Bette Davis Speaks [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Boze Hadleigh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1996

In this book the leading lady and woman ahead of her time speaks for herself in more than a dozen interviews conducted by journalist and author Boze Hadleigh.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Bette Davis fans will purr with delight at the page after page of her very clever, clawing (and cutting) comments about costars and contemporaries that veteran movie-scene reporter Hadleigh elicited in interviews dating from 1975 to the year Davis died, 1989. Hadleigh presents those conversations in straightforward question-and-answer format, which bolsters the illusion of Davis' voice in the mind's ear (hence the title), and readers quickly learn that the legend of her prowess with the put-down is true: "What do you think of Nancy Reagan?" "I never do." And on Joan Crawford: "She did everything by the numbers--even acting." Hadleigh, a world-class interviewer, manages to word his questions so that his own personality and his feelings about Davis both come through: we get an enjoyable sense of him as well as of Davis. At appropriate junctures, Hadleigh also briefly queries many Davis associates (producer David Lewis, costar Peter Lawford, husband-costar Gary Merrill, etc.) about her to complete a funny, revealing, and confrontational Hollywood read that must be reckoned one of the best for the fans in many a year. Charles Harmon

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Barricade Books; illustrated edition edition (April 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569800669
• ISBN-13: 978-1569800669
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,782,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Boze Hadleigh, author of Celebrity Feuds! and Hollywood and Whine, has written more than 15 books. He holds a master's degree in journalism, speaks five languages, and has been a winner on Jeopardy! Boze also writes extensively for magazines, and his work has appeared in more than 100 publications including TV Guide, Playboy, and Us. The author splits his time, when not traveling the world, between Beverly Hills and Sydney, Australia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars a little too polished, if you catch my drift, January 3, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Bette Davis Speaks (Hardcover)

As a newspaper editor for over 30 years, I've learned how to judge a writer -- If he consistently comes up with quotes "too good to be true," they usually are.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Highly Questionable "Interviews", July 10, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Bette Davis Speaks (Hardcover)

These "interviews" sound nothing like Bette Davis as anyone who ever read the scores of bona fide interviews she gave over the years. Miss Davis was hot-tempered and sharp-tongued at times but her fans know she was really something of a prude so it seems highly questionable she would dish dirt like this. (Remember she had a feud with her last film director because the film included a dark comic joke concerning Joan Crawford which Miss Davis thought was in terrible taste. And Joan was of course no friend of Bette's!!) This frankly reads more like a drag queen's nightclub act not an interview with a star. I don't know a single movie buff who believes Mr. Hadleigh's books.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars What a dupe!, September 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Bette Davis Speaks (Hardcover)

More posthumous interviews from beyond the grave, courtesy of one of Hollywood's most prolific and definitely least credible star scribblers. Funny how Boze Hadleigh (a total unknown when these sessions allegedly took place) somehow coaxed these incredibly candid (and wildly out-of-character) remarks from some of the most publicity-savvy stars in show biz.

So what do Davis and every other big name in this book have in common?THEY'RE NOT AROUND TO DEFEND THEMSELVES--AND EVERYONE KNOWS YOU CAN'T LIBEL THE DEAD. If he's really smart, Hadleigh would market a CD compilation of all his old taped interviews. But that might be problematic, eh, Boze???