When she was very young, appearing in her films of the Pre-Code and overall 1930s era, Miss Davis was typically portraying sweet, wispy/delicate pretty-young-thing types - which she was (during that period) spot-on ideally suited for. It seems hard to believe when we see her as the type characters she was portraying 1931-1933, that she is the same woman who later was the star of All About Eve, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, etc., as she was, by those later years, a completely different woman, as well as, in large part, a very different actress. Whereas during much of the 1930s (definitely all of the early '30s) Bette had a lovely entirely naturalistic style of performance, she soon after developed her own uniquely personal "over the top" hard-hitting star acting style that completely worked, and that separated her from anyone, and everyone, else as a true one of a kind there's-no-one-else-like-her icon.
Even in the Pre-Code era roles, it already was obvious Bette was no wallflower, even when her role was a lightweight supporting one; she never blended into the scenery, and her performances always had "that extra something" that makes you take notice. For example, check her out in The Rich Are Always with Us (1932) as a perfect example of what I'm referring to. She's thoroughly delightfully endearing in that film. In her role in it, as in pretty much any role she ever portrayed, Bette Davis indeed leaves a lasting impression.
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Reply by wonder2wonder
on March 13, 2017 at 5:21 AM
Bette Davis is considered "The First Lady of American Screen" and I fully concur.
She elicits such strong mixed emotions in her movies, and that by itself leaves a lasting impression.
I remember seeing her for the first time in the 1962 movie "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?". She starred along side Joan Crawford and my first thought was "what an ugly old bat". The second movie was "All About Eve". Afterwards I was thinking: "She's such an amazing actress, why does she only play unsympathetic women?"