Bette Davis filmography

This is a complete filmography of Bette Davis. She began acting in films in 1931, incipiently as a contract player with Universal Studios, where she made her film debut in Bad Sister. She was initially seen as unappealing by studio executives, and was assigned to a string of B-movies early in her career.

Davis in a shot from the trailer of Now, Voyager, one of ten films for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

Davis made a transition to Warner Bros. in 1932, and made her breakthrough performance in The Man Who Played God, opposite George Arliss. She continued in a succession of films, but did not gain further recognition until she agreed to star in John Cromwell's adaptation of the W. Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage on a loan-out to RKO. The role of Mildred Rogers had been rejected by several actresses, but Davis achieved critical acclaim for her performance. Dangerous (1935) became the first time she won an Academy Award for Best Actress.

In 1936, convinced her career would be ruined by appearing in mediocre films, Davis walked out on her Warner Brothers contract, and decided to make films in England. Davis explained her viewpoint to a journalist, saying: "I knew that, if I continued to appear in any more mediocre pictures, I would have no career left worth fighting for." She eventually settled her disagreements with Warner Brothers, and returned to the studio in 1937. In 1938, Warner Brothers cast her in Jezebel. It was a critical and box office success, and earned her another Best Actress Academy Award.

Davis in The Little Foxes

Davis was at the peak of her career in the late 1930s and early-to-mid 1940s, at a time when she was one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood and turned down parts she found inferior. She received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in Dark Victory, and earned acclaim for her performances in The Old Maid and The Letter. Davis also earned acclaim for her portrayal of Elizabeth I of England in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. Davis later appeared in the melodrama The Little Foxes, and in the comedy film The Man Who Came to Dinner.

One of Davis' biggest successes at Warner Bros. was Now, Voyager, which earned her another Academy Award nomination. Her later films for the studio, including Winter Meeting and Beyond the Forest, failed at the box office.[1] As her popularity waned, Warner Brothers dropped her contract in 1949, and from thereafter on, she occupied a freelance career.

Davis received a career revival in All About Eve for 20th Century-Fox. She played an aging Broadway star, Margo Channing, who is manipulated by an obsessed fan. The film was one of the biggest hits of 1950, and she was again nominated for an Academy Award, but lost to Judy Holliday. Although Davis earned strong reviews for her performance in The Star, her career waned throughout the remainder of the decade.

Davis and Joan Crawford in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

In the 1960s, Davis received yet another revival in popularity. Although her appearance in Pocketful of Miracles was negatively received, she earned praise for her portrayal of the faded child star, Jane Hudson, in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, which garnered her a final nomination for an Academy Award. She retained a cult status throughout the remainder of her career, and appeared in several other thriller films, such as Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte and The Nanny.

Davis starred in her final film Wicked Stepmother, although she felt that the script was poor. The film had production problems, with Davis often quarreling with Larry Cohen, and she withdrew from the film shortly after production began. After fifty-eight years of acting, she made her final appearance.

Film

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1930s

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Year Title Role Director Studio Notes
1931 Bad Sister Laura Madison Hobart Henley Universal film debut
Seed Margaret Carter John M. Stahl
Waterloo Bridge Janet Cronin James Whale
Way Back Home Mary Lucy William A. Seiter RKO
1932 The Menace Peggy Lowell Roy William Neill Columbia
Hell's House Peggy Gardner Howard Higgin B.F. Zeidman Productions Ltd.
The Man Who Played God Grace Blair John G. Adolfi Warner Bros.
So Big! Miss Dallas O'Mara William A. Wellman Warner Bros.
The Rich Are Always with Us Malbro Alfred E. Green First National
The Dark Horse Kay Russell Warner Bros.
The Cabin in the Cotton Madge Norwood Michael Curtiz First National
Three on a Match Ruth Wescott Mervyn LeRoy Warner Bros.
20,000 Years in Sing Sing Fay Wilson Michael Curtiz
1933 Parachute Jumper Patricia "Alabama" Brent Alfred E. Green
The Working Man Jenny Harland John G. Adolfi aka Jane Grey
Ex-Lady Helen Bauer Robert Florey
Bureau of Missing Persons Norma Roberts Roy Del Ruth First National
1934 The Big Shakedown Norma Nelson John Francis Dillon
Fashions of 1934 Lynn Mason William Dieterle Warner Bros.
Jimmy the Gent Miss Joan Martin Michael Curtiz
Fog Over Frisco Arlene Bradford William Dieterle
Of Human Bondage Mildred Rogers John Cromwell RKO
Housewife Patricia "Pat" Berkeley Alfred E. Green Warner Bros.
1935 Bordertown Mrs. Marie Roark Archie Mayo
The Girl from 10th Avenue Miriam A. Brady Alfred E. Green
Front Page Woman Ellen Garfield Michael Curtiz
Special Agent Julie Gardner William Keighley
Dangerous Joyce Heath Alfred E. Green
1936 The Petrified Forest Gabrielle "Gabby" Maple Archie Mayo
The Golden Arrow Daisy Appleby Alfred E. Green
Satan Met a Lady Valerie Purvis William Dieterle
1937 Marked Woman Mary Dwight Strauber Lloyd Bacon
Kid Galahad Louise "Fluff" Phillips Michael Curtiz
That Certain Woman Mary Donnell Edmund Goulding aka Mrs. Al Haines
It's Love I'm After Joyce Arden Archie Mayo
1938 Jezebel Julie Marsden William Wyler
The Sisters Louise Elliott Medlin Anatole Litvak
1939 Dark Victory Judith Traherne Edmund Goulding
Juarez Empress Carlotta William Dieterle
The Old Maid Charlotte Lovell Edmund Goulding
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex Queen Elizabeth I Michael Curtiz

1940s

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Year Title Role Director Studio Notes
1940 All This, and Heaven Too Henriette Deluzy-Desportes Anatole Litvak Warner Bros.
The Letter Leslie Crosbie William Wyler
1941 The Great Lie Maggie Patterson Van Allen Edmund Goulding
Shining Victory Nurse Irving Rapper uncredited cameo role
The Bride Came C.O.D. Joan Winfield William Keighley
The Little Foxes Regina Giddens William Wyler RKO
1942 The Man Who Came to Dinner Maggie Cutler William Keighley Warner Bros.
In This Our Life Stanley Timberlake Kingsmill John Huston
Now, Voyager Charlotte Vale Irving Rapper
1943 Watch on the Rhine Sara Muller Herman Shumlin
Thank Your Lucky Stars Herself David Butler cameo role
Old Acquaintance Kit Marlowe Vincent Sherman
1944 Mr. Skeffington Fanny Trellis
Hollywood Canteen Herself Delmer Daves cameo role
1945 The Corn Is Green Miss Lilly Moffat Irving Rapper
1946 A Stolen Life Kate Bosworth / Patricia Bosworth Curtis Bernhardt dual role
Deception Christine Radcliffe Irving Rapper
1948 Winter Meeting Susan Grieve Bretaigne Windust
June Bride Linda Gilman
1949 Beyond the Forest Rosa Moline King Vidor

1950s

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Year Title Role Director Studio Notes
1950 All About Eve Margo Channing Joseph L. Mankiewicz 20th Century Fox New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress
1951 Payment on Demand Joyce Ramsey Curtis Bernhardt RKO Shot in 1949, except for final scene
Another Man's Poison Janet Frobisher Irving Rapper Angel Productions
1952 Phone Call from a Stranger Marie Hoke Jean Negulesco 20th Century Fox
The Star Margaret Elliot Stuart Heisler
1955 The Virgin Queen Queen Elizabeth I Henry Koster
1956 The Catered Affair Agnes Hurley Richard Brooks MGM
Storm Center Alicia Hull Daniel Taradash Columbia
1959 John Paul Jones Catherine the Great John Farrow Warner Bros.
The Scapegoat Countess De Gué Robert Hamer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

1960s

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Year Title Role Director Studio Notes
1961 Pocketful of Miracles Apple Annie Frank Capra United Artists
1962 What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Baby Jane Hudson Robert Aldrich Seven Arts
1963 The Empty Canvas Dino's mother Damiano Damiani Compagnia Cinematografica Champion
1964 Dead Ringer Margaret De Lorca / Edith Phillips Paul Henreid Warner Bros. dual role
Where Love Has Gone Mrs. Gerald Hayden Edward Dmytryk Paramount
Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte Charlotte Hollis Robert Aldrich 20th Century Fox
1965 The Nanny The Nanny Seth Holt Seven Arts
1968 The Anniversary Mrs. Taggart Roy Ward Baker Seven Arts

1970s

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Year Title Role Director Studio Notes
1970 Connecting Rooms Wanda Fleming Franklin Gollings Hemdale
1971 Bunny O'Hare Bunny O'Hare Gerd Oswald American International
1972 Madame Sin Madame Sin David Greene ITC Entertainment
The Scientific Cardplayer The Millionairess Luigi Comencini Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica
1976 Burnt Offerings Aunt Elizabeth Dan Curtis United Artists
1978 Return from Witch Mountain Letha Wedge John Hough Disney
Death on the Nile Marie Van Schuyler John Guillermin Paramount

1980s

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Year Title Role Director Studio Notes
1980 The Watcher in the Woods Mrs. Aylwood John Hough Disney
1987 The Whales of August Libby Strong Lindsay Anderson Alive Films
1989 Wicked Stepmother Miranda Pierpoint Larry Cohen Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer final film role

Short films appearing as herself

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Year Title Notes
1932 The 42nd Street Special
1935 A Dream Comes True
1936 Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 1
Screen Snapshots Series 15, No. 10
1937 A Day at Santa Anita
Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 8
1938 For Auld Lang Syne
Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 9
Breakdowns of 1938 Outtakes from That Certain Woman and Jezebel
1941 Breakdowns of 1941
1943 The Present with a Future Herself / Mother
Show Business at War
1984 Terror in the Aisles Archival footage

Box Office Ranking

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  • 1939 - 6th (US)
  • 1940 - 9th (US)
  • 1941 - 8th (US)
  • 1942 - 15th (US), 7th (UK)
  • 1943 - 13th (US), 8th (UK)
  • 1944 - 10th (US), 5th (UK)
  • 1945 - 14th (US), 2nd (UK)
  • 1946 - 15th (US), 5th (UK)
  • 1947 - 5th (UK)
  • 1951 - 7th (UK)

Lux Radio Theatre appearances

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Date Title Other cast members
March 30, 1936 Bought and Paid For
May 17, 1937 Another Language Fred MacMurray, John Beal
February 28, 1938 Forsaking All Others Joel McCrea, Anderson Lawler
January 8, 1940 Dark Victory Spencer Tracy, Humphrey Bogart
April 21, 1941 The Letter Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson
December 15, 1941 All This, and Heaven Too Charles Boyer, Bea Benaderet
March 6, 1944 The Letter Herbert Marshall, Vincent Price
October 1, 1945 Mr. Skeffington Claude Rains
February 11, 1946 Now, Voyager Gregory Peck, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains
August 25, 1947 A Stolen Life Glenn Ford
August 29, 1949 June Bride James Stewart
September 3, 1951 Payment on Demand Barry Sullivan
October 1, 1951 All About Eve Gary Merrill

– Command Performance - 1942 - Clark Gable, Bette Davis, Count Basie

Stage

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Opening Closing Performances Production Role Director
Mar. 5, 1929 Mar. 1929 27 The Earth Between Floy Jennings [2] James Light
Nov. 5, 1929 Apr. 1930 178 Broken Dishes Elaine Bumpstead[3] Marion Gering
Oct. 14, 1930 Nov. 1930 31 Solid South Bam[4] Rouben Mamoulian
Dec. 15, 1952 N/A 90 Two's Company Various Jules Dassin
Sep. 14, 1960 Oct. 8, 1960 29 The World of Carl Sandburg Herself Norman Corwin
Dec. 28, 1961 Sep. 29, 1962

(Davis: Mar. 31, 1962)[5]

316 The Night of the Iguana Maxine Faulk Frank Corsaro
Oct. 7, 1974 Oct. 18, 1974 8 Miss Moffatt (based upon The Corn Is Green) Lily Cristobel Moffat Joshua Logan

Television

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1950s

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Year Title Role Director
1952 What's My Line?
Episode broadcast October 5
Herself (Mystery guest) Franklin Heller
1955 The 27th Annual Academy Awards Herself (Presenter: Best Actor) Bill Bennington, Grey Lockwood
1956 The 20th Century Fox Hour
Episode : Crack Up
Marie Hoke Ted Post
1956 Person to Person Herself Franklin J. Schaffner
1957 Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Episode: For Better, For Worse
Irene Van Buren John Brahm
The Ford Television Theatre
Episode: Footnote on a Doll
Dolley Madison Marc Daniels, Franklin J. Schaffner
General Electric Theater
Episode: With Malice Toward One
Miss Burrows Jules Bricken
1958 Telephone Time
Episode: Stranded
Beatrice Enter Allen H. Miner
Studio 57
Episode: The Starmaker
Paula Allen H. Miner
General Electric Theater
Episode:The Cold Touch
Christine Marlowe Don Weis
Suspicion
Episode: Fraction of a Second
Mrs Ellis John Brahm
The 30th Annual Academy Awards Herself (Presenter: Honorary Awards) Alan Handley
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show Herself William Asher
1959 Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Season 4 Episode 16: "Out There - Darkness"
Miss Fox Paul Henreid
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
Episode: Dark Morning
Sarah Whitney Don Medford
Wagon Train
Episode: The Elizabeth McQueeney Story
Elizabeth McQueeney Allen H. Miner
Wagon Train
Episode: The Ella Lindstrom Story
Ella Lindstrom Allen H. Miner [6]
The 31st Annual Academy Awards Herself (Presenter: Best Supporting Actor) Alan Handley

1960s

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Year Title Role Director
1960 What's My Line?
Episode broadcast August 28
Herself (Mystery guest)
1961 Wagon Train
Episode: The Bettina May Story
Bettina May Richard Donner
1962 The Virginian
Episode: The Accomplice
Celia Miller Maurice Geraghty
Here's Hollywood
Episode broadcast October 9
Herself
What's My Line?
Episode broadcast November 11
Here's Hollywood
Episode broadcast December 1
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
Episode broadcast November 16
The Andy Williams Show
Episode broadcast December 20
1963 Perry Mason
Episode: The Case of Constant Doyle
Constant Doyle Allen H. Miner
The 35th Annual Academy Awards Nominee: Best Actress
Herself (Presenter: Writing Awards)
Reflets de Cannes
Episode broadcast May 16
Herself
1964 The Hollywood Palace
Episode #2.7
What's My Line?
Episode broadcast March 29
1965 The Hollywood Palace
Episode #2.21
What's My Line?
Episode broadcast October 24
Bette Davis - Star und Rebellin
I've Got a Secret
Episode broadcast March 1
The Decorator (unsold pilot) Liz Richard Kinon
1966 Gunsmoke
Episode: The Jailer
Etta Stone Vincent McEveety
The Hollywood Palace
Episode #3.19
Herself
1967 The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
Episode #1.4
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
Episode #1.20
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
Episode #2.2
Think Twentieth

1970s

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Year Title Role Director
1970 The Dick Cavett Show
Episode broadcast November 26
Herself
It Takes a Thief
Episode: Touch of Magic
Bessie Grindel Gerd Oswald
1971 The Dick Cavett Show
Episode broadcast November 17
Herself
This Is Your Life Herself (Honoree)
1972 The Judge and Jake Wyler (TV movie) Judge Meredith David Lowell Rich
Madame Sin (TV movie) Madame Sin David Greene
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Episode broadcast February 14, 1972
Herself
Johnny Carson Presents the Sun City Scandals '72 Herself
1973 Scream, Pretty Peggy (TV movie) Mrs Elliott Gordon Hessler
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast
Roast: Johnny Carson
Herself
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast
Roast: Bette Davis
Herself
ABC's Wide World of Entertainment Hostess of "Warner Bros. Movies: A 50 Year Salute"
1974 Hello Mother, Goodbye! (unsold pilot) Teresa Mullen Peter H. Hunt
The 28th Annual Tony Awards Herself (Presenter: Best Actor in a Play)
1975 Parkinson
Episode #5.8
Herself
1976 The Mike Douglas Show
Episode broadcast March 19
V.I.P.-Schaukel
Episode #6.1
The Disappearance of Aimee (TV movie) Minnie Kennedy Anthony Harvey
1977 Dinah!
Episode broadcast July 20
Herself
The American Film Institute Salute to Bette Davis Herself (Honoree)
Jimmy Carter's Inaugural Gala Herself
Laugh-In
Episode #1.1
Herself
1978 The 50th Annual Academy Awards Herself (Presenter: Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award)
The American Film Institute Salute to Henry Fonda Herself
The Dark Secret of Harvest Home (TV miniseries) Widow Fortune Leo Penn
1979 Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter (TV movie) Lucy Mason Milton Katselas

1980s

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Year Title Role Director
1980 60 Minutes (Interviewed by Mike Wallace)
Episode broadcast January 20
Herself
1980 White Mama (TV movie) Adele Malone Jackie Cooper
1980 Skyward (TV movie) Billie Dupree Ron Howard
1980 Bob Hope's Overseas Christmas Tours:
Around the World with the Troops - 1941-1972
Herself
1981 Good Morning America (Interviewed by David Hartman)
Episode broadcast April 7
Herself
1981 Family Reunion (TV movie) Elizabeth Winfield Fielder Cook
1982 A Piano for Mrs. Cimino (TV movie) Esther MacDonald Cimino George Schaefer
1982 Little Gloria... Happy at Last (TV miniseries) Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt Waris Hussein
1982 All-Star Party for Carol Burnett Herself
1982 The American Film Institute Salute to Frank Capra Herself
1982 Night of 100 Stars Herself
1983 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Episode broadcast February 9
Herself
1983 Bette Davis: A Basically Benevolent Volcano Herself
1983 People Now (Interviewed by Bill Tush) Herself
1983 Hotel
Episode: “Hotel” (pilot)
Laura Trent Jerry London
1983 Right of Way (TV movie) Minnie Dwyer George Schaefer
1985 Good Morning America (Interviewed by David Hartman)
Episode broadcast February 19
Herself
1985 Murder with Mirrors (TV movie) Carrie Louise Serracold Dick Lowry
1985 Étoiles et toiles
Episode broadcast March 25
Herself
1986 As Summers Die (TV movie) Hannah Loftin Jean-Claude Tramont
1986 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Episode broadcast May 22
Herself
1986 Directed by William Wyler Herself
1986 The 43rd Annual Golden Globe Awards Herself (Presenter: Best Picture)
1986 La Nuit des Césars Herself (César Honoree)
1987 Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts Herself (Honoree)
1987 Today (Interviewed by Bryant Gumbel)
Episode broadcast March 19
Herself
1987 The 59th Annual Academy Awards Herself (Presenter: Best Actor)
1987 The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers
Episode broadcast April 7
Herself
1987 Late Night with David Letterman
Episode broadcast May 26
Herself
1987 The Phil Donahue Show
Episode broadcast June 16
Herself
1987 Wogan
Episode broadcast September 14
Herself
1987 Good Day! (Interviewed by Eileen Prose) Herself
1988 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Episode broadcast January 7
Herself
1988 De película
Episode broadcast February 22
Herself
1988 Larry King Live
Episode broadcast February 24
Herself
1988 The 50th Barbara Walters Special
Episode broadcast November 29
Herself
1989 Late Night with David Letterman
Episode broadcast April 20
Herself

Special appearances

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Date Event Venue Location
May 9–23, 1963 1963 Cannes Film Festival N/A Cannes, France
Nov. 1, 1969 San Francisco International Film Festival SF Masonic Auditorium San Francisco, Calif., United States
June 23, 1977 Miss Bette Davis Sings! record signing Don Oven's Celebrity Record Shop West Hollywood, Los Angeles, Calif., United States
Feb. 12, 1983 Miss Bette Davis Sings! record signing Tower Records West Hollywood, Los Angeles, Calif., United States
Feb. 15, 1988 This ’n That book signing B. Dalton Bookseller West Hollywood, Los Angeles, Calif., United States
Sep. 15–23, 1989 San Sebastián International Film Festival N/A Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain

See also

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Bibliography

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  • Vermilye, Jerry (1973). Bette Davis. New York, Pyramid Publications. ISBN 978-0-515-02932-1.
  • Ringgold, Gene (1966). The Films of Bette Davis. Cadillac Publishing Co. ISBN 0-8065-0953-8.
  • Bette Davis filmography at IMDb
  • Bette Davis filmography at the TCM Movie Database
  • Bette Davis Broadway stage credits at the Internet Broadway Database
  • Bette Davis official website
  • Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs: Lux Radio Theater

References

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  1. ^ Spada, James (1993). More Than a Woman. Little, Brown, and Company. ISBN 0-316-90880-0.
  2. ^ "Before Breakfast – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Broken Dishes – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Solid South – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  5. ^ "The Night of the Iguana – Broadway Play – Original". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  6. ^ Vermilye 1973, p. 115.