Book description
Even a short list of Bette Davis's most famous films --
Of Human Bondage; Jezebel; Dark Victory; The Private Lives of
Elizabeth and Essex; Now, Voyager; All About Eve; What Ever Happened
to Baby Jane?
-- reveals instantly what a major force she was in Hollywood. Her
distinctive voice, her remarkable eyes, her astonishing range and depth
of characterization -- all these qualities combined to make Bette Davis
one of the finest performers in film history.
Drawing on extensive conversations with Bette Davis during the last
decade of her life, Charlotte Chandler gives us a biography in which
the great actress speaks for herself. (It was she who suggested that
Chandler write this book.) Chandler also spoke with directors, actors,
and others who knew and worked with Davis. As a result Davis comes to
life in these pages -- a dynamic, forceful presence once again, just
as she was on the screen.
Though she owed everything to her mother, Ruthie, Bette Davis
remained fascinated all her life by her hard-to-please father, who
walked out on his family. She remembered the disappointment -- which
never left -- over her father's lack of interest in her, and she
believed that her resentment of him was probably a major factor in her
four failed marriages: she kept putting her men in a position where
they would eventually disappoint her. She spoke happily of her love
affairs with Howard Hughes and William Wyler; she recalled her leading
men, favorite co-stars, and unloved rivals; and she took great care to
refute the persistent Hollywood legend that she was difficult to work
with. Alone and ill, she faced her last days with bravery and dignity.
The Girl Who Walked Home Alone is a brilliant portrait of an
enduring icon from Hollywood's golden age and an unforgettable
biography of the real woman behind the star.
"An extraordinary work. Bette Davis's life is
served up on a platter -- delicious, poignant, exciting, sensual,
brilliant."
-- David Brown
Charlotte Chandler is the author of several biographies
of actors and directors, including Groucho Marx, Federico Fellini,
Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, Bette Davis, Ingrid Bergman, Joan
Crawford, and Mae West, all of whom she interviewed extensively. She
is a member of the board of the Film Society of Lincoln Center and
lives in New York City.
