I want to discuss the extremely popular and well-respected actress Bette Davis. How and why she became a Hollywood Star with reference to the reading “Bette Davis: Actor/Star,(Martin Shingler and Christine Gledhill). Also the emergence of the star system during this studio era. This is where the actor had a connection/ relationship with the only studio, which in some cases became a win for the studio and a win for the actor. For Bette Davis that studio Warner Bros. The studio found a successful formula by building roles/films specifically for their contracted stars.
Around the mid-1930s Davis began to emerge as a talented actress which was a shift from previous female Hollywood stars who were promoted by their looks, glamor, and sex appeal. Publicity from commentators and critics supported that she had talent and uniqueness with that emphasis being on her great acting.
The studio provided a star vehicle that was running hot with Bette Davis it movies. With her persona well and truly established candid, offbeat eyes that conveyed a lot of emotion with just a glance. Playing roles of outcast misunderstood women the not so pretty roles.
During this period she starred in the movie “Dangerous” (1935). Davis portrayed the character ‘Joyce Heath’ for which she won an Oscar. This reinforced the credibility that she had become one of the greatest actors of all time and enhanced her star status. By the end of the decade, Bette Davis was both actor and star.
The studio knew the commercial value of movies starring Davis based solely on her acting.
The persona/personality was interrelated and somewhat interchangeable Bette Davis was able to keep her real self a mystery and that was directly connected to how talented an actor she was. She recreated this actual theme in her characters. She consistently portrayed believable characters that lied, sustained lying, and then had revelations within the story. The idea of a secret personality resonated with fans who had secrets but stayed within the lines of social norms. She somehow made ugly characters human.
Bette Davis “flipped the script” so to speak. Fans genuinely admired her work and got great satisfaction watching her movies. Generally, with other Hollywood stars, fans had a hunger for the person behind the performance.
Bette Davis was quoted as saying “my passions were all gathered together
like fingers that made a fist. Drive is considered aggression today. I knew it as purpose”. This quote fits with her lifelong public image as gritty, determined, and fiercely independent, and it is without a doubt her determination and work ethic was how she was able to
construct so many complex identities in her films. This left a lot of ambiguity about her real persona. People wondered how close or far away from those characters was she in real life?
Bette Davis was able to keep the mystery bout her alive and fans engaged throughout her career.