other, equally thorough biographies, often using primary sources like previous sealed court, bank, and legal documents, as well as credible primary & secondary sources. The book is interesting but as a fan of Bette's abilities & also as someone who is sympathetic to the very real frailties & failures revealed in this and other biographies of her, I found the account to be biased towards a specific conclusion-- essentially that Bette supplemented the hollowness of her actual emotional & personal life by rewriting painful experiences to correspond with plots from her movies.

Rating:
Summary: thorough & original, but biased
Review: I have read all but two of the books Amazon lists about Bette Davis. This is one of the best. The writing is assurred but the writer herself has an agenda. Firstly, she frames Bette's most undisputed artistic achievements in terms of either personal failure (counterposed against coinciding personal events) or in terms of being short of what she might have achieved had she eschewed this mannerism or that feud. Uninformed readers would have no concept of how major a movie star Davis was or how hugely talented even her staunchest detractors acknowledged her to be. Additionally, this book was written with a lot of cooperation from Davis' discredited daughter, B.D. Hyman. It would appear that in exchange for unprecedented access to family archives & much direct information provided by B.D. herself, Leaming agreed to downplay the treachery & mistruths of Hyman's own account of her life with her mother. There are also some major factual & interpretive mistakes: that Davis fantasized the mysteries surrounding her second husband's death; that she made up the story of her first husband blackmailing her & Howard Hughes with a tape recording of her affair with the latter; that Davis' legendary battles with her bosses at Warner's were primarily about money & ego posturing & had little or nothing to do with artistic interests; that she was not a substantial source of income for daughter B.D. Hyman's family throughout Hyman's marriage; and that her father was neither cold nor distant towards his wife and daughters in the early stages of his marriage to Bette's mother. In fact, all of these assumptions have been disproven in other, equally thorough biographies, often using primary sources like previous sealed court, bank, and legal documents, as well as credible primary & secondary sources. The book is interesting but as a fan of Bette's abilities & also as someone who is sympathetic to the very real frailties & failures revealed in this and other biographies of her, I found the account to be biased towards a specific conclusion-- essentially that Bette supplemented the hollowness of her actual emotional & personal life by rewriting painful experiences to correspond with plots from her movies.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting to read but
Review: the vocabulary was complex and the sentences were too. I'm a recemt college graduate and I had trouble understanding so many of the damn words. I had to pick up the dictionary so many times.The books is interesting at times because it analyzes bette and shows more of the "real bette." But it is sort of biased and doesn't say the wonderful things she's done. But its interesting, very intersting. You will have trouble getting through some parts of the book and a little of its boring but the last half of the book is the most fun. I read the book backwards. The authors makes claims like "bette's father actually did care for her" because of evidence of what appeared to be in photos. This is probably BullS@#t how can you tell from that! The famous battles with warners was about money also. And why not she is entitled to a lot of money if these other stars are making it. I would have done the same thing. Bette Davis was a consummate actress. she had some sort of mental illness but she wasn't a child abuser like Joan crawford. enjoy bette watch her movies especially her later ones and have fun reading the biographies. She was a wicked, fun, and interesting lady. This biography is a must read for die hard fans who want to hear the other side of the story. Sort of like a my mothers keeper but more facts to back things up and quotes from friends and directors that make it a must have! Just get your dictionary ready and a smart friend to interperet some of the sentences! tell me what you think about the book
[e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: An absorbing biographical case study of a complex woman
Review: Theater and film professor Barbara Leaming presents Bette Davis, the informative biography of one of the most well-known actresses of the twentieth century. Leaming draws upon Bette Davis' private diaries, scrapbooks, unpublished letters, and the testimonies of friends, lovers, fellow actors, family members, as well as others who knew this truly great and complex lady. Covering both the highs and lows of her life, including her troubled marriages, and her legal battles with Warner Bros., Bette Davis is an absorbing biographical case study of a complex woman and her enduring contributions to classic American cinema.

Rating:
Summary: Futile
Review: Whilst Barbara Leaming's biography can boast the virtue of originality, the book is skewed from the outset by its author's failure to come to grips with her subject. As both an artist and a person, Bette Davis repeatedly eludes the author's grasp. The result is eminently readable, but ultimately degenerates into a pointless ramble.

To believe Leaming, Bette Davis was a raging, deluded, egotistical drunk. Its hardly news that Davis was not universally loved by all who knew her - but her known acts of generosity and repose are significantly missing from this account. The rampaging monster who emerges is more akin to the BD Hyman diatribes than anything vaguely human or creative. And since Hyman's account, upon which Leaming bases much of her thesis, has been widely discredited, the book suffers a major credibility crisis.

On a professional level things are no better. Leaming rails against Davis for squandering her talents on 'junk' scripts and flashy, showy acting. She fails to recognise that the same charge can be raised against every great actor. How many really great movies did Garbo make? Even at her most mannered Davis was a force to be reckoned with. In her efforts to avoid falling under the Davis spell, Leaming has gone too far afield, dismissing fine performances such as The Catered Affair with only passing mention. Leaming implies that only the three films that Davis made with Wyler merit serious attention - a ludicrous assumption given the quality of Davis work in scores of films. (Not to mention that there is flashy, mannered acting galore in Jezebel!)

For a far more balanced account, try James Spada's "More Than a Woman." Barbara Leaming's book is a fine Devil's Advocate, but it gives the impression of being wholly defeated by its subject.