Yes, Bette Davis comes off as lively and fun loving and bluntly chatty in her interviews, but where is the Bette Davis not prepared to be the center of attention? On this episode of "This is Your Life" where she is busy discussing wardrobe with the producers of her upcoming TV movie "Madam Sin" (one of whom is Robert Wagner) and the legendary Edith Head. For some reason, they are seen on camera talking when Ralph Edwards makes his sudden appearance, and a polite, but startled Bette is initially reluctant, then suddenly funny, and suddenly aware as she realized that she has been set up by Edwards and possibly pal Wagner. She admonishes Edwards playfully as they make their way to the "This is Your Life!" studio, but it is obvious that secretly, she is thrilled that she has been made a subject of the popular show which has made a sudden return to TV after a lengthy hiatus. Voices of her past haunt her with recognition, some people whom she has not seen in decades, and one whom she has never even met. Even a popular mimic gets Bette to laugh, and it is obvious that she is having a very good time.
There's Bette Davis's sister, a film editor from her first movie where Davis felt she didn't look good (something the editor did not agree with which delights her), her own stand-in for 30 years who is exactly Bette's height, legendary director William Wyler whom Davis obviously adored, and co-stars Paul Henreid (repeating the two cigarette lighting scene from "Now Voyager"), Olivia de Havilland (flying in from Paris to see her four time co-star and truly enthralled to see her again), a portly but elegant Victor Buono (hysterically volunteering to sit elsewhere so Bette doesn't go flying across the room because of his weight) and Jay Robinson, telling a poignant story of how Davis went out of her way to get him work after he suffered from addiction issues. This was at the time when Davis was doing a lot of question and answer sessions (as other veteran stars were doing), and she knew how to handle an audience and overly inquisitive interviewers. It's obvious that Bette had a fun side to her, but she could also be scolding to an audience when she felt they were laughing at inappropriate times. (A "Tonight Show" appearance has Davis bluntly offended by the audience's laughing at her comments on working with Lillian Gish.) Davis obviously enjoyed the spotlight and knew that of all the stars who had worked in Hollywood during the golden age, she deserved all of the attention she got. The difference for me is how she commands the attention rather than demands it, and the unpredictable reactions she gives here make her all the more fascinating.
There's Bette Davis's sister, a film editor from her first movie where Davis felt she didn't look good (something the editor did not agree with which delights her), her own stand-in for 30 years who is exactly Bette's height, legendary director William Wyler whom Davis obviously adored, and co-stars Paul Henreid (repeating the two cigarette lighting scene from "Now Voyager"), Olivia de Havilland (flying in from Paris to see her four time co-star and truly enthralled to see her again), a portly but elegant Victor Buono (hysterically volunteering to sit elsewhere so Bette doesn't go flying across the room because of his weight) and Jay Robinson, telling a poignant story of how Davis went out of her way to get him work after he suffered from addiction issues. This was at the time when Davis was doing a lot of question and answer sessions (as other veteran stars were doing), and she knew how to handle an audience and overly inquisitive interviewers. It's obvious that Bette had a fun side to her, but she could also be scolding to an audience when she felt they were laughing at inappropriate times. (A "Tonight Show" appearance has Davis bluntly offended by the audience's laughing at her comments on working with Lillian Gish.) Davis obviously enjoyed the spotlight and knew that of all the stars who had worked in Hollywood during the golden age, she deserved all of the attention she got. The difference for me is how she commands the attention rather than demands it, and the unpredictable reactions she gives here make her all the more fascinating.
