Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: About that Hollywood action. Hello, everyone, and welcome to another exciting episode of How Betty Davis Saved My Life. Life lessons from classic Hollywood. How you doing, Ms. Georgia May?
[00:00:15] Speaker B: I'm doing great. I'm very excited about this movie today. A Betty movie. Love it.
[00:00:22] Speaker A: Yes, yes, yes. And shout out to our great friend Norman, who could not be here because he's an international traveler, if you will, and I ain't gonna put all his business out in the street, but we're gonna shout out and dedicate because he wanted to be here and he was so excited to wanna to do this with us. So Norman, this was for you and all of the Betty fans out there and the Mary Astor fans and, and I mean the George Brent, because this is like, this is life lessons galore, ain't it? Ain't it the truth?
[00:00:56] Speaker B: Oh, I'll say. Wow. Goodness.
[00:01:01] Speaker A: I mean, it is wild. It is wild.
And so I just wanted to make sure that we have all of you here enjoying it with us. The great Lies Gang star and Betty, the one and only. And George Birth and Mary Aster, who actually won an Oscar for best supporting actress. We're going to get into that in a second.
But I mean, to me, Georgia, if, if a woman, I think these are this move and it may be, I don't know, I don't know if you found anything in your research, but this might be one of those movies that should be studied in college. Like, you know, women's studies, whether you hate it or like if you're going to do a women's studies program in a college, just needs to be. Or Women in theater. Let's go with that. Women in theater.
Feminine or feminist? I mean, it's not really a feminist type deal in my opinion. Not a strong one. But whatever you call it, this movie should be studied about women and men interactions in, in some great length. And I'm pretty sure I, I hopefully if we have time, YouTube has a lot of or a few, not a lot, but several Reviews by some YouTubers on there now. And now me and Georgia try not to look at anybody else's opinion before looking at the movie, but we'll get into that in a second. So Georgia, what can you tell us about the Great Lie?
[00:02:33] Speaker B: Well, it was made in 1941 and Betty had very strong input in who she wanted to play the part that Mary Aster filled. And in fact, she argued so vehemently about wanting Mary Astor for this role that she developed laryngitis and so filming had to be put off two days.
Yes, that's crazy.
Betty often did not get along with some of her co stars and her directors because of her strong personality. In fact, she had. She was notorious for having quarrels with Miriam Hopkins, Susan Hayward, Faye Dunaway, and of course, Joan Crawford. But she got along beautifully with both Mary Astor and also Olivia de Havilland.
[00:03:25] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:03:26] Speaker B: And so when they started the movie, believe it or not, the role of the pianist played by Mary Astor was not cast yet. And so when Betty returned to the set, she found out that the studio had acquiesced her demands and had gone ahead and cast Mary Astor. And what a brilliant decision that turned out to be because, as you said, she went on to get her one and only Oscar. She got the Academy Award for Best supporting actress for 1941.
[00:04:03] Speaker A: And if you see this movie, or for those of you who have seen it, and don't forget to let us know in the comments section, have you seen this movie, what you think about it. And thank you for all. Thank you. Thank you, all of you who have already subscribed. And if you have not subscribed, please do so and share and comment and like on all our platforms. But, I mean, she totally deserved it. I should have looked up. I wanted to look up and I forgot. I. I'll look up. Who was she up against?
And maybe I've seen. I'll look and see. Do you know who she was up against for the 1941 Oscar for best Supporting?
[00:04:37] Speaker B: I can't remember, but I think the. There was a Best supporting Actress in How Green Was My Val.
[00:04:43] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:04:44] Speaker B: And I. But I can't remember the other ones offhand.
[00:04:47] Speaker A: Let me look up really quick while. Sure.
Talking. Let's see.
Okay, maybe. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So. Oh, Betty. Betty had a good year that year because. So it was Barbara O'Neill for all this in Heaven Too, and Now. And that was a really, really good, good movie. And that was a really good role, too. So Judith Anderson for Rebecca. That was. She had some tough man. She had some tough competition. Marjorie Rambo and Primrose Path. I saw that one as well. I love. I love Marjorie Rambo. So underrated. Lover, lover, Lover. Ruth Hussey for the Philadelphia Story.
I saw that movie. I'm gonna have to look at it again. And Sarah, all good. They didn't say what she was for, but yeah, she has some really stiff competition that year.
[00:05:41] Speaker B: And you know, that was such. Also a great year for Mary Aster because that same year she also starred in the Maltese Falcon with Humphrey Bogart. So 41 was a banner year. For her.
[00:05:56] Speaker A: And I was wondering what year that was. And I was so busy looking at.
And let's put up her picture real quick, Mary Aster, because she, and you know, we, we seen her previously in Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte and playing Jewel Mayhew. And so, you know, they go way back like you said. And so. But yeah, I was wondering what year was that Maltese Falcon? And so now do you have the tea on? Because I don't want to get too ahead of myself. What was also going on with Mary Assert that year?
[00:06:35] Speaker B: I do have a lot of tea going on and it is shocking even for us in this day and age. It's pretty scandalous. But I am going to go ahead and start spilling that tea.
So. Okay, now if you go back with Mary Astor's career in movies, she started in silent films at the age of 15 and during her silent movie career, she had an affair with John Barrymore. Now later on she was involved in a very bitter and very famous custody battle with her husband over their daughter. Now, she initially agreed to pay him a big settlement because she was urged to do that by the studio, but because her husband was actually blackmailing her over her incriminating content in her diary, it was referred to as the purple diary. Now, she did cheat during their marriage, but to be fair, her husband had also been having an affair and, and gave his girlfriend an abortion because he was also an ob gyn.
Now, if that's not toddling.
Yeah, I know, right?
[00:07:55] Speaker A: Wowzers.
[00:07:56] Speaker B: So in her biography they do talk about her alcoholism, her famous purple diary. And, and finally it took the courts until 1952 when they finally burned her diary that the court had.
[00:08:14] Speaker A: Yeah, because what, that was a part of some settlement or something.
Why did, why did they burn it? I forgot.
[00:08:24] Speaker B: I, I don't know why they ended up waiting so long to burn it. Because, you know, this was going on in, you know, over a decade, I guess a decade ago, and it took them that long to finally, yeah, do dispense with her diary.
So, yeah, pretty, pretty scandalous at the time.
Yeah. Even for us today we're going, what?
[00:08:50] Speaker A: Yeah, I love Mary Aster and she's kind of like, kind of like forgotten, like as far as a household name. But no, like. And so when you brought up the Maltese Falcon, was she and Humphrey Bogart because she was actually filming during the trial, isn't that correct?
[00:09:09] Speaker B: I believe so. I'm pretty sure that was all going on. And also she had invited her husband to this set. She was making the Great Lie and her husband did not appear, even though she had been asked to invite him and he was welcome there, he did not show up.
So, yeah, she was going through a rough patch in her personal life.
But I have to say this.
When she did accept the Academy Award for Best Actress, she thanked Betty Davis and she also thanked Tchaikovsky because she was also a very accomplished piano player.
And, you know, people were saying, oh, you know, that's because Bette Davis stepped back and just handed the role over to you. She really underplayed. But Mary Astor said, no, she handed the role to me on a silver platter.
[00:10:06] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:10:07] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. And so also in this picture here, I can't help but remark, and I know this is. I'm thinking about Norman as I go into this, but one of the things that ladies picked up on and that Betty suggested that she do to help her really get into the role or the part was to come up with this more kind of boyish or gammon kind of a hairdo, this short haircut. And you know what? People in the audience that saw this haircut of hers liked it so much that it became very popular with ladies.
[00:10:47] Speaker A: Oh, really? Because, yes. I remember Joan Crawford years later in the 50s, wearing this hairdo or something kind of almost similar.
And so when I saw this, I was like, you know, like, what came first, the chicken or the egg? So. So she made this iconic. Wow.
[00:11:07] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:11:08] Speaker A: So I want to show this. This photo so you can see the hair. And. And I don't hate now is. I was trying to figure out is, is it cut or is it like swooshed to the side? Do you know?
[00:11:23] Speaker B: I think it's. She cut it that way.
[00:11:26] Speaker A: Oh, really? It seems.
[00:11:28] Speaker B: I think so.
[00:11:29] Speaker A: I love it. I absolutely love it.
[00:11:33] Speaker B: Well, you know, it's amazing because not everybody can carry that off. You have to have very, like, even symmetrical.
[00:11:39] Speaker A: Right.
[00:11:39] Speaker B: Features. And she does have a lovely face. And so she carried it off. But it is a contrast to Betty's kind of like page boy kind of haircut that he has. And so you can really contrast the two characters very well.
[00:11:52] Speaker A: So I hadn't seen this movie in like a million years, maybe like 20 plus years. And. But this cape, and I guess it's a coat. I can't. I think it's a cape. I don't think it has any arms and. No, it's a cape.
And on. So you can see already see these embellishments here. And if Norman was here, he would tell us it would. It looks like maybe sequins and such.
And on the back girl, it's a royal damn cape. Because she's a queen. She's a diva. And she. So. And she took the diva. She put the D in diva and the D in devil, too. But she.
[00:12:33] Speaker B: That's a good way of describing her. Moya.
[00:12:36] Speaker A: I. She. So she. In my opinion, so you let me know.
I'm going to say she stole everything. She didn't even have to be very dramatic or anything just to look. Just. I think just her looks said it all, you know, and she's so underrated. Like I said, people don't talk about her that much anymore, but she is so underrated.
[00:12:57] Speaker B: Oh, I agree with you. She's just fantastic in this role. And Betty was so spot on. She thought, you know, my whole goal is to elevate the movie, make it the best picture it can possibly be. And, you know, the two of them together, you know, Betty said, this picture is gonna. I mean, the dialogue and the writing is terrible. So the two of them became fast friends very quickly, and they both rewrote the lines. They kind of took out some of the soap opera aspects of it, and they really made it so much better than it would have been had they not done that.
[00:13:35] Speaker A: Wow, that is some good trivia. Because you know what? So I hadn't seen it in so long, and I kind of thought when it first started, I was like, man, is. Is this why this movie doesn't seem as great as I thought it was? But I can see what you said. It didn't really start really getting into it until she and Betty.
And we don't want to give it away, but until she and Betty started interacting, because the first. The first half of it.
And so let me ask you this.
Did you agree with the sequencing and the plot progression of it, or what are your thoughts on it?
[00:14:21] Speaker B: Well, it seemed like maybe there were some plot holes in it in a few places. And so, yeah, I didn't think that it was the best written plot. I mean, it had tropes in it, certainly.
[00:14:33] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:14:34] Speaker B: But I thought that it wasn't as tight of a. Of a script or plotting as it could have been. But even so, I mean, you will see them go after each other's throats and we have a ringside seat. And this scene are so good because their lines they wrote together are just perfectly catty. And the fireworks between these two, I mean, they strike sparks off each other. And the director knows better than to interfere with them. And so I really like that they were allowed to have such free reign over this movie.
[00:15:13] Speaker A: Yeah. Right. Well, what is the plot for those who have not seen it, get into that.
[00:15:19] Speaker B: Hang on. And while you listen to this. Okay. Because it's kind of wild.
[00:15:24] Speaker A: It's wild.
[00:15:26] Speaker B: Okay, so Mary Astor and Betty Davis are both in love with a lush of a playboy pilot, George Brent. So while on a drunken vendor he marries Mary Astor. She's a very self centered famous concert pianist. Only to discover that Mary Astor's divorce was not final and therefore their marriage is invalid. Oopsie.
[00:15:53] Speaker A: Oopsie.
[00:15:56] Speaker B: This gives him an excuse to rush into Betty Davis's arms and marry her. And then he flies to Brazil and he's reported missing and presumed dead. And so then Mary Astor shows up and she says she is pregnant with his child.
What is our Betty to do?
Anything with the help of Hattie McDaniel.
[00:16:21] Speaker A: Oh my gosh.
Oh my gosh. Yeah, so that's the great Hattie McDaniel right there. And I'll let you finish and we'll talk about the rest of the cast, but go ahead.
[00:16:32] Speaker B: Oh well, the movie takes off from there and some of it is a little bit unbelievable but you know, it has some modern day things, you know that you think about the idea that to adults could have a sexual relationship outside matrimony. It was not allowed to be presented on the screen in the US at the time. And so they had to really be very careful about the way they handled that. And also the idea of a single woman making the choice to raise her baby, I mean they had to be very careful at that time that this movie was made in 41 about how they presented that. So you can see the shift.
[00:17:14] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:17:14] Speaker B: And how we have progressed with making things more realistic.
[00:17:19] Speaker A: Right.
[00:17:20] Speaker B: And the way we write movie scripts now, we deal with things more honestly and openly.
[00:17:25] Speaker A: And you know, of course don't look at this like Georgia saying with the modern eye because you know, you just would have said well just go have an abortion. You know, but that was even taboo. Even we we know it was going on because you just said about what what's her name's husband did. So Mary Astor's husband did with his mistress. So we. And so many if you, if you a Hollywood classic Hollywood fan like we are, you know about some of these people's biographies and how many so of your great stars had to get rid of children for their careers.
And so, you know, so there ain't nothing new in the sun. It's just everything's, you know, out in the open now.
And so let's talk about the cast. Anything else you want to see about the rest of the. Anything else you want to say about the rest of the cast?
[00:18:17] Speaker B: Yeah, I do, I certainly do. And about George Brent, she, Betty Davis and George Brent had a very tumultuous and passionate two year long affair. So that is why they seem to be very natural with each other. And in fact, Bette Davis and George Brent made 11 films together. Yes, she was his most prolific and frequent co star.
[00:18:45] Speaker A: Yeah, she loved working with him because she said he didn't try to, you know, steal the scenes or whatever.
[00:18:52] Speaker B: And you know, in those scenes where his plane takes off and lands, he was an actual aviator in real life and he is actually in those scenes when they're filming it, he is flying the plane, he's taking off and landing the plane.
[00:19:04] Speaker A: I'm surprised they let him do that.
[00:19:07] Speaker B: Right? I know, it's amazing.
[00:19:09] Speaker A: So Mary Astor was actually a trained pianist and he was an actual pilot. That's crazy.
[00:19:16] Speaker B: Yes. Which led such authenticity to when she was playing the piano. There's a famous pianist, Van Clyburn, he goes, when in the scenes where you, they actually show you at the piano, at the keyboard, he goes, you are really into it. He goes, you are like striking exactly the notes when and exactly how.
[00:19:34] Speaker A: So he trained her.
[00:19:37] Speaker B: No, no, he didn't. He just commented he saw the movie because he knew that there was Tchaikovsky in it and some other famous great pieces.
[00:19:46] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:19:47] Speaker B: And he loved it for the music. So when he saw it, he commented to Mary Aster that you could tell she was not faking it. I mean she was really, you know, even though they dubbed in another pianist playing, they had another woman's hands playing in the close ups. She could have done it herself. They didn't allow her to. But she really was that good. She could have pulled it off.
[00:20:07] Speaker A: Amazing. Girl, you got some good stuff going. Some good tea, honey.
[00:20:11] Speaker B: Oh, thank you, thank you. And you know, another thing that I was going to tell you about is did you notice the role of the butler who is.
[00:20:21] Speaker A: Yeah. Sam McDaniel played Jefferson.
[00:20:25] Speaker B: Yeah. He was Hattie McDaniel's brother in real life.
[00:20:30] Speaker A: Yeah, I, I, girl, I was, I never put, I didn't know he, you just telling me. This is a revelation. So guys, I learned something new today. I hope you did too.
And they look alike and they're like Doug, because I just noticed their last name and I was like, I don't, I know that wasn't her husband because I remember what he looked like. And so, so they look exactly Alike. That's crazy. Crazy.
[00:20:53] Speaker B: You weren't imagining it. I thought that too. I. Oh my gosh, that looks so much alike.
[00:20:58] Speaker A: Yeah, I just noticed his last name. Cuz I knew his last name was, I mean his first name was Sam and I was saying Sam Harris. And I know that wasn't right. Then when I saw McDan I was like, okay, they got to be related. Then they're like, duh, they look exactly alike.
But yeah, and so I just want to touch on. Well, go ahead and finish and I, and I'll say whatever I have to say.
[00:21:18] Speaker B: Well, okay. And also, you know the, the little infant that played the baby?
[00:21:23] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:21:24] Speaker B: He got sick during filming and it caused scheduling delays. Well, actually, to be perfectly honest, George Brent, Mary Astor and Betty Davis also got sick and they caused and had filming delays. But there was kind of like a nurse or a nanny on the set and she was carrying the baby and she dropped him and she. And the baby was injured so badly he couldn't finish. And so the parents ended up suing the studio because the baby was injured. When the nurse dropped the baby. Oh my gosh, girl, I know, that's horrible. That's just horrible because that was such a darling little baby. And I was so like, now which.
[00:22:03] Speaker A: Baby was it when he was like the infant or when he was like, was it this baby or the earlier baby?
[00:22:08] Speaker B: My understanding was the earlier baby, they didn't really go into details so they don't say which baby it was because yeah, there's a later baby, you know, but I, I think it was probably the earlier baby.
[00:22:21] Speaker A: Oh girl, that's heartbreak. Oh my girl, this movie, this movie was kind of cursed a little bit.
[00:22:27] Speaker B: It was.
[00:22:28] Speaker A: I know that's what you get going on. That's what you get for lying and deceit, sleeping around, getting drunk, one night stands and all of them. And ill, ill gotten marriages. That's what you get.
[00:22:44] Speaker B: Yeah, it's wild. It's absolutely wild about what went on back behind the scenes.
And I just have to also talk again, Moya, about how the, you have to note like during the filming of this, the scenes with Bette Davis as she becomes a little bit more assured, self assured and her self esteem gets better. Have you noticed that her clothing and her outfits become more chic as the movie progresses?
[00:23:21] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:23:21] Speaker B: Notice that they just kind of have a progression. So if you watch this. I did take note of her wardrobe in this movie. But yes, I mean, even though Warners was known for being so tight with a budget, I have to say the movies. I mean, in this movie, the outfits are just utterly gorgeous. You have well tailored suits. The men.
[00:23:42] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:23:44] Speaker B: Are creased and tailored within an inch of their lives. And what I love about this also is because I really like set decorating.
[00:23:52] Speaker A: And the set was gorgeous.
Yes, that house. Oh, yeah.
[00:23:59] Speaker B: And. And then, of course, you have the fabulous composer, Max Steiner. His music is just sweeping and swooshing all over the place.
[00:24:08] Speaker A: Yes.
And, sir, so Edmund Goulding, he was the director and who wrote this? I can. I can look and see who wrote because, well, you said, well, look like Betty and Mary wrote it. Huh.
[00:24:24] Speaker B: Well, they took the script and they decided to show, say, improve on it. And.
And so I think that they made it better. And the director just gave him free reign. He let him do it.
[00:24:35] Speaker A: So Lenor Coffee. J. Coffee and Poland Banks. So it was from a novel by Poland Banks, I. It looks like. And then Lenor J. Coffee wrote the screenplay.
And you're going to see several character actors. Lucille Watson as Aunt Aida, Jerome Cowan, and who was in everything. He was in a lot of movies, especially Mr. Skeffington with. With Betty, who played George Brent's lawyer, Pete. Pete's lawyer, Grant Mitchell. Charles Trowbridge, Thurston Hall. So, like, you've seen these people in a million movies. Oh, you've also seen them with.
With Betty in other movies. And the guy who played the doctor, J. Farrell, McDonald, he. He's been in a million things. So it just goes on and on and on about this cast and crew. So. So it's people you've seen before, but just to go back to the plot. Well, finish your thought and then we can go back to the plot and just some other stuff before we wrap up.
[00:25:43] Speaker B: Yeah, well, you know, I was just gonna say that I think this movie was probably better because the way the women reworked the scenes because it added more substance and conflict to it, which made it a lot more interesting.
And so, I mean. Yeah, you could look at it this way. I mean, it's like Ms. Right now versus Ms. Right, you know, and let me tell you something about the director's instructions that he gave to Mary Astor in playing this role. And you got to think about it. He said, this is the key to your character, Mary Aster. A piano, brandy and men, in that order.
[00:26:29] Speaker A: Brilliant. Brilliant direction.
[00:26:31] Speaker B: Yes. Yes. So just be thinking about that. A piano, brandy and men, in that order. Yeah.
[00:26:37] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, girl, I. I can drop the mic on that one because that. She played that to the hilt. And just. Girl, when it was in the cabin and she started losing it and saying, oh, you burning Betty. Got it together. I don't want to give away too much girl. I was in there screaming, laughing here because I was like, I couldn't take out a strangle Betty Davis character because.
[00:27:05] Speaker B: Oh, I know.
[00:27:05] Speaker A: Oh, she drove me crazy. She was driving me crazy.
[00:27:08] Speaker B: She drove me absolutely nuts. I mean, my God, no wonder. I mean, and then. Okay, I don't want to spoil anything, but if you want to see a great slapping scene, oh goodness gracious, you gotta watch for that. It's like the best one in the movie.
[00:27:25] Speaker A: It is, it, it, I mean, yeah, because there was another slapping scene. I was like, what the, what the, what the. Okay, yeah, yeah, there's another one.
[00:27:35] Speaker B: It was like two different ones.
[00:27:36] Speaker A: Yeah, she, she did that.
[00:27:39] Speaker B: But you know, another thing that really amazed me, okay, here's a woman gonna have a baby and what is she doing? She's drinking and drinking and she's smoking cigarettes like a chimney. I think this movie may set a record for the most smoking in any Warner Brothers movie. I've never seen so much smoking in my entire life.
[00:27:56] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean man, I was.
And then he commented in the movie and then it's kind. And then they, the doctor asked, Betty said, man, you, you smoke a lot, don't you? And I was like, I was like, that's saying that, that you ain't saying nothing, brother. Because Betty sm, you know, we all know Betty's infamous for smoking or famous for smoking. But what she said when she got to Hollywood, she was a virgin, she didn't smoke, she didn't drink and she got turned out. She admitted that she turned all the way out. She got turned out.
But yeah, I, I only thing I want to say was, you know, so this, this movie was two years removed from two to three years from Patty McDaniel and her Academy award winning turn as Mammy in Gone with the Wind. Obviously. And you know, if you have a problem with mammy esque roles and like the butler, which what they call it a shucking and job and not really shucking and job, but I can't remember think of the term right now. But you know how they have back then how they had roles, you know, and then the roles were limited. But I love how Hattie McDaniel it was, it was Mamish but it wasn't.
She was such a good actress. I just wish times were different cuz she played that role so nuanced and so she, it wasn't over the top and it was contemporary. Like, it was almost like. I'm gonna say. I hate to say like that, but an updated Mammy version. But she was so new. And did you see how much screen time had a McDaniel had? They didn't push her to the side. Hattie McDaniel had a lot of screen time. Okay. And her again, her looks and had they took. Taken out that I'm from the south and I don't know how they talk in Maryland and all that, and amend Judas. It was a stereotypical. That's what I'm trying to say. The stereotypical butler. And. But. But. And I hate to say this, that she played it with dignity, and I hate. I hate all that kind of stuff saying that. But for the roles that these people were, the limited roles that they had for this time, I was so proud of the wage. And I hate saying intelligent, but Georgia, you get what I'm saying is she. She could have just totally redid Mammy all together. Like I said, was Mammy. Ish. But if you really hone in and pay attention the acting and in that stu. And like I said, a stupid way they talked. Had they take. Had they taken out that stupid dialogue and it was supposed to be, you know, a dialect from that area. Maybe it is. I don't know. I don't know anybody from the south, black, all white, who really talked like that. But had they taken that, it would have been perfect. But, you know, that's what they liked at Warner Brothers. They apparently like that. Because I've seen other era pictures of this time and early and. And the black people did not talk like that. And I was like, well, hell, why this studio you could talk like that. Like, what is in your contract? You got to talk like that to get this contract. Anyway, I just want to point that out. I really enjoyed her role because I paid attention. If you really pay and look, overlook that dialect and the stereotypes. She did a wonderful job with this role.
[00:31:22] Speaker B: Well, she's so smart and she so takes charge in it. And she was so. Always so highly competent. She was like a member of the family. But you know what I thought was really sweet about this was she was protective with Bette Davis when she needed protecting. And. But. And she lets her fly when she spreads her wings. She knows when to do that, which I loved about her character.
[00:31:44] Speaker A: Right, right. And like I said, it is mammage because it's, you know, that's how she was and Going with the wind and all this. But like you said, these people were a member of the family and they. And. And the. The white people, if you would. They respected Jefferson and Violet. Okay. And it wasn't, you know, all that just being ignorant and disrespectful. So. But like I said, if you have a problem with that and you got, you know, whatever you feel like you want to have a chip on your shoulder, don't look, don't look at the dog. On moving in. All right.
[00:32:15] Speaker B: It's like a time capsule, you know, that's the way it was done at the time. Yeah.
[00:32:19] Speaker A: Right. And so, yeah, because I saw. I didn't even comment on it, but I just had to really. Cuz I had to give Hannah McDaniel her props. How she nuanced that character and made a contemporary. And, and it was, and it was enough. The screen time that they, they. And because they could have easily not given her a lot of screen because so it was really three women. A women. This is a woman driven movies. So if you like woman driven movies and strong women and smart women and especially. I love what you said, how Bette Davis's character evolved and the scene, the climactic scene, how she took charge of her life. Very realistic. Very, very, very realistic. And I'm. That's all I'm gonna say because I'm gonna say too much. Well, Georgia, you have the last word, my dear.
[00:33:04] Speaker B: Well, thank you. Yeah. You know, when this movie was wrapping up, Betty was determined that the movie be completed by Christmas. Oh, to me, when I look at that, I think this movie should be titled Two Girls, A Guy and a Baby. But anyway.
But anyway, so she wanted to finish by Christmas so the cast and crew could enjoy the holidays and she could plan her New Year's Eve wedding to Arthur Farnsworth.
[00:33:27] Speaker A: Oh, okay.
[00:33:29] Speaker B: Yes. And so at Betty's request. Just listen how much this tells you how much power she has with the studio. She asked them to premiere the movie on her 33rd birthday, April 15, 1941, and they did.
[00:33:44] Speaker A: Oh, wow. Cool, cool, cool. I. We love Betty here. Obviously, that's why we named our show after her.
Just. She can do no wrong. Even a bad film, she's not bad in it. And how many people can you say that about actors? Can you say that? The. The. You know, and this really kind of happened later on in her career. As you know, she didn't have that power anymore for XYZ reasons. But we absolutely love her. So the great lie, everybody. Check it out. It is streaming on several platforms. Just do a search for it and you will find it.
And so anything else before we we get out of here?
[00:34:28] Speaker B: Yeah, I was just going to say, listen, if you want to watch a movie where you want to have you're in the mood for a campy melodrama and you want to see Bette Davis and Mary Astor have a field day, it's great fun. You've got to catch this movie because it's fun. That's what classic Hollywood is all about, right?
[00:34:46] Speaker A: That's what it's all about. And there's so many life lessons in here and comment and let us know what, what you got from this movie as far as life lessons or if they delighted you hated, hated it, let us know. And so our next movie is what.
[00:35:01] Speaker B: Georgia Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
[00:35:05] Speaker A: It is a Thanksgiving movie and I've never seen it. So I'm a PTA virgin and so I don't know why because I'm a Steve Martin fan and a John Candy fan. It just, it just slipped through the cracks with me. So I can't wait to see this.
[00:35:23] Speaker B: Oh, you'll love it. I do.
[00:35:26] Speaker A: And so, so guys. So we will see you on the 23rd. We will see you on the 23rd. Back here. Facebook Live 1pm Central Standard Time for Plane, Trains and automobiles starring John the late, great John Candy and Steve Martin. Don't forget to like share. Subscribe. We're on all your you can see on the crawl down there on our banner where we are and we can thank you enough for joining in with us so for how Betty Davis saved my life. I'm Moya.
[00:35:58] Speaker B: And I'm Georgia.
[00:35:59] Speaker A: And we will see you guys next time for Planes, Trains and automobiles. Have a great couple of weeks and we'll see you soon. Bye.
