Monday, April 7, 2008

whales and foxes


Last night was the closing night for the Bette Davis Centennial Tribute. It has been great fun to see four nights worth of her important films on a big screen. There were a handful of us that I recognized from all four nights but all in all it was a smallish crowd last night.

We were treated to The Whales of August, featuring a seventy-nine year old Davis paired with Lillian Gish as widowed sisters facing their mortality at the end of a long life together. It was a remarkably sweet and pleasing film, and Bette was clearly herself even in this, the last picture she would complete. Yup, still a handful at nearly eighty. Definitely worth viewing for Davis fans.

The tribute closed with The Little Foxes, the story of a scheming and materialistic woman who blackmails her way into control of the family business. Think of her not as a fox, but a barracuda in Orry-Kelly. Possibly her strongest role, and out and out fun. A great way to commemorate the birth of one of the strongest actors ever to appear on film. Happy birthday, Bette.

3 comments:

Miss Janey said...

Love Miss Bette. TCM featured her over the weekend, too.

tankmontreal said...

I remember loving The Whales of August when it came out.

Anonymous said...

Just exactly how the hell did my boyfriend miss THAT particular event? He's seriously losing points. ;)

Sounds like it was a lot of fun!!

Travis