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Bette Davis Roles

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All About Eve (1950) is remembered as the film that staged the spectacular comeback of Hollywood icon Bette Davis. By the late-1940s, Davis had long been cast in ingénue roles, where she played an endearingly innocent young woman, and audiences were now demanding something different. The role of Margo Channing seemed a perfect fit and she arguably stole the show from her fellow Oscar nominee, Anne Baxter, who played the titular role of Eve.

movie clapboard with words ALL ABOUT EVE

But the role of Margo was actually meant to be played by Claudette Colbert, the leading lady in It Happened One Night (1934). Apparently producer Joseph L. Mankiewicz felt Colbert was the best fit, style-wise. Yet as fate would have it, Colbert suffered a severe back injury on the set of Three Came Home (1950). This forced Colbert to drop out of the project. Davis was then brought on for what many argue was her career best performance.

old style movie camera

However, this role wasn't Davis' personal favorite. According to biographer Charlotte Chandler, when Bette Davis reflected back on her long career, she cited playing the character of Judith Traherne in the film Dark Victory (1939) as her best performance.

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