What are we thankful for here at CCT? We’re thankful for the fact that TCM will be running a Bette vs. Joan marathon the day after Thanksgiving. So, if you decide to skip all the Black Friday sales and stay home instead, why not tune in for this irresistible day of classic movies? For a complete listing of the films, click here.
Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), programing note, trailer
Next month will be Bette Davis’ 100th birthday. To celebrate, two studios will release two different DVD box sets. Warner’s is releasing Vol. 3 of it’s Bette Davis Collection (4/1). Each of the films included in the set are making their first appearance on DVD. The Old Maid (1939) All This And Heaven Too (1940) The Great Lie (1941) In This Our Life (1942) Watch on the Rhine (1943) and Deception (1946). Fox will release the Bette Davis Centenary Collection (4/8)which features All About Eve (1950) Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) The Virgin Queen (1955) Phone Call from a Stranger (1952) and The Nanny (1965). Both Eve and Charlotte are already available on DVD. For this release they have been repackaged with a few special features added. Virgin Queen, Phone Call and The Nanny are all making their DVD debut.
Though he passed away in 1982, director King Vidor left behind a body of work that is well worth remembering. Vidor had a long and varied Hollywood career beginning during the silent era. He made many films, but I’d like to call attention to a few that hold a very special place in the bad movie pantheon. Jennifer Jones played a wanton half-breed “injun gal” in the overwrought western Duel in the Sun (1946). She played a similar hellcat alongside Charlton Heston in Ruby Gentry (1952). But nothing can quite compare to the spectacular one-two punch Vidor delivered in 1949 with Beyond the Forest and The Fountainhead. Forest has the honor of containing one of Bette Davis’ most famous lines, “What a Dump.” The Fountainhead, an adaptation of the Ayn Rand classic, is certifiably one of the most crazy things every committed to celluloid, a bad movie must-see.
Below is a clip remixing some of Davis’ most outrageous moments, including scenes from the good twin/bad twin classic Dead Ringer.
Get CCT Gear at Cafe Press
