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This is a complete filmography of Bette Davis. Davis began acting in films in 1931, initially as a contract player with Universal Studios where she made her film debut in Bad Sister (1931). Davis was initially seen as unappealing by studio executives, and was assigned to a string of B-movies early in her career.
Davis made a transition to Warner Brothers in 1932 and made her breakthrough performance in The Man Who Played God (1932) opposite George Arliss. She continued in a succession of films, but did not gain further recognition until she agreed to star in John Cromwell's adaptation of the W. Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage (1934) on a loan out to RKO. The role of Mildred Rogers had been rejected by several actresses, but Davis achieved critical acclaim for her performance. Dangerous (1935) became the first time she won an Academy Award for Best Actress, beating such luminaries as Katharine Hepburn, Claudette Colbert, and Miriam Hopkins.
In 1936, convinced her career would be ruined by appearing in mediocre films, Davis walked out on her Warner Brothers contract and decided to make films in England. Davis explained her viewpoint to a journalist, saying "I knew that, if I continued to appear in any more mediocre pictures, I would have no career left worth fighting for." She eventually settled her disagreements with Warner Brothers, and returned to the studio in 1937. During the time, she was one of the numerous actresses considered for the part of Scarlett O'Hara in David O. Selznick's film version of Gone with the Wind, but she was not tested. Warner Brothers cast her in Jezebel (1938) as a reward for being turned down by Selznick. It was a critical and box office success, and earned her another Best Actress Academy Award.
Davis was at the peak of her career in the late 1930s and early-to-mid 1940s, at a time when she was one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood and turned down parts she found inferior. She received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in Dark Victory (1939) and earned acclaim for her performances in The Old Maid (1939) and The Letter (1940). Davis earned acclaim for her portrayal of Elizabeth I of England in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. Davis later appeared in the melodrama The Little Foxes (1941) and the comedy film The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942).
One of Davis' biggest, and last, successes at Warner Brothers was Now, Voyager (1942), which earned her another Academy Award nomination, but her career stalled thereafter. Her later films for the studio, including The Corn Is Green (1945) and Deception (1946), did not match the success of her earlier ventures. She turned down leading roles in Mildred Pierce and Possessed—both films eventually went to Joan Crawford. As her popularity waned, Warner Brothers dropped her contract in 1949, and from thereafter on, she occupied a freelance career.
Davis received a career revival in All About Eve (1950) for 20th Century-Fox. Replacing an injured Claudette Colbert, she played an aging Broadway star, Margo Channing, who is manipulated by an obsessed fan. The film was one of the biggest hits of 1950 and she was again nominated for an Academy Award, but lost to Judy Holliday. Although Davis earned strong reviews for her performance in The Star (1952), her career waned throughout the remainder of the decade.
Beginning in the 1960s, Davis received yet another revival in popularity. Although her appearance in Pocketful of Miracles (1961) was negatively received, she earned praise for her portrayal of the faded child star, Jane Hudson, in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), which garnered her a final nomination for an Academy Award. She retained a cult status throughout the remainder of her career, and appeared in several other thriller films such as Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) and The Nanny (1965). She appeared on television later in her career.
Davis agreed to star in the spoof film Wicked Stepmother (1989), although she felt the script was poor. The film was marked with production problems from the beginning, with Davis often quarreling with director Larry Cohen and she withdrew from the film shortly after production began. After 58 years of acting, it became her final film appearance.