Bette Davis: Larger than Life (Hardcover)

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“Until you’re known in my profession as a monster, you’re not a star,” Bette Davis once said. Let’s just say in Hollywood she was considered the ultimate star. The Academy Award-winning actress was one of the movies’ most riveting and volatile personalities both on and off the screen. She comes to life in the pages of this lavish, fully illustrated tribute produced in conjunction with her estate.

Bette Davis remains one of the most acclaimed and well-known stars in the history of film. Breaking new ground for women, she was a fighter who took on the Hollywood establishment at the drop of a dime. She reveled in lifelong feuds (such as with arch nemesis and co-star Joan Crawford). She was a mother, wife, and friend. She was also a no-nonsense New Englander who happened to have more talent than the movies seemed able to contain. Her personality leapt off the screen and earned her an unprecedented number of high-profile nominations and awards for her work in films like Jezebel, Dark Victory, All About Eve, and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? As the epitaph on Davis’s tombstone reads, “She did it the hard way.” Through a biography, comprehensive filmography, and hundreds of rare photos, readers will find out why.

About the Author

Richard Schickel was a movie critic for Life, Time, and Time.com from 1965 through 2008. He is the author, co-author, or editor of close to forty books, including You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story. He is also the director, writer, and producer of a similar number of documentary films. His latest, a profile of Ron Howard, is nineteenth in his series of director portraits, which constitute an unparalleled history of film authorship in America.

George Perry is a film critic, journalist, and broadcaster who has interviewed an array of film greats in his distinguished career. He is also author of many books on film history and the stars who lived it, his most recent work as co-author being You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story. George lives in London.

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Product Details Hardcover: 264 pages Publisher: Running Press (October 6, 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 0762436883 ISBN-13: 978-0762436880 Product Dimensions: 12.5 x 9.4 x 1.2 inches Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #31,628 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in these categories: (What's this?) #59 in  Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Portraits #61 in  Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Photo Essays #69 in  Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Actors & Actresses

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Richard Schickel

George Perry

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1 Review 5 star:    (0) 4 star:  (1) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 8 of 8 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Artful Photo Tribute, October 7, 2009 By  ClassicKol "Kol" (Connecticut, mostly) - See all my reviews This newest book about Bette Davis is recommended for the many superior photos included, and for the good layout of her films, presented, generally in sequence. There are several factual errors, and the text of the two authors more than occasionally contradicts what the other has written. The errors include actor David Keith being called Brian Keith,by co-author Richard Schickel, and the surprisingly naive statement by the main author, George Perry, that Davis successfully imitated Joan Crawford in telephone scenes in 'Baby Jane' when Crawford had in fact agreed to dub in her own voice while Davis 'lip-synched' her imitation (this information is covered in the 2 disc 'Baby Jane' dvds, and also, in my opinion, is fairly obvious). Running Press, the publisher, also gave the public the very enjoyable oversized books about Lucille Ball ('Lucy At The Movies') and the excellent (and best of the three) Lana Turner book, 'Lana' The Memories, The Myths, The Movies' which greatly benefitted from having Cheryl Crane's insight and her dedication to having her mother's memory being preserved. The 3 very attractive-looking Running Press books all are worth buying, and are great conversation pieces for those interested in classic films and/or classic stars of an era long-gone. Of the 2 authors of "Bette Davis: Larger Than Life", George Perry does the better job; Richard Schickel editorializes all over the place and some of his highly subjective observations just don't ring true, to this reader. As I read on, Schickel's opinions became irrelevant and tiresome. He writes from the perspective of his experience of enjoying the work of Davis as being of more import than the films or performances Davis gave in them. The photos in the book are incredible, and the quality of paper used and photo resolution may make some fans want to buy two copies, one for the coffee-table, and the other for high-quality frameable rare photographs of the greatest film star of the 1940s.		Ad feedback   Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (October 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762436883
• ISBN-13: 978-0762436880
• Product Dimensions: 12.5 x 9.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #31,628 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #59 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Portraits
  #61 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Photo Essays
  #69 in	Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Actors & Actresses

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Artful Photo Tribute, October 7, 2009

By	ClassicKol "Kol" (Connecticut, mostly) - See all my reviews

This newest book about Bette Davis is recommended for the many superior photos included, and for the good layout of her films, presented, generally in sequence. There are several factual errors, and the text of the two authors more than occasionally contradicts what the other has written. The errors include actor David Keith being called Brian Keith,by co-author Richard Schickel, and the surprisingly naive statement by the main author, George Perry, that Davis successfully imitated Joan Crawford in telephone scenes in 'Baby Jane' when Crawford had in fact agreed to dub in her own voice while Davis 'lip-synched' her imitation (this information is covered in the 2 disc 'Baby Jane' dvds, and also, in my opinion, is fairly obvious).
Running Press, the publisher, also gave the public the very enjoyable oversized books about Lucille Ball ('Lucy At The Movies') and the excellent (and best of the three) Lana Turner book, 'Lana' The Memories, The Myths, The Movies' which greatly benefitted from having Cheryl Crane's insight and her dedication to having her mother's memory being preserved. The 3 very attractive-looking Running Press books all are worth buying, and are great conversation pieces for those interested in classic films and/or classic stars of an era long-gone.
Of the 2 authors of "Bette Davis: Larger Than Life", George Perry does the better job; Richard Schickel editorializes all over the place and some of his highly subjective observations just don't ring true, to this reader. As I read on, Schickel's opinions became irrelevant and tiresome. He writes from the perspective of his experience of enjoying the work of Davis as being of more import than the films or performances Davis gave in them.
The photos in the book are incredible, and the quality of paper used and photo resolution may make some fans want to buy two copies, one for the coffee-table, and the other for high-quality frameable rare photographs of the greatest film star of the 1940s.