Bette Davis Tells A Story About Running Into Tallulah Bankhead
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 6 апр 2021
- SUBSCRIBE to this channel for exclusive videos from AFI: bit.ly/SubscribeAFI
Bette Davis tells a story about running into Tallulah Bankhead at a Hollywood party. This clip from the AFI Archive is from a seminar at the AFI Conservatory in 1977.
FOLLOW AFI:
/ americanfilminstitute
/ americanfilm
/ americanfilminstitute
www.afi.com
BECOME AN AFI MEMBER: www.afi.com/support/?Op=join
SHOP AFI: shop.afi.com/
SIGN UP for the AFI Newsletter: bit.ly/SubscribeAFINews 
Развлечения
First here. We love a legend like Bette Davis.
One of the all time greats not many around today of her caliber, talent and long career in the motion picture industry.
Very strong woman and constitution. She is one of my favorites
pro trick : watch series on Flixzone. Been using them for watching lots of of movies these days.
@Shawn Alejandro Yea, I have been watching on flixzone} for since december myself =)
and I love a legend like Tallulah too
I never heard Bette David speak with such humility. Even our idols have idols.
Aside from being a good actress she was fascinating to listen to.
VERY! No one could tell a story like her!
your so right and I couldn't agree with you more.:-)
She was a great actress.
@@mmjhcb Yes she was...:-)
Yesss. I wasn’t even around for her and I find her extremely fascinating especially when she speaks
No doubt Bette had an ego, but you gotta be impressed by her honesty here.
I imagine to be an actor you need to have an ego in order to perform. Davis also had integrity and a true sense of herself as a person also as an actress: She was a total professional.
Just as a diver needs a scuba tank, an actor needs an ego; you'll drown in the shark-infested waters of Hollywood without one.
@@juliencamp3315 Marvelous observation!
@@elspethcoogan1499 "True sense of herself", I.e. sincerity when performing in front of the camera and on stage. Falseless (no falseness) sincerity, probably, is the most important component of acting craft.
@@petrfrizen6078 Thank you so much! I'm from an old Hollywood family - I was born there, as was my father; his father worked at Paramount. I was raised with an understanding of the entertainment culture and industry.
I smile so much listening to Bette Davis.
I love the episode with Tallulah on the Lucy and Desi comedy hour.
Right On ! I think it's the funniest episode in that "Lucy & Desi Comedy Hour" series in the late 50s.
And it was supposed to star Bette Davis, originally.
Bette was a tiny little woman who stood her ground in a big man's world and held her own. Underestimate her at your own peril! ❤
Well said and well put.
Some say it's a man's world but we have to passify women like Bette Davis..Who was difficult to work with☹️
@@victoragresti1777 Consummate professional. She knew her lines and everyone else's. She was no sex starlet who could get a free ride on her looks. Determination and talent made her a star, not the casting couch.
I saw her in 1987. She was tiny! But very, very intimidating
@@victoragresti1777I love her but sometimes I think she was bitchy just for the hell of it. LOL
"She wasn't going to get any fight out of me n she was heartbroken" lmao Bette was so fierce n she handled that so well. Whenever folks try to get under your skin, just kill them with kindness. It infuriates them!! lol
No I think she had met her match .....and knew it.
@@clivecarser7356 Mmmm…no…you missed the point.
@@robstockton911 did I?
@@clivecarser7356😂
You have things backwards.
Bette outmaneuvered Tallulah every time.
Tallulah was one of a kind: Half Great Actress, Civil Rights Advocate/Half Bar Brawling, Take No Prisoners, Girl on Top
You speak the truth, Kemo Sabe !
This.
There surely will never be another Bette or Tallulah, they both were one of a kind. And that is / was wonderful.
@@carls.1000 You have no way of knowing whether Tallulah was a “Girl on Top.” Focus on her movies such as Lifeboat.
@@davidhenschel1990 "Girl on Top" meaning in charge. The way she lived her life proves this statement. What evidence do you have to offer that she wasn't a "Girl on Top" and more importantly why are you taking a comment about Tullulah Bankhead so personally?
GREATEST actress to ever hit the silver stage. Georgeous, classy, gutsy, brilliant. The original drama queen! There will never be another Betty Davis ❤
She was no Zasu Pitts, but the late great Ms Davis was indeed one gifted thespian.
Bette.
@@JamesBrown-ij1pxBette*
The silver stage?
BETTE!
I can't imagine anyone better than Bette Davis as Regina in The Little Foxes, it is one of my all time favorite Bette Davis performances and it never reminds me of Tallulah Bankhead who I can't take my eyes off of in Lifeboat.
I've only watched The Little Foxes, oh say about 20 times. One of Bette's favorite leading men was Herbert Marshall and the way they played off of each other in this film is genius. I'm teaching my Granddaughter about classic film. I treated her to The Little Foxes; It was the first time I've ever seen her applaude after a film ended. I was sooo proud of Bette! Tahlluh was good but she couldn't touch Bette.
There will NEVER be another Bette Davis. Incredible actress, fascinating, strong, intelligent woman. A Legend
Davis was a Bankhead clone.
I love listening to BETTE talking about stories about people shes straight to the point .she is and always will be my idle. Godbless You Bette .your not forgotten Amen 🙏🕊🕊🕊🕊🦋🦋🦋🦋🌹🌹🌹🌹💐💐💐💐🌟🌟🌟🌟
Brillliant, great actress, intense... and intelligent! Simply Bette Davis! An authentic Aries.
"An authentic Aries."
Through and through. No question about it.
Greatest actress EVER! Love BD.
Such a great storyteller. Her whole career was storytelling!
I have a vague memory of this story from her one-woman show I was lucky enough to see way back when. Thank you for sharing this gem.
I could listen to Betties stories all night .she was one funny person when being interviewed. But dont let her nice and kindness have you wrapped under your finger. she was never a fool and would become the female wolf leader of the pack in a second.thats why i admired her.if she didnt like you she would say it to your face.and if she disagreed about something you would not argue with her. as she said once and is now on her grave stone ( I DID IT THE HARD WAY).TO YOU BETTIE! GODBLESS YOU.YOUR NOT FORGOTTEN. REST IN PEACE AMEN.🙏✌🤞👍💙🦋🦋🕊🕊🕊🌹🌹🌹🌹🌷🌷🌷🌷🍁🌿🌻.
*Bette not Bettie.
What a. Joy just listen her talk ❤️
Great Davis! I watched all your movies. I'm a big fan.
A class act and my favorite actress of all time
Betty handled it with class.
I can't stop wondering what stories would evolve if Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Tallulah Bankhead, & Katherine Hepburn did a film together.
Who am I kidding? It probably wouldn't have even materialized, but, it would've been nice if there was one.
Bette and Joan would have an uneasy truce. They would ignore Tallulah. And Kate would ignore all three of them.
@@SymphonyBrahms Absolutely perfectly surmised! 😂👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
JAJAJJA, wonderful cuestion.
I laughed only by reading this. I can imagine it already!
director : heart attack..producer : mental institution....writer: alcoholics anonymous.....
Bette Davis was a brilliant actress, but it's a shame Tallulah Bankhead didn't have a better filmography (she was equally magnificent). Tallulah's performance in Lifeboat was just as good as anything Bette Davis did on film.
Tallulah’s performance in Lifeboat is as good as any American actress has put on the silver screen. I don’t know why Lifeboat is not celebrated, not talked about. I have it in my favorite top 10.
Most of Tallulah's movies were flops. That's why Hollywood producers wouldn't hire her.
No. Not equally.
Tallulah had some really bad substance abuse problems. THAT was the problem. Bankhead had 1 great movie. Bette turned in great movie perfomances routinely and over and over
@Magnetron33 Ms. Bankhead had severe mental health issues including chronic insomnia and anger management. In 1949 she showed up drunk for some of her Broadway performances. She fell down onstage several times that year.
Bette Davis was the best. Incredible actress. ❤
I would have loved to meet Bette Davis
Sometimes, or very often pacifism and peace of mind are the best weapons in any kind of argument, or interlocution.
Bette was one of my favourite actresses.
two spectacular actresses❤️
Tallulah was ahead of her time. Simply fabulous.
Bette absolutely was imitating Tallulah in All about Eve or as Tallulah called it All about Me!
I just love MS. BD OMG!!!! Your NOT going to get any FIGHT outta ME....Words to truly live by....If more people thought like her it would be a much better World!!!!
Aahhh - Bette Davis. one of my favorite actresses of all time from when i was around 12 in the latter part of the ‘50’s. Also, loved Tallulah, who was on a lot of talk shows, etc. :) 🌷🌱
Well that’s too bad. I didn’t think Tallulah ever gave up that easily. That could have been quite the bust up. I’d have to put on my seat belt on that bumpy night.
There's was nothing she could fight about.. Bette took the wind out of Tallulah's sails by Admitting to Tallulah "Yes Tallulah, you DID play all those parts I copied from you better than me" 😁 it left Tallulah speechless...
Love ,LOVE Bette Davis ... but Tallulah was something else 🙌
Nice video - I never thought I'd hear Bette Davis admit to being demure, but it looks like this was the perfect way to disarm Tallulah lol - both legendary actors
I'm so glad to have been able to watch these earlier interviews with Bette, it's a side I never saw, as to how funny and sharp she was.
I was born couple years after Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte. As I was growing up and at an age that I could know who she was, all I really saw were, Whales of August when it first aired. Then there were the skeletal remains they propped up on Carson towards the end. She wasn't anywhere near as ascerbic as her reputation that preceded them.
Brava Brava
Bette Davis made the perfect response to Tallulah's remark. She left Tallulah with nowhere to go.
Bette Davis was a great actor.
Claudette Colbert ,a Broadway actress originally ,was supposed to play the leading lady in the movie All About Eve . She was injured and had to withdraw . Step in Bette Davis to one her signature roles . Some people thought Davis was imitating Bankhead in the movie . Years later Desi Arnaz wanted Davis to do an episode of the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour .however Davis was injured and Bankhead stepped in the role Probably her best on TV. Surprising Arnaz and Ball who thought she was going blow up the entire production . There seemed to be a dichotomy between Davis and Bankhead . Davis was actress who did stage from time to time but was famous as a film star . Bankhead who did films from time to time but was a stage star .
And speaking of the Claudette Colbert connection with Anne Baxter in AAE . In The Ten Commandments Anne Baxter played the Wife of Brenner but she did get made up like a Colbert look a like . Colbert had been the DeMille leading lady in a couple of biblical epics 20 years before . I guess she was too old for that part or she was asked and she turned it down . Somebody out there would more about this . Any on TTC I thought Baxter , who usually was a plain Jane actress should should have switched roles with Yvonne DeCarlo who usually played very glamourous roles . i guess that was the genius of DeMille .
So true ! Ms Bankhead was a much better guest star than Joan Crawford was in the 60's for Lucy on her "The Lucy Show" sitcom. Joan never looks really comfortable. And I've read in more than one place that Joan was intoxicated during her performance.
@@jubalcalif9100 For those who do not know , drunkenness on the part of Ms. Bankhead during the rehearsals of the Lucy/Desi episode caused the Arnaz ' alarm . In fact Bankhead was surprisingly good during the filming and Ball flubbed a couple of her lines .
Bette still doing her victory dance. In "All About Eve," of course, the Broadway play Eve is in is called "Aged In Wood," which is a sly reference to Southern bourbon lol. Each star had their own version of the story.
love this. do you have any more of such?
Perfect way to handle it! The works speaks for itself!
I think she actually admired Bankhead very much as the grande actress of stage and theatre.
"pure as the driven slush," said Tallulah....
When asked about her drug use and rumors of occasional Lesbianism, Tallulah said: "My daddy warned me about men and booze. He didn't say anything about women and cocaine."
Bette must’ve been in a good mood that night, otherwise;
I bet my marbles on BETTE DAVIS.
it was Miriam Hopkins who played in JEZEBEL on the Broadway stage.
Ah, those dames from Hollywood's Golden Age, there's been no one like them since. BTW, there is a wonderful episode of "I Love Lucy" with Tallulah as a guest. You can find a video with a few scenes here on YT.
One of my favorite movies.
I think they were both great actresses and also so beautiful!
Cool . Awesome work , Awesome life Betty Davis.
FASCINATING!
There should have been a movie with both of them.
The problem with Tallulah and Hollywood was that she had a string of bad movies during the 1930's and early 1940's. Her only successful film was Lifeboat. Most Hollywood producers, including Jack Warner, didn't want to hire her. Whereas Bette Davis was an enormously successful film star. Tallulah was a successful stage actress. But her stage mannerisms didn't translate well into films.
That's too bad. It would have been nice to see her in movies.
Exactly!
I did see her in Faithless (made in 1932 and the last film she was in before Lifeboat) and I thought she was really good and I thought the film was very good, too. But I think there's a lot of truth in what you're saying as far as the general opinion of her as a film actress.
Grooviest, most gifted ladies in showbiz! (Well ... there ARE a lot of 'em ... but ...) THEY're among the VERY MOST HONEST!
Lol. I love the shade
Tallulah was gorgeous when she was young and always her own woman. Admirable
So many folks are looking for a fight.
Too many.
@@jakebluethunder Yes, you are so right. I live in a place where people love to fight and yell and argue.
If they aren't fighting, they're watching shows that revolve around fighting and arguing.
Fighting is huge in America. It fuels the court system and keeps the emergency rooms filled.
Especially these days...it gets worse and worse.
Betty/Joan two of the BEST ACTRESSES , BEST dress also. You cant find them these dayS.
Love it
Class.
The best.
Tallulah has a lot of style and charm, ,but Bette is the absolute GOAT actor.
Interesting picture at 1: 05 Baxter and Davis facing off with Marilyn Monroe between them .
And the great George Sanders sitting behind Marilyn Monroe.
There are many reasons why Tallulah Bankhead made so few films: (a) she loathed getting up at 5.00am to be at the Studio and preferred to work nights at the Theatre and party afterwards, sleep until the afternoon. (b) film work requires longer days and a lot of waiting around and Bankhead just didn't have that kind of temperament (c) The Hays Code with it's morality clauses as well as the control exerted by Studios with their restrictive contracts, is something Bankhead would never have agreed to as she was an independent libertine and bon viveur. She was too much of a maverick for Hollywood. Lifeboat (1944) & The Royal Scandal (1945), only happened because Bankhead swore off drinking (& partying) during the war years so she could assist the war effort. Lastly, Bankhead didn't need Hollywood as she'd already tasted mega fame and a kind of hysteria on stage in London in the 1920s.
She was also independently wealthy, being of the Alabama Bankheads.
and Tallulah, my Queen, for ever more
Absolutely LUV Tallulah Bankhead! And I LUV Bette Davis! So to hear this story is gold! 💛💛💛
Bankhead was always good in any role offered to her. Unfortunately, she was in too few quality vehicles. I liked her very much in 'The Cheat". She was a great actress, certainly on par with Davis, if not the greater of the two.
Bette was quite talented but Tallulah was a star in her own right. Both women were icons!
Imagine if Davis and Bankhead had ever made a film together
Joan is good opposite Bette in 1962s "Baby Jane" but I would love to have seen Tallulah in Joan's role.
HAHAHAHA I LOVE YOU BETTE, BETTE MY BETTE !!!
I still find it somewhat intriguing why Tallulah Bankhead's theatrical success never really was able to translate to the screen. I know she was problematic to a lot of people and could be maddeningly undisciplined; yet it mysitfies me because she was so larger-than-life. Then, again, perhaps that was the problem. Screen acting isn't stage acting. Davis, though, whether Bankhead liked it or not, gave a spectacular performance in "The Little Foxes." One of her best.
Now that’s how you handle a difficult person! They know they are trying to instigate a fight. Good bye...lol. The wicked person went home.
She should’ve stop when she was Ahead
Wow, that escalated quickly! From “difficult” person to “wicked” in two sentences.
The person was just drunk, as miss Davis clearly explained at the beginning of the story.
Tallulah wasn't wicked--she was a talented actress who believed she should have had a better career. Instead of dealing with her own demons, she chose to try to blame it on Bette Davis getting the roles she originated on stage. Bette Davis, however, was a genius. As far as I'm concerned, no one of that mainstream Hollywood generation came close to her.
@@seriesscratchx9807 Technically she was wicked based off everything that was documented on her. Plus she had no sense of self for the most part like Ms Davis and that's why most of her work flopped. Yes she did a LOT stage work but most stage is rooted in narcissism and not inclusion. So that's just me though....
I’ve herd this story from others who were in the industry at that time.
❤️❤️❤️❤️
The dress that Tallulah worn on 0:37 looks exactly the same dress that Bette worn in the movie "Dead Ringer"
Isn't the picture from "Jezebel" actually Miriam Hopkins?,with whom it is said Bette had a real dislike for
One queen acknowledging another,,,,,
yaaaaaaaaaasssssssssss
RALLY !
both were great at their craft and both led complicated lives... Talullah always gets the short end and I believe The Little Foxes was HER show and Bette not so much.
Well since nobody is alive who remembers Bankhead in the stage production, we'll never know.
Talullah was a great actress tho on the stage the Little Foxes was brilliant and Bette basically played Tallulah's interpretation of Regina. We just don't have stars like them anymore.
BD once told Celeste Holm during “All About Eve” that she couldn’t laugh on cue.
Isn't that a picture of Miriam Hopkins in Jezebel?
I assume most of her tales are tall but I don't mind. 😂
Because she always comes out as the winner?
I liked Bette Davis. She said, during the height of the women's movement, that she was not a feminist.
that's really the secret to life
Betty Davis was iconic as Regina and Margo Channing in the true sense of the word as opposed to how it's thrown around willy nilly and even for some of these lip smacker to a auto tuned pre recorded tune! Good writing, acting, singing abilities have dumbed down to elementary school levels and has been gradually sliding within the last 20 odd years or so! Just look what Netflix and big budget Hollywood hashes out in the name of "entertainment" these days!
I don't get why Miss Tallulah never became a big screen star like Davis or K Hepburn, her acting skill is beyond belief
If you read anything about her, she was her own worst enemy.... She was Wild, Stayed in Trouble and Alienated Friends and Family.......at the drop of a hat. Her name was synonymous with Scandal.... She was also a Southerner and that has always carried one strike right out of the gate.......
@@ridgerunner5772 I know little about her life but just recently I heard about her again, she was depicted as lesbian junkie in United States Vs. Billie Holiday, that's quite shocking.
Tallulah tried to be a stage performer in film and that alienated a lot of people. Especially critics.
BETTE DAVIS is most certainly ONE Of The Best ACTRESS EVER but JOAN CRAWFORD, BARBARA STANWYCK, can't be overlooked TALLULAH BANKHEAD was equal but not given a chance as a MOVIE STAR and SUSAN HAYWARD equaled BD but came after BD's greatest hits just as LORETTA YOUNG did on T.V. in one show exhibiting a two part show of "Dark Victory" among many other UNFORGETTABLE T.V. performances
Bette Davis was the best actress in Hollywood, followed by Barbara Stanwyck. I like Bankhead and Hayward, but they were not as good as Davis and Stanwyck. Joan Crawford was good in some roles, but she was not as good an actress as the others were.
These performances, whether films, tv, etc. have to be found, saved and watched ! I so wish we also filmed EVERY theater play, what a loss to have t hose performances be lost to time. The National Theatre in Britain films many of their plays, I've seen two that they shared and I'm so glad. It's history and should be available.
I personally think Bette Davis best performance is The Little Foxes...very subtle for her thanks to William Wyler..my family is from the south..we had a plantation in Lowndesboro Alabama ...she nailed the self serving evil southern woman.
I like her favorite film myself. Mr. Skeffington. They had her looking beautiful and it was one of her finest performances as was Jezebel.
I think What Ever Happened to Baby Jame was her best performance.
@@CanadianMonarchist horrible movie...
@@CanadianMonarchist It is absolutely up there. A true artist.
Well may I chime in? I believe in my humble opinion that Davis' best performance is in The Letter. Where she has to face down Gale Sondergaard. Which is no easy task.
Ego justified. One of if not the best actresses ever! Tallulah was something else herself.
To bad we will never see talent like theirs' again.
But we have Film!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't understand why Tallulah Bankhead did not have the kind of film career that her talent deserved. She was a great actress, but Hollywood seemed to be uninterested in her. It's a shame that another version of The Little Foxes was not made with her in the lead. Think how interesting it would be to compare Bankhead and Davis in the same role.
Bankhead made a few movies for Paramount in the early 30's but prints seem to have disappeared as TCM surely would show them on occasion. Bankhead's problem was that after a number of performances she lost interest and more or less phoned in the performance. Hellman, the author of Little Foxes was not happy. Bankhead did have a substance abuse problem as well as not being really disciplined about the craft of acting. I was lucky to see her twice on stage, first in Private Lives (it was a lot of fun seeing her but Coward did not have kind words for her performance) and the second was a play by the author of Midnight Cowboy who name escapes me. It co-stared Joan Blondell and Estelle Winwood. It was not a very good play and she never took it to NY. The best part of the evening was her curtain speech. She held on to the curtain--was she sober? who could tell but it was funny and made the whole evening worthwhile. I did she her on the street in Beverly Hills going into Romanoff's looking somewhat weather worn but given her life style I wasn't surprised. The two movies she made for Fox in the 40's were probably the best she committed to film, especially Lifeboat. The one about Catherine the Great was forgettable and her last film Die Die My Darling (I think that's the title does show up infrequently ) and she died shortly after; I believe she was only in her 60's. Her accusation that Davis was playing her in Eve is ridiculous as Claudette Colbert was originally cast in the role but for a back injury. Davis did not imitate Bankhead--that illusion existed only in her head.
@@davy91101 I believe one interview with Bankhead stated she hated film acting because you had to do the same thing over and over again for one scene, versus 'straight through' with a play. This both annoyed and bored her. Plus, she had the same reputation Marilyn Monroe later had - she was late to the set, probably high or drunk, and would be belligerent.
Bankhead may have rocked the stage but I don't think she had much screen presence.
@@Starkardur Heyrðu, ertu Íslendingur?
Having been born in 1902 time was not on her side. Also she had been typecast to playing vampish characters in the early 1930s at Paramount. She couldn’t draw empathy from movie audiences the way Davis could who was not only younger but capable of playing both vamp and girl next door. When the box office cash registers failed to ring, Bankhead just wasn’t called any more.
Davis was no dummy when it came to disarming confrontational actors!!
She did it to Joan Crawford by serving her a baked canary for lunch
The battle of the true dragons in Technocolar
The character Margot Channing wasn’t specifically based on Tallulah Bankhead but Bette Davis used her as inspiration for the way she played the character. Bette Davis talked about this with Barbara Walters in the 80’s on one of her specials. Bette Davis daughter had came out with a nasty book then miss Davis had a lot of health problems. She had already been through the stroke and her face and speech were permanently effected.
Yeah her daughter really screwed her over
ok - cool to hear Bette say it - as i always thought they were very similar in appearance (definitely not temperament if all was to be believed)
Avowed Witch 🧛♂️🔥
Is that you, B.D.? Go back to fleecing the gullible, would you please?
Bette was an Actress. Tallulah was an Entertainer. I preferred Bette's approach.
Actually I think `All About Eve` was based on Bankhead`s relationship with Paula Miller (later Strasberg) who was her secretary) Unlike the film scenario Miller was neither a scene stealer or a husband stealer. And the two women got on. Bankhead was godmother to Susan Strasberg. Wonder why, after making quite a mark for herself in films, the studios soured on her. She would have been magnificent in `Jezebel` (she was after all a southern belle)l also `Dark Victory` and of course `The Little Foxes`. I agree with Davis. Bankhead would have been so much better. But then Jack Warner had Bette Davis under contract.
Timing was not on Bankhead’s side in some instances. She had a few years on Davis. And was considered too old by the time those roles made their way into film.
@@diedonner299 Bette was old when young and Bankhead was young when old. I don`t like Davis as an actor. I adore Bankhead.
@@sandrashevey8252 I agree. That wasn’t how studio bosses thought about things apparently.
Margo was based on Elizabeth Bergner when she was doing The Two Mrs. Carroll's on Broadway. Author Mary Orr heard of Bergners conniving understudy and wrote the radio play The Wisdom Of Eve on which the film is based.
@@nealsims8372 So they say. Actually the sub-text is based on director Joe Mank`s affair with Judy Garland and observations of ways her mental stability was undermined by younger actresses and upcoming male actors who were in receipt of her patronage and her help. The real story behind `All About Eve`. Iconic!