Watch 'Old Acquaintance' - this is the test! This is not listed as one of Bette's GREAT films, but it is wonderful. Bette never cared about the 'empathy of the audience' but in this film she has it every minute! SHE is one you follow, and applaud when she gives Hopkins what she has needed EVERY MOMENT OF THE PICTURE!
Miss Davis had a powerful turn in Of Human Bondage, and so winning the 'consolation' prize for 'Dangerous' does not bother me. I would have been happier if she had gone on winning streak--Dark Victory, The Letter, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane and even Little Foxes, all of these were worthy of a win--and racked up 9 or even 10 wins. People compare her to Kate Hepburn, but really there is nothing to compare. Miss Davis was far more talented.
I’ve got no problem with Bette Davis winning this Academy Award. She did a great job and while it may not be one of her most notable or talked about performances, she did her best and that’s what one should do when acting. Plus, Kathrine Hepburn would win 4 Academy Awards, so her losing clearly didn’t hurt her in terms of awards. Great video Brian, keep up the great work!
I think Bette Davis did deserve her first Oscar. She's the only thing about Dangerous that is worth watching. Because the studio system was on par with prison and their stars inmates given very little for a lot, Bette was the outspoken critic who moved the industry towards artistic equity in her efforts. Like Elizabeth Taylor in BUtterfield 8, you can hate the role and deliver an amazing performance. You had no choice, really. You can even hate the recognition, but glad you got the honor. So, that being said, I think Bette is right that it should have gone to Katharine Hepburn for Alice Adams, but I have a feeling RKO still wouldn't have known what to do with Katharine whereas Warner Brothers found some sadistic form of tolerance for Bette Davis. Bette Davis kept advancing and wanting more than Warner Brothers could provide and held onto her artistic integrity for a while. And, since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences were meant to prevent unionization, the timing was right to appease the public by honoring Bette Davis. It's a shame Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn never made a film together. I could see them in a 50s adaption of the famous play The Maids.
Completely agree- it's common to downplay both this Davis win and Elizabeth Taylor's, but I think both give fantastic, dedicated performances with a lot of emotional truth. Hepburn also would have been a worthy winner as you mention, but I think bias (as in the standard "she only won because of the "Human Bondage" snub, and for a far inferior performance" take) keeps Davis' vivid playing in "Dangerous" ranked lower than it should be in her career cannon.
Bette Davis did "put out the feelers" to find a script that would co-star her with Katharine Hepburn but, apparently, Hepburn never considered working with Davis. I, too, would've paid ANY amount of money to see those two act together but alas, it didn't happen!
@@TheAwardsContender Keep your videos coming! You and Karina Longwood (BeKindRewind) have the best, most accurate, well-analyzed content on Studio-Era Hollywood on UA-cam!
I am most excited to see you discuss Spencer Tracy's double win. The man gets forgotten so much these days, but he probably helped Hepburn become a much better actress, and she was the first to admit it. (Dick Cavett interview)
Thank you SO much for these amazing videos! I am spending hours watching them; especially the videos like this one about the golden days of Oscar. I know these are a lot of work, but I hope you know how much many like me love them!
always thought of cher's '88 win for 'moonstruck' as an example of another oscar mulligan after she'd been passed over for 'mask' in '86.. i mean 'moonstruck' was fine, but i don't think any member of the academy could honestly make the case that that performance was in the same league as 'mask'.. .
Fun Fact: Davis and Hepburn competed for a Best Actress Emmy for telefilms they did in 1979. Davis won for "Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter" over Hepburn in...get this...a TV adaptation of a 1945 Bette Davis movie, "The Corn is Green"!
As she deserved to win- Hepburn played a flamboyant caricature, Bette played a real flesh and blood human! I remember watching the Emmys that night- she was not only pitted against Hepburn, but Mary Tyler Moore, and Carol Burnett- Bette won- I screamed!!
Truthfully, I think Vivien Leigh's performance in Gone With The Wind was the best of any actress. Especially since the bar was set so high for her, being from Britain and still relatively unknown in the USA. She not only met the challenge but exceeded it. Even today its impossible to imagine anyone else in that role.
@@khongmaithikhog5624 She did. Vivien Leigh was #1 and Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice is #2. I saw in the Be kind Rewind UA-cam channel in the Gone with the wind video. That's also a lovely channel. You should check it.
Love that Bette herself thought Katharine should have won and that "Dangerous" was a consolation prize. Correct on both counts, Ms. Davis. Great video analysis, Mr. Rowe, thank you, keep 'em coming.
They are two of my favorite actresses, and it's very difficult to choose who was better. A lot of the comments talk about how Bette took more risks. I think that was absolutely true in the 30s, but I think Katharine's range and her risk taking really improved over the course of her career and in later works. Although I love them both, I think that when they took risks, they each tended to take the same kinds of risks again and again, if that makes sense. I'm also always aware that I'm watching Bette or Katharine when they're onscreen. They both had such strong personalities. I would love to see a video on Deborah Kerr. She was so talented and subtle, with a terrific range, and I feel she is underrated and overlooked today because of that subtlety. I'm glad she was nominated 6 times, but I absolutely think she deserved an Oscar for at least one of following films- Black Narcissus, From Here to Eternity, Tea and Sympathy, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The Innocents, An Affair to Remember.
I always thought of Bette as more of a character actress. I tended to 'buy in' to her portrayals more than Hepburn (who really leapt off the screen regardless of who she played) , but I always knew it was Hepburn. Not to take away from some of her performances - esp. earlier ones (Alice Adams, Bill of Divorcement, etc.)
@@ericmaine I agree with yr assentment of KH. Her earlier works were far better, especially Aluce Adams. SHE didn't play herself. Also Stage Door is a favorite, more likely for the entire cast than one particular portrayal. LOVE ANN MILLER!
Thanks for this. The New York Film Critics Awards were inaugurated for 1935, with Greta Garbo winning Best Actress for “Anna Karenina.” Garbo didn’t get an Oscar nomination, which was almost as bad as Davis’ omission the year before.
Barbara Stanwyck took more risks and had a wider range of acting ability than either Bette Davis or Katharine Hepburn. I submit "Baby Face", "The Plough and the Stars", "Golden Boy", "Remember the Night", "The Lady Eve", "Double indemnity", "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers", "Lady of Burlesque", "The File on Thelma Jordon", "Walk on the Wild Side", among many other films.
Bette Davis always thought that Katbarine Hepburn deserved the Oscar that year. Davis considered the Oscar as a consolation for not having won the year before for "Of Human Bondage."
Controversial opinion here: Bette Davis was the Best Actress in her generation, even better than Hepburn, she deserved more Oscars. I'd say she was the best American actress. Only other actress at her level back then: Vivien Leigh but she's British 😁
I actually agree I believe what prevents Bette from getting that title is bc she end up picking the worst movies after the 1940s with the exception of all about eve and whatever happened to baby Jane a lot of her films and performances were either fine or forgettable Katharine did a superior job with their picks mainly in the 50s and 60s including her time in theatre
@@caraqueno ohh I know Barbra in her time was versatile like no other it was a good idea that she didn’t sign to any major Hollywood studio at the time but that unfortunately played a major factor to her never winning a competitive Oscar in her lifetime
@@Kevin-rg3yc True, unfortunately, although her honorary Oscar, Emmys, and AFI Lifetime Achievement Award had to have been of some consolation to her but, yes, it's not the same as winning a competitive Oscar.
Another superb video, Brian, thank you! If I may suggest, going forward, would you consider talking about some of the top performances not nominated? For example, Greta Garbo won the (first) New York Film Critics' Award for Best Actress for Anna Karenina, yet wasn't nominated. IMO Garbo should have won.
I'd love to see a video looking at Best Supporting Actor 1943: Charles Coburn vs. Claude Rains. Coburn is certainly good in The More the Merrier, but was he really better than Rains as Louis Renault? It's a crime Rains, one of the finest actors of Hollywood's Golden Age, never won an award.
Geraldine Page was transcendent in Trip to Bountiful so I dont think its fair to put it in the same category as Al Pacino's win for Scent of a Woman. While both overdue Page gave an oscar worthy performance where as Pacino's was def a career award.
I think Pacino is fantastic in that movie. I remember that year and I wanted him to win on the basis of his performance . Denzel Washington was also great as Malcolm X, but I don’t think either actor was better than the other and Pacino has been nominated eight times.
Dangerous is one of my favorite Davis films. Loved the scene where she crashes her car to induce her husband to grant her a divorce to marry Franchot atone.
I love the fact that in 1936 there were 6 nominated actresses for the Oscar instead of 5 also Miriam Hopkins was the first actress in a technicolor movie nominated for an Oscar but I would loved to see Katie and Bette working together at least once sadly after Alice Addams Katie had to do awful movies again so her good luck didn't last too long of all her 30s movies only A Bill of Divorcement Morning Glory Little Women and Alice Addams were successfull with critics and moviegoers alike
I agree with you about her films circa 1930's. She must have had approval of what films she wanted to do. I don't care for Little Women. The June Allyson version is abysmal, with the exception of Elizabeth Taylor ❤️
Some of her movies may be not good in box office, but they are not necessarily bad movies. In fact Bringing Up Baby is considered a classic now. And Stage Door is a pretty good one.
Just wanted to point out before you get to 1946, Luise Rainer’s lady is pronounced Rainer as in the rain in Spain, but like the Rhine as in watch in the Rhine
I tink its impt to highlight ano gr8 performance that was unjustly overlooked by the academy. Garbo was robbed of a nom for Anna Karenina!! She won the 1st New York Film Critics Best Actress award that year (Hepburn was the runner-up)
I think, and certainly hope, both will win a real one. Glenn is 75. Amy is 48. While time is on Amy's side, Glenn needs one like now anyway. Where's the movie version of Sunset Blvd?!
To me, the ultimate test of an actress is playing a “heavy.” Except for Suddenly Last Summer, Katherine Hepburn mostly avoided it. Audrey Hepburn completely avoided it. Bette Davis welcomed the challenge..
I remember reading something when Audrey Hepburn got snubbed from being nominated for an Oscar from my fair lady for the infamous lip syncing replacing the original Eliza Doolittle Julie Andrews scandal, Katharine Hepburn wrote Audrey a letter stating that for the Oscars you as a actor/actress usually win the awards for performances that aren’t your best or most memorable and that sentiment definitely fit for Bette, her performances in jezebel and dangerous are only remembered for giving her only Oscar’s of her career, once that memory is clocked in you then starting mentioning other performances she should’ve won or could’ve won for like of human bondage, the letter, all about Eve and whatever happened to baby Jane. I still think she should’ve won her third Oscar for all about eve
Can you please do Bette Midler and Sally field's 1979 Oscar match-up? Talk about opposites: The virginal flying nun's turn as Union hero-saint vs gay bathhouse Betty playing (?) a doomed drug addled rock star. Personally, I think Bette sunk her chances for an Oscar with a lewd and irreverent (albeit hilarious) Golden Globe acceptance speech.
Who's the actress in "Arsenic and old lace" alongside C. Grant? That movie is hilarious but I haven't seen it in many years. I don't usually re-watch classics, not since I upgraded my collection to Blu-ray. I don't like the 4:3 square screen format in blu-ray, I prefer widescreen, so I own very few classics
Love bette Davis! I love every performances (even if I don't love the movie) the closest we have now to her is the fabulous Meryl streep! Never cared for Katherine Hepburn, her voice grated on me. I found her melodramatic, to the point of unbelievable in her performances. The only KH movie I can watch is On Golden Pond Love your channel. Subscribed. Love from bonnie Scotland 💗
I’m not very much of a Katherine Hepburn fan either. It’s strange that I personally preferred her more comedic performances in films like: “Bringing Up Baby”, “The Philadelphia Story” and “Adam’s Rib”, rather than her in more dramatic movies. With the exception of “The Lion in Winter”, almost all of Kate’s dramatic performances felt either a bit stiff, or emotionally out of place, maybe it’s her unique accent that makes that it impossible for the actor to separate themselves to their characters?
By all means Geraldine Page's Oscar win was well deserved! You make it sound as if it was a consolation prize when it was a powerful performance worthy of the top award! However, Al Pacino was unremarkable!
Both are great but i Bette more daring and more diverse where Hepburn roles are more predictable and just my own opinion rather boring. Davis character acting is more convincing than Hepburn.
I thought Hepburn was worthy of four acting Oscars, but for Alice Adams, Bringing Up Baby (criminally not nominated, but I am aware the film was a box-office disappointed and at the end of the screwball comedy popularity), Summertime and The Lion in Winter. Davis in turn was worthy of two Oscars, but for Of Human Bondage and The Letter. (Worthy for All About Eve as well but I give the edge to Gloria Swanson that year). I was always fascinated by these two women, who as far as I'm aware never met. I always felt Hepburn was the more talented of the two, her films just appealed to me more along with her performances in them. Davis may have played the diva a little too much off screen and burned one to many bridges as the years went on, which is why I think Hepburn thrives more as she got older. (I'm surprised that as successful as Hepburn was she never did star in a film which won Best Picture). But Davis can electrify the screen, especially under the right director. William Wyler being the best of them, with Jezebel, The Letter and The Little Foxes.
Many critics felt that Alice Adams was Katharine Hepburn's best early performance. This role along with her performance in 1962's 'Long Day's Journey into Night's were considered her best film performances, yet she lost the Oscar both times. So the four best actress Academy Awards Katharine Hepburn won for are considered to be for lesser quality performances.
I’m not really a fan of either Bette Davis or Katherine Hepburn to be honest. Nothing against either actresses and I really like several of their movies. The main issue, for me, is that both Bette Davis’s and Katherine Hepburn’s public persona almost always outweighs their own acting. It’s like they’re both putting in parts of themselves in every role, rather than completely disappearing themselves into their roles by playing against their public personas, which makes almost every role of theirs feel like they’re playing very similar characters from their previous films. I personally prefer Ingrid Bergman over both Bette Davis and Katherine Hepburn. At least Bergman was putting in the effort to make each one of her movies characters as different from one another as possible. Her performances in “Casablanca”, “Gaslight”, “Cactus Flower”, and “Autumn Sonata” feels like it was portrayed by completely different actresses!
@@davy209 I certainly won't make an argument against Ingrid Bergman, I think she was an amazing actress. But I disagree about Davis and Hepburn, especially Hepburn. She mastered both comedy, drama and tragedy beautifully, she was always accused of doing the same performance in each film. But compare Bringing Up Baby to Long Day's Journey Into Night. Adam's Rib to The Lion in Winter. And you have in there Woman of the Year, The Philadelphia Story, Summertime, Suddenly, Last Summer, Alice Adams, A Bill of Divorcement, Little Women, On Golden Pond, Holiday. I do feel she disappeared into each character personally. Davis I felt like she played certain parts a little too theatrically. You could tell when she had a director who challenged her, like her work with William Wyler and Joe Mankiewicz. Directors who weren't wimps and allow her to dictate every part of the film. Who allowed her to ignore their direction and just submit to her doing it herself. She was still very much a solid actress, don't get me wrong, but I more or less respect her drive in her early years more than anything. I'd still place Hepburn ahead of her. But back to Bergman, how could one not fall in love with her? Her and Bogart... just sensational! And speaking of which, Bogie did some of his best work with all three actresses! He and Davis in The Petrified Forest, with Hepburn in The African Queen and of course alongside Berman in Casablanca. (Also, despite Bergman being nominated in 1943 for For Whom the Bells Toll, how she was not instead nominated for Casablanca, and win for it to boot, I will never understand!).
Hollywood was so young and different. MOTB winning just picture and nothing else is so u heard of now, Spotlight only won 2 (inc best pic) that’s the closest in recent years a movie came to equaling the old days one Oscar only best pic
It would be very interesting to have your take on Louise Rainer, Brian. Other videos have been made on her because she's such a fluke in Oscar history.
At the time Life magazine wrote Davis gave the finest performance ever given on screen. It was a silly thing to write and proves Life magazine didn't go to the movies very often. Even in the silent era better performances were given and certainly in the sound era.
It’s something of an embarrassment to win the top prize for a performance that wasn’t your best. Nevertheless everyone knows that guilty conscience Oscar’s exist. I have seen Alice Adams and Hepburn was very good. I also saw Dangerous and read that Davis’ character, Joyce was based on Jeanne Eagels. Personally I feel Miriam Hopkins should been nominated for “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”. Acting is an art not a science so it’s hardly surprising that people will have different views. Studio politics and favouritism have always played a part too.
Katherine Hepburn won Oscars for much better roles than Alice Adams, thank goodness. She wasn't exactly a proficient actress at this time. One famous review of her work from the 30s is that she ran the range of emotions from A to B (paraphrasing). Alice Adams is one such a performance.
Dangerous much like a number of other Oscar roles Davis did was pretty boring, Katherine Hepburn definitely deserved the Oscar since Alice Adams by comparison was a more engaging and hysterical film especially the scenes with Hattie McDaniel
Who is speaking? The voice has predictable inflections which make the auditory drone on in a displeasing way. His voice almost always drops down an octave on the last syllable before he pauses. That was very annoying.
Miriam Hopkins should have won it, for having to spend the rest of her career listening to Davis bitch about working with her, in The Old maid and Old Acquaintance. Miriam was a huge star back then, and Davis was jealous of how pretty she was.
Sorry, Mr. Host: it's *exhausting* 😟 to listen. What if, while driving, we would brake to a stop at EVERY intersection contrled or not? PLEASE give complete sentences with natural spacing.
Davis is terrible in Dangerous. Hepburn gave an excellent performamce in Alice Adams. Both actresses were not very good actresses at the begining of their movie careers. Hepburn is awful in Morning Glory. By the late 1930s both became better actresses on film. Davis stopped growing ascan actress after the early 1940s, but Hepburn grew as an actress and challenged herself. By the way, Miriam Hopkins was a better actress than Davis. Director William Wyler loved working with Hopkins but refused to work with Davis after 1941.
Dangerous is such a mediocre film. It is based on Jeanne Eagles life and honestly it doesn't do the great actress justice. Alice Adams was a far superior film. One of the few movies that KH actually acts and isn't just playing herself.
Davis was not doing great work before Of Human Bondage. It is amazing that Warner Bros. even kept her. Her performances are terrible and she had no charisma on screen. It was only after Of Human Bondage that she became a better screen actress. Sadly, her idea of great acting was overacting and repeating what she had already done in past performances. She needed a strong director to tame her ego and laziness as an actress. William Wyler gave her career some longevity with Jezabel because by the late 1930s her performances were already considered hammy and repetitive. After Wyler refused to work with Davis in 1941 her career went into a decline within few short years. Her performances and films were unspectacular. She never regained her popularity or respect as an actress and had trouble finding work starting from the late 1940s until her death. She tried theater work but failed. She did not have the technique or discipline. A good biography on Davis was written by Barbara Leaming. I recommend it.
Fun fact: both Davis and Hepburn have an Oscar nomination for playing a woman named Jane Hudson, Davis in Baby Jane, Hepburn in Summertime.
Love this!!
I did not know that!
That dig at the Academy over Glen Close never winning an Oscar is precious. Lol.
I love it!
Too true!
Just a little in-joke if you’ve watched my Glenn Close video haha
Annette Benning deserves to win an oscar too. She's a much better actor than her husband. At 66, it's time for her !
Watch 'Old Acquaintance' - this is the test! This is not listed as one of Bette's GREAT films, but it is wonderful. Bette never cared about the 'empathy of the audience' but in this film she has it every minute! SHE is one you follow, and applaud when she gives Hopkins what she has needed EVERY MOMENT OF THE PICTURE!
Miss Davis had a powerful turn in Of Human Bondage, and so winning the 'consolation' prize for 'Dangerous' does not bother me. I would have been happier if she had gone on winning streak--Dark Victory, The Letter, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane and even Little Foxes, all of these were worthy of a win--and racked up 9 or even 10 wins. People compare her to Kate Hepburn, but really there is nothing to compare. Miss Davis was far more talented.
Davis was spectacular!!
Amen!!
To this day, I cannot think of a Hepburn flick I would rather watch than ANY Davis pic- ANY DAVIS PIC!!
I’ve got no problem with Bette Davis winning this Academy Award. She did a great job and while it may not be one of her most notable or talked about performances, she did her best and that’s what one should do when acting. Plus, Kathrine Hepburn would win 4 Academy Awards, so her losing clearly didn’t hurt her in terms of awards. Great video Brian, keep up the great work!
Very true. Thanks for watching!
Two of those were definitely undeserved (Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, On Golden Pond).
I think Bette Davis did deserve her first Oscar. She's the only thing about Dangerous that is worth watching. Because the studio system was on par with prison and their stars inmates given very little for a lot, Bette was the outspoken critic who moved the industry towards artistic equity in her efforts. Like Elizabeth Taylor in BUtterfield 8, you can hate the role and deliver an amazing performance. You had no choice, really. You can even hate the recognition, but glad you got the honor. So, that being said, I think Bette is right that it should have gone to Katharine Hepburn for Alice Adams, but I have a feeling RKO still wouldn't have known what to do with Katharine whereas Warner Brothers found some sadistic form of tolerance for Bette Davis. Bette Davis kept advancing and wanting more than Warner Brothers could provide and held onto her artistic integrity for a while. And, since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences were meant to prevent unionization, the timing was right to appease the public by honoring Bette Davis. It's a shame Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn never made a film together. I could see them in a 50s adaption of the famous play The Maids.
Completely agree- it's common to downplay both this Davis win and Elizabeth Taylor's, but I think both give fantastic, dedicated performances with a lot of emotional truth. Hepburn also would have been a worthy winner as you mention, but I think bias (as in the standard "she only won because of the "Human Bondage" snub, and for a far inferior performance" take) keeps Davis' vivid playing in "Dangerous" ranked lower than it should be in her career cannon.
Bette Davis did "put out the feelers" to find a script that would co-star her with Katharine Hepburn but, apparently, Hepburn never considered working with Davis. I, too, would've paid ANY amount of money to see those two act together but alas, it didn't happen!
Yes, would’ve loved them in a film together. Thanks for watching!
@@TheAwardsContender Keep your videos coming! You and Karina Longwood (BeKindRewind) have the best, most accurate, well-analyzed content on Studio-Era Hollywood on UA-cam!
I am most excited to see you discuss Spencer Tracy's double win. The man gets forgotten so much these days, but he probably helped Hepburn become a much better actress, and she was the first to admit it. (Dick Cavett interview)
Yes, absolutely!
Thank you SO much for these amazing videos! I am spending hours watching them; especially the videos like this one about the golden days of Oscar. I know these are a lot of work, but I hope you know how much many like me love them!
Thank you, Anthony, I have a blast making these Early Days of Oscar videos. Looking to make another one soon.
It may not be one of her best, but I love watching Davis in Dangerous. It’s fun and feisty, IMHO.
Absolutely!
always thought of cher's '88 win for 'moonstruck' as an example of another oscar mulligan after she'd been passed over for 'mask' in '86.. i mean 'moonstruck' was fine, but i don't think any member of the academy could honestly make the case that that performance was in the same league as 'mask'.. .
Very true!
Fun Fact: Davis and Hepburn competed for a Best Actress Emmy for telefilms they did in 1979. Davis won for "Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter" over Hepburn in...get this...a TV adaptation of a 1945 Bette Davis movie, "The Corn is Green"!
Ooooh, love this!
As she deserved to win- Hepburn played a flamboyant caricature, Bette played a real flesh and blood human! I remember watching the Emmys that night- she was not only pitted against Hepburn, but Mary Tyler Moore, and Carol Burnett- Bette won- I screamed!!
also in 1936, Bette met with John Ford to play Elizabeth to Hepburn's Mary Queen of Scots but the director nixed the idea. Just Imagine.
Whoa, interesting!
Truthfully, I think Vivien Leigh's performance in Gone With The Wind was the best of any actress. Especially since the bar was set so high for her, being from Britain and still relatively unknown in the USA. She not only met the challenge but exceeded it. Even today its impossible to imagine anyone else in that role.
Agreed, she is incredible in that film!
@@TheAwardsContender she even overcame Sophie's choice
@@khongmaithikhog5624 She did. Vivien Leigh was #1 and Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice is #2. I saw in the Be kind Rewind UA-cam channel in the Gone with the wind video. That's also a lovely channel. You should check it.
@@Dr.SyedSaifAbbasNaqvi Yes i saw long ago. Vivien go first !
A lot of people would argue that she was better in Streetcar.
Bette Davis had it all over Miss Hepburn. If I want to watch a great actor I watch Davis, if I want to experience a star I’ll watch Miss Hepburn.
Thanks for watching!
Love that Bette herself thought Katharine should have won and that "Dangerous" was a consolation prize. Correct on both counts, Ms. Davis. Great video analysis, Mr. Rowe, thank you, keep 'em coming.
Thanks for watching, David!!
Bette was better than Kathrine hands down..
They are two of my favorite actresses, and it's very difficult to choose who was better. A lot of the comments talk about how Bette took more risks. I think that was absolutely true in the 30s, but I think Katharine's range and her risk taking really improved over the course of her career and in later works.
Although I love them both, I think that when they took risks, they each tended to take the same kinds of risks again and again, if that makes sense. I'm also always aware that I'm watching Bette or Katharine when they're onscreen. They both had such strong personalities.
I would love to see a video on Deborah Kerr. She was so talented and subtle, with a terrific range, and I feel she is underrated and overlooked today because of that subtlety. I'm glad she was nominated 6 times, but I absolutely think she deserved an Oscar for at least one of following films- Black Narcissus, From Here to Eternity, Tea and Sympathy, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The Innocents, An Affair to Remember.
Yes, I’ll get to Kerr at some point. Thanks for watching!
Deborah Kerr was superior to Ms Hepburn and to a large degree Bette Davis.
I always thought of Bette as more of a character actress. I tended to 'buy in' to her portrayals more than Hepburn (who really leapt off the screen regardless of who she played) , but I always knew it was Hepburn. Not to take away from some of her performances - esp. earlier ones (Alice Adams, Bill of Divorcement, etc.)
@@ericmaine I agree with yr assentment of KH. Her earlier works were far better, especially Aluce Adams. SHE didn't play herself. Also Stage Door is a favorite, more likely for the entire cast than one particular portrayal. LOVE ANN MILLER!
@@alfredbonnabel7022 Yes - she was also only 14 years old when that was filmed - amazing talent
Thanks for this. The New York Film Critics Awards were inaugurated for 1935, with Greta Garbo winning Best Actress for “Anna Karenina.” Garbo didn’t get an Oscar nomination, which was almost as bad as Davis’ omission the year before.
Yes, excellent point!
Bette Davis took more risk and challenges in her roles than Hepburn. Hepburn would have made a good Blanche to Davis’s Baby Jane!
Barbara Stanwyck took more risks and had a wider range of acting ability than either Bette Davis or Katharine Hepburn. I submit "Baby Face", "The Plough and the Stars", "Golden Boy", "Remember the Night", "The Lady Eve", "Double indemnity", "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers", "Lady of Burlesque", "The File on Thelma Jordon", "Walk on the Wild Side", among many other films.
Love that!! Could you imagine?
I hope you do more of these early Oscars videos, they are fantastic and I learned so much!
Planning to make another one in August!
Bette Davis always thought that Katbarine Hepburn deserved the Oscar that year. Davis considered the Oscar as a consolation for not having won the year before for "Of Human Bondage."
Yep, but at least Davis has two Oscar wins!
You should do a vid on all that whatever happened to baby Jane Bette Davis Oscar drama
Controversial opinion here: Bette Davis was the Best Actress in her generation, even better than Hepburn, she deserved more Oscars. I'd say she was the best American actress. Only other actress at her level back then: Vivien Leigh but she's British 😁
I actually agree I believe what prevents Bette from getting that title is bc she end up picking the worst movies after the 1940s with the exception of all about eve and whatever happened to baby Jane a lot of her films and performances were either fine or forgettable Katharine did a superior job with their picks mainly in the 50s and 60s including her time in theatre
@@Kevin-rg3yc agree with your take.
@@Kevin-rg3yc I disagree with you both. Barbara Stanwyck was, probably, the most versatile film actress of Studio-Era Hollywood.
@@caraqueno ohh I know Barbra in her time was versatile like no other it was a good idea that she didn’t sign to any major Hollywood studio at the time but that unfortunately played a major factor to her never winning a competitive Oscar in her lifetime
@@Kevin-rg3yc True, unfortunately, although her honorary Oscar, Emmys, and AFI Lifetime Achievement Award had to have been of some consolation to her but, yes, it's not the same as winning a competitive Oscar.
I would love more videos like this about old Hollywood and Oscar ceremonies from awhile ago ❤️
Thanks, more to come after this year’s Oscars!
Brian, I greatly enjoyed your video. One note: Luise Rainer was "Louise RY-ner', not "Louise RAY-ner", as you pronounced it.
Thanks!
HMMM...Luise
Also the “e” in Luise is not silent. I saw a German award show and when the host called out her name is pronounced it “Luis-eh.”
Another superb video, Brian, thank you! If I may suggest, going forward, would you consider talking about some of the top performances not nominated? For example, Greta Garbo won the (first) New York Film Critics' Award for Best Actress for Anna Karenina, yet wasn't nominated. IMO Garbo should have won.
Thanks! And YES, I will try to include those as well!
@@TheAwardsContender Awesome, really curious as to your take on it. Thanks!
Loved this!!!
I'd love to see a video looking at Best Supporting Actor 1943: Charles Coburn vs. Claude Rains. Coburn is certainly good in The More the Merrier, but was he really better than Rains as Louis Renault? It's a crime Rains, one of the finest actors of Hollywood's Golden Age, never won an award.
Great idea, thank you!
Bette said he was the best actor she ever worked with!!
Geraldine Page was transcendent in Trip to Bountiful so I dont think its fair to put it in the same category as Al Pacino's win for Scent of a Woman. While both overdue Page gave an oscar worthy performance where as Pacino's was def a career award.
Well said. Just adore Goldberg in The Color Purple so much. Thanks for watching!
I think Pacino is fantastic in that movie. I remember that year and I wanted him to win on the basis of his performance . Denzel Washington was also great as Malcolm X, but I don’t think either actor was better than the other and Pacino has been nominated eight times.
They REALLY should allow write in votes again, that would easily get them more viewers not ´most cheer-worthy moment´ or whatever
Would be interesting!
I love the film dangerous ,Jezebel not so much,all about eve is fantastic
Yes, good picks!
I forever wonder about Linda Hunt’s win and how it holds up…
Yes!
The Letter was a good movie as well.
Dangerous is one of my favorite Davis films. Loved the scene where she crashes her car to induce her husband to grant her a divorce to marry Franchot atone.
Great scene! Thanks for watching!
Was the orange hat interview also when she was like “Never shall I raise my glass to Faye Dunaway, never, never”? 😂👏🏾
Yep!
I love the fact that in 1936 there were 6 nominated actresses for the Oscar instead of 5 also Miriam Hopkins was the first actress in a technicolor movie nominated for an Oscar but I would loved to see Katie and Bette working together at least once sadly after Alice Addams Katie had to do awful movies again so her good luck didn't last too long of all her 30s movies only A Bill of Divorcement Morning Glory Little Women and Alice Addams were successfull with critics and moviegoers alike
Very true!
I agree with you about her films circa 1930's. She must have had approval of what films she wanted to do. I don't care for Little Women. The June Allyson version is abysmal, with the exception of Elizabeth Taylor ❤️
Some of her movies may be not good in box office, but they are not necessarily bad movies. In fact Bringing Up Baby is considered a classic now. And Stage Door is a pretty good one.
@@mythandmighty it's bringing up baby
Bette Davis always felt seconded by Katharine Hepburn. Davis both admired and resented Hepburn.
Bette Davis was the GOAT. The song is called "Bette Davis eyes" not "Katharine Hepburn eyes" 😂
Good point!
Bette Davis Eyes sounds better than Katharine Hepburn Eyes for a song.
Haha, totally the GOAT!
@@deniserodas6848 it does!
Just wanted to point out before you get to 1946, Luise Rainer’s lady is pronounced Rainer as in the rain in Spain, but like the Rhine as in watch in the Rhine
Thank you!
I tink its impt to highlight ano gr8 performance that was unjustly overlooked by the academy. Garbo was robbed of a nom for Anna Karenina!! She won the 1st New York Film Critics Best Actress award that year (Hepburn was the runner-up)
Yes!! Good point.
Glenn Close will get an honorary Oscar at this point. When's the consolation award for Amy Adams? 😁
We shall see!
I think, and certainly hope, both will win a real one. Glenn is 75. Amy is 48. While time is on Amy's side, Glenn needs one like now anyway. Where's the movie version of Sunset Blvd?!
I LOVE BETTE!!!
Fun fact- this and the 2nd Oscars the only time where 6 people were nominated for an acting Oscar, both in best actress
Love your content, man👍🏻
Thanks, Justin!
Another great video
Thank you!
To me, the ultimate test of an actress is playing a “heavy.” Except for Suddenly Last Summer, Katherine Hepburn mostly avoided it. Audrey Hepburn completely avoided it. Bette Davis welcomed the challenge..
If I had seen that bitch come up and down, up and down in that elevator ONE MORE TIME!!!
I remember reading something when Audrey Hepburn got snubbed from being nominated for an Oscar from my fair lady for the infamous lip syncing replacing the original Eliza Doolittle Julie Andrews scandal, Katharine Hepburn wrote Audrey a letter stating that for the Oscars you as a actor/actress usually win the awards for performances that aren’t your best or most memorable and that sentiment definitely fit for Bette, her performances in jezebel and dangerous are only remembered for giving her only Oscar’s of her career, once that memory is clocked in you then starting mentioning other performances she should’ve won or could’ve won for like of human bondage, the letter, all about Eve and whatever happened to baby Jane. I still think she should’ve won her third Oscar for all about eve
Yes, her two wins should’ve been All About Eve and Baby Jane!
@@TheAwardsContender No way. Both of the times there had been the tour-de-force performances
Can you please do a video on latin actors and actresses that have won or been nominated
Love that idea!
Hi Brian, Luciano here from Brazil. Are you going to continue with this series?
YES, planning to return to my Early Days of Oscar series this summer!
Can you please do Bette Midler and Sally field's 1979 Oscar match-up? Talk about opposites: The virginal flying nun's turn as Union hero-saint vs gay bathhouse Betty playing (?) a doomed drug addled rock star.
Personally, I think Bette sunk her chances for an Oscar with a lewd and irreverent (albeit hilarious) Golden Globe acceptance speech.
Would be lots of fun to do that one. Thanks for watching!
Who's the actress in "Arsenic and old lace" alongside C. Grant? That movie is hilarious but I haven't seen it in many years. I don't usually re-watch classics, not since I upgraded my collection to Blu-ray. I don't like the 4:3 square screen format in blu-ray, I prefer widescreen, so I own very few classics
Priscilla Lane. I saw the movie when I was in drama class in high school. We read the play.
@@csnr1227 thanks!
@@csnr1227 thanks
Any of those nominated actresses for the 1935 Oscars could've won the Oscar for Best Actress.
Great performances!
Love bette Davis! I love every performances (even if I don't love the movie) the closest we have now to her is the fabulous Meryl streep!
Never cared for Katherine Hepburn, her voice grated on me. I found her melodramatic, to the point of unbelievable in her performances. The only KH movie I can watch is On Golden Pond
Love your channel. Subscribed. Love from bonnie Scotland 💗
Yay, thanks so much!
I’m not very much of a Katherine Hepburn fan either. It’s strange that I personally preferred her more comedic performances in films like: “Bringing Up Baby”, “The Philadelphia Story” and “Adam’s Rib”, rather than her in more dramatic movies. With the exception of “The Lion in Winter”, almost all of Kate’s dramatic performances felt either a bit stiff, or emotionally out of place, maybe it’s her unique accent that makes that it impossible for the actor to separate themselves to their characters?
@@davy209 i would agree that the lion in winter is an exception. Love that movie x
The winner of that year should've been Greta Garbo for Anna Karenina, she was much better than Davis performance's Dangerous
Should’ve been nominated!
By all means Geraldine Page's Oscar win was well deserved! You make it sound as if it was a consolation prize when it was a powerful performance worthy of the top award! However, Al Pacino was unremarkable!
Yes, Page is terrific in that film, but I do think Goldberg was astonishing in The Color Purple. Thanks for watching!
And Greta Garbo, who won the New York Film Critics Award that year for Anna Karenina wasn’t even nominated.
Both are great but i Bette more daring and more diverse where Hepburn roles are more predictable and just my own opinion rather boring. Davis character acting is more convincing than Hepburn.
Davis is amazing!
I thought Hepburn was worthy of four acting Oscars, but for Alice Adams, Bringing Up Baby (criminally not nominated, but I am aware the film was a box-office disappointed and at the end of the screwball comedy popularity), Summertime and The Lion in Winter. Davis in turn was worthy of two Oscars, but for Of Human Bondage and The Letter. (Worthy for All About Eve as well but I give the edge to Gloria Swanson that year).
I was always fascinated by these two women, who as far as I'm aware never met. I always felt Hepburn was the more talented of the two, her films just appealed to me more along with her performances in them. Davis may have played the diva a little too much off screen and burned one to many bridges as the years went on, which is why I think Hepburn thrives more as she got older. (I'm surprised that as successful as Hepburn was she never did star in a film which won Best Picture). But Davis can electrify the screen, especially under the right director. William Wyler being the best of them, with Jezebel, The Letter and The Little Foxes.
Thanks for watching!!
Many critics felt that Alice Adams was Katharine Hepburn's best early performance. This role along with her performance in 1962's 'Long Day's Journey into Night's were considered her best film performances, yet she lost the Oscar both times. So the four best actress Academy Awards Katharine Hepburn won for are considered to be for lesser quality performances.
I’m not really a fan of either Bette Davis or Katherine Hepburn to be honest. Nothing against either actresses and I really like several of their movies. The main issue, for me, is that both Bette Davis’s and Katherine Hepburn’s public persona almost always outweighs their own acting. It’s like they’re both putting in parts of themselves in every role, rather than completely disappearing themselves into their roles by playing against their public personas, which makes almost every role of theirs feel like they’re playing very similar characters from their previous films. I personally prefer Ingrid Bergman over both Bette Davis and Katherine Hepburn. At least Bergman was putting in the effort to make each one of her movies characters as different from one another as possible. Her performances in “Casablanca”, “Gaslight”, “Cactus Flower”, and “Autumn Sonata” feels like it was portrayed by completely different actresses!
@@davy209 I certainly won't make an argument against Ingrid Bergman, I think she was an amazing actress. But I disagree about Davis and Hepburn, especially Hepburn. She mastered both comedy, drama and tragedy beautifully, she was always accused of doing the same performance in each film. But compare Bringing Up Baby to Long Day's Journey Into Night. Adam's Rib to The Lion in Winter. And you have in there Woman of the Year, The Philadelphia Story, Summertime, Suddenly, Last Summer, Alice Adams, A Bill of Divorcement, Little Women, On Golden Pond, Holiday. I do feel she disappeared into each character personally.
Davis I felt like she played certain parts a little too theatrically. You could tell when she had a director who challenged her, like her work with William Wyler and Joe Mankiewicz. Directors who weren't wimps and allow her to dictate every part of the film. Who allowed her to ignore their direction and just submit to her doing it herself. She was still very much a solid actress, don't get me wrong, but I more or less respect her drive in her early years more than anything. I'd still place Hepburn ahead of her.
But back to Bergman, how could one not fall in love with her? Her and Bogart... just sensational! And speaking of which, Bogie did some of his best work with all three actresses! He and Davis in The Petrified Forest, with Hepburn in The African Queen and of course alongside Berman in Casablanca.
(Also, despite Bergman being nominated in 1943 for For Whom the Bells Toll, how she was not instead nominated for Casablanca, and win for it to boot, I will never understand!).
The Dig at Geraldine Page for winning in The Trip To Bountiful. Cause honestly that was Whoopi Goldberg's year.
I had to switch off... couldn't bear the stop-start barrage.
Hollywood was so young and different. MOTB winning just picture and nothing else is so u heard of now, Spotlight only won 2 (inc best pic) that’s the closest in recent years a movie came to equaling the old days one Oscar only best pic
It would be very interesting to have your take on Louise Rainer, Brian. Other videos have been made on her because she's such a fluke in Oscar history.
Yes, excited to talk about her!
Luise Ranier was a good actress. Excellent in both of her Oscar wins. Unfortunately, her follow up films were turgid soap operas.
At the time Life magazine wrote Davis gave the finest performance ever given on screen. It was a silly thing to write and proves Life magazine didn't go to the movies very often. Even in the silent era better performances were given and certainly in the sound era.
It’s something of an embarrassment to win the top prize for a performance that wasn’t your best. Nevertheless everyone knows that guilty conscience Oscar’s exist. I have seen Alice Adams and Hepburn was very good. I also saw Dangerous and read that Davis’ character, Joyce was based on Jeanne Eagels. Personally I feel Miriam Hopkins should been nominated for “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”. Acting is an art not a science so it’s hardly surprising that people will have different views. Studio politics and favouritism have always played a part too.
Thanks for watching!
I think Hepburn made better choices in the long run. She exercised her instrument in theater more consistently.
Yes, agreed!
Katharine Hepburn has always deserved all the awards for her performances in all the films. Without a doubt, she is the biggest star in Hollywood.
Love her!!
She sucked!!
Katherine Hepburn won Oscars for much better roles than Alice Adams, thank goodness. She wasn't exactly a proficient actress at this time. One famous review of her work from the 30s is that she ran the range of emotions from A to B (paraphrasing). Alice Adams is one such a performance.
Yes!
Dangerous much like a number of other Oscar roles Davis did was pretty boring, Katherine Hepburn definitely deserved the Oscar since Alice Adams by comparison was a more engaging and hysterical film especially the scenes with Hattie McDaniel
At least Hepburn got lots of wins later. Thanks for watching!
Who is speaking? The voice has predictable inflections which make the auditory drone on in a displeasing way. His voice almost always drops down an octave on the last syllable before he pauses. That was very annoying.
Greta Garbo in ANNA KARENINA should have won over both of them.
Hepburn and Davis are great, but I can't believe that Stanwyck didn't win an Oscar, arguably the best actress of the three.
Yes, love her!!
Miriam Hopkins should have won it, for having to spend the rest of her career listening to Davis bitch about working with her, in The Old maid and Old Acquaintance. Miriam was a huge star back then, and Davis was jealous of how pretty she was.
Interesting!
Barbara Stanwyck, who never won a competitive Oscar, could act rings around them both. Glenn Close is in the best company.
Sorry, Mr. Host: it's *exhausting* 😟 to listen. What if, while driving, we would brake to a stop at EVERY intersection contrled or not? PLEASE give complete sentences with natural spacing.
First 😍
18:26 you're a savage hahahahaha
Haha!
Katherine hep deserves that year's oscar not betty
It was a close call!
Davis is terrible in Dangerous. Hepburn gave an excellent performamce in Alice Adams. Both actresses were not very good actresses at the begining of their movie careers. Hepburn is awful in Morning Glory. By the late 1930s both became better actresses on film. Davis stopped growing ascan actress after the early 1940s, but Hepburn grew as an actress and challenged herself. By the way, Miriam Hopkins was a better actress than Davis. Director William Wyler loved working with Hopkins but refused to work with Davis after 1941.
Dangerous is such a mediocre film. It is based on Jeanne Eagles life and honestly it doesn't do the great actress justice. Alice Adams was a far superior film. One of the few movies that KH actually acts and isn't just playing herself.
Thanks for watching!
Hepburn should have won this .
Kate had to wait 34 years to win #2
Davis was not doing great work before Of Human Bondage. It is amazing that Warner Bros. even kept her. Her performances are terrible and she had no charisma on screen. It was only after Of Human Bondage that she became a better screen actress. Sadly, her idea of great acting was overacting and repeating what she had already done in past performances. She needed a strong director to tame her ego and laziness as an actress. William Wyler gave her career some longevity with Jezabel because by the late 1930s her performances were already considered hammy and repetitive. After Wyler refused to work with Davis in 1941 her career went into a decline within few short years. Her performances and films were unspectacular. She never regained her popularity or respect as an actress and had trouble finding work starting from the late 1940s until her death. She tried theater work but failed. She did not have the technique or discipline. A good biography on Davis was written by Barbara Leaming. I recommend it.
YOU SUCK!!