TV and Movies

[Oznell]

6:00 p.m. Eastern--  "Old Acquaintance"  Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, John Loder, Gig Young

Both serious and comic, it's an engrossing tale of two lifelong women friends.  Bette is a wry, clever writer of ambitious books;  Miriam is a sort of a spoiled belle, a would-be writer herself of conventional pot-boilers, who marries a man who would have been perfect for Bette (John Loder)

The fascinating back story to this is that Bette and Miriam were real life "opponents", fueled by a backstage romantic rivalry of their own.  Bette Davis later confessed that the famous scene in "Old Acquaintace" where Bette tries to violently shake some sense into the dizzy Miriam, was one that she quite enjoyed...

The women's lives keep criss-crossing in surprising ways...  It's a story that is at once satisfying, sad and funny....  

[deepwaterdotter]

I'll be watching.

[StephfromIdaho]

Thank you, once again, Oznell

[Mz iMac]

4:00p EST

The Old Maid

After disappearing for two years, Clem Spender (George Brent) returns on the day his former fiancée, Delia (Miriam Hopkins), is marrying another man. Her cousin Charlotte (Bette Davis) sneaks away with Clem, who enlists in the Union Army the next day and dies soon after. Charlotte and Clem's child, Clementina, grows up not knowing critical Charlotte is her mother. Jealous of Charlotte's affair, Delia pretends to be Clementina's mother, sabotaging mother and child's relationship.

[Oznell]

Oh, thanks, "Old Maid" is a really good one too, @Mz iMac.  A real tear-jerker that gives both Bette and Miriam quite the acting workout!

[Coquille]

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@Oznell wrote:

6:00 p.m. Eastern--  "Old Acquaintance"  Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, John Loder, Gig Young

Both serious and comic, it's an engrossing tale of two lifelong women friends.  Bette is a wry, clever writer of ambitious books;  Miriam is a sort of a spoiled belle, a would-be writer herself of conventional pot-boilers, who marries a man who would have been perfect for Bette (John Loder)

The fascinating back story to this is that Bette and Miriam were real life "opponents", fueled by a backstage romantic rivalry of their own.  Bette Davis later confessed that the famous scene in "Old Acquaintace" where Bette tries to violently shake some sense into the dizzy Miriam, was one that she quite enjoyed...

The women's lives keep criss-crossing in surprising ways...  It's a story that is at once satisfying, sad and funny....  

---

@Oznell I had heard that Miriam specifically asked the director, to ask Bette to go easy on her in that shaking scene because she (Miriam) had a crick in her neck. Bette was informed about the request but..... shook her even harder. Miriam instead of trying to hold her in place a little, her neck went limp all over. As you mentioned, they say that Bette savored that scene. Bette, liked to have her way, a lot! I still loved her as an actress. Bette, Susan Hayward, Norma Shearer, Lauren Bacall, Liz Taylor, Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner and Vivian Leigh all fantastic actresses and my favorites. There are several others that I could mention.  I don't know if I could name that many of my favorite and present actresses now, as easily. In my opinion, there a really good actresses now but back then, they were again in my opinion, just phenomenal, superb and some breathtaking.

[Oznell]

What a cute story, @Coquille-- so like Bette, ha.

You're so right about those acting greats of the "golden age" of movies...

[Oznell]

Another amusing thing about this film I just thought of.  It's one of the several in which, however briefly, Bette has a much younger suitor (Gig Young).

And then there was "Winter Meeting",  where young Jim Davis was crazy about her.  And there was "A Stolen Life", where younger Glenn Ford was her love interest...

I know there must be a few others, too.

Wonder if she had it written into her contract, ha.

[GingerPeach]

For those of you who caught Trouble in Paradise, did you notice that Kay Francis seems much like today's Eva Green (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children)?

Here are Kay Francis, the dreamy Herbert Marshall, and Miriam Hopkins:

Eva Green in tv's Penny Dreadful:

and for good measure, an unusual profile of Green:

[trenet]

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@Oznell wrote:

Another amusing thing about this film I just thought of.  It's one of the several in which, however briefly, Bette has a much younger suitor (Gig Young).

And then there was "Winter Meeting",  where young Jim Davis was crazy about her.  And there was "A Stolen Life", where younger Glenn Ford was her love interest...

I know there must be a few others, too.

Wonder if she had it written into her contract, ha.

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Even though I’ve seen many times, I always forget that is Gig Young. I hardly recognize him, except by voice.