Bette Davis was a two-time Academy Award winner. That’s because Davis would light up any scene she was in, regardless of the film. Here are the top 10 Bette Davis films you should watch!
Three on a Match (1932)
Three on a Match is the story of three school friends (Bette Davis, Ann Dvorak, and Joan Blondell) who meet up when they are adults. They light their cigarettes three on a match, which is a superstition that the last person who lights their cigarette will die first. The woman who is third on the match is the most successful, but she decides to go down a bad path. The other two try to save her, but it’s no use.
20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932)
20,000 Years in Sing Sing is about a man (Spencer Tracy) who is sentenced to prison for robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. His girlfriend (Bette Davis) tries to get him out but after he is granted a one-day leave, things go very wrong. What will be his fate?
Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)
Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte is the story of a woman (Bette Davis) with a dark secret who starts to lose her sanity after a long-lost relative (Olivia de Havilland) comes to stay with her. Is she going crazy, or are things not as they seem?
Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
Pocketful of Miracles is about a gangster (Glenn Ford) who buys apples from an apple peddler (Bette Davis). He believes the apples he buys bring him luck, so when she needs his help, he drops everything for her. The task at hand? She needs to fool her daughter into thinking she is a society lady.
The Catered Affair (1956)
The Catered Affair is about a woman (Bette Davis) whose daughter (Debbie Reynolds) is going to get married. The woman insists on throwing her daughter a big wedding, even though that is not what she wants — or what her husband (Ernest Borgnine) can afford. As she descends into wedding planning, things get tense for the whole family.
In This Our Life (1942)
In This Our Life is about two sisters, named (surprisingly) Stanley (Bette Davis) and Roy (Olivia de Havilland). On the eve of her marriage, Stanley runs away with Roy’s husband. Roy is left behind and tries to pick up the pieces of her life, which eventually includes Stanley’s ex-fiance. But when Stanley’s relationship doesn’t work out, she comes back threatening to destroy all the balance in Roy’s life.
Jezebel (1938)
Jezebel is the story of a Southern Belle who lets her pride and vanity get the best of her, ruining her engagement. When the man she was betrothed to leaves town and then comes back with a wife, she is heartbroken. Will she try to win him back or accept that their relationship is over?
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? is about a former child star named Baby Jane (Bette Davis) who lives with her paraplegic sister, Blanche (Joan Crawford). The sisters don’t get along and Baby Jane gets joy from tormenting Blanche. This film was a big deal because Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were known rivals in the papers. Were they really rivals? That is up to interpretation.
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Dark Victory (1939)
Dark Victory is the story of a socialite (Bette Davis) who is diagnosed with a brain tumor. She has surgery to remove the tumor, but when her doctor, Dr. Frederick Steele (George Brent) realizes that her tumor is inoperable, he must give her the bad news. She has little time before she dies, but she has to decide how she wants to live out the rest of her days.
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Now, Voyager (1942)
Now, Voyager is about a spinster (Bette Davis) who has no self-confidence and is constantly verbally abused by her mother (Gladys Cooper). When it is realized that the spinster is heading for a breakdown, her doctor (Claude Rains) recommends that she go to a sanitarium. Once there, she gains confidence and becomes the woman she always wanted to be. Instead of heading straight home, she goes on a cruise. But are things too good to be true?
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