[6]

Bette Davis stars as a washed-up Hollywood actress desperate to revive her career. You might think the film would be a bit autobiographical, but the screenwriters actually patterned it after Joan Crawford. (And Davis no doubt found some amount of joy in portraying her adversary.) When Davis’ character hits rock bottom, getting jailed after drunk-driving with her Oscar statue, Sterling Hayden pops up playing an old acquaintance who helps to get Davis back on her feet. Young Natalie Wood plays Davis’ estranged daughter. The film goes a bit further than teaching Davis that rising stars must also fall — it insinuates she would be happiest as a housewife, and ends with her reuniting with Wood and Hayden, while pretty much giving up on Hollywood all together. I think a better ending could have been had, one where Davis might have been able to keep more of her intrinsic ferocity. But I guess even fighters like Bette Davis couldn’t escape the ’50s unscathed.

Oscar Nomination: Best Actress (Bette Davis)