Bette Davis (Country diary)

By Alexander Walker and Alexander Walker

Book Overview

After fifty-five years in the film industry, during which she made over ninety films, Bette Davis was considered the indisputable grand dame of Hollywood. Alexander Walker, who knew Bette Davis for twenty years, has pieced together her early life through to her promising career on the New York stage. The subsequent film career was by no means an instant success. The turbulent relationship between Bette Davis and Warner Brothers is legendary but gradually she managed to seize the opportunities to show her astonishing range. In this book, Alexander Walker identifies the extraordinary qualities that enabled Bette Davis to survive the Hollywood system and become one of its most durable actresses.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1854714902
• ISBN13: 9781854714909
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 1.27 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.4" x 0.8" x 7.2"

Customer Reviews

A good start.

If you are wanting to learn more about Bette Davis, this is a good place to start. However, If you are a well researched fan, you won't find anything new here. I do still recommend this book because the writing style is very fresh and easy to read. It also does make the her life "come alive" when compared to a lot of other biographies that tend to be so flat/dead. Also check out the biography of Vivien Leigh by the same author. That book was so good that I decided to give Alexander Walker another try - and read this one. It is difficult to find biographers that you can really enjoy. This is one I do. Again, like I said if you are a seasoned fan of Bette Davis, you won't find anything new in this book. If you are a first time reader of Bette Davis biographies this is an excellent place to start.

DAVIS BIOGRAPHY IS A PHOTOFEST

"Bette Davis - A Celebration" was written by Alexander Walker, the film critic for the London 'Standard'. During his career, he interviewed Davis several times, getting under the Diva's skin. He writes authoritatively about Davis' career: from her early days in stock companies to her super-stardom and decline. As a celebration of her career, the book charms. But what makes this book an above-avarage bio is the hundreds upon hundreds of carefully chosen stills of her films from the extensive Kobal Collection. As entertaining as it is hard to put down. A must for anybody who has a keen interest in Hollywood history.