Customer Reviews

I'd Love to Kiss You: Conversations With Bette Davis

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I happened upon this book quite by accident. While impatiently waiting for one of my libraries to have 'The Girl Who Walked Home Alone' (the new Bette Davis Bio) available, I found this book, and figured, what the heck, maybe this would hold me over till I could get the new one. Well, it was much better than I expected! It was Bette telling her own stories in her own words, to her good friend and author Whitney Stine.

Mr. Stine became a fan of Ms. Davis's when he was 8, and kept a scrapbook of the star all throughout her career. Well, in 1968, and in his thirties, he finally got the chance to meet her after she heard he was writing a Biography of her career, not her life (Mother Goddam - 1974). She was intrigued, and once the two met, they remained very close friends for almost 20 years.

What I enjoyed most about this book was it was conversations that Bette had had with Mr. Stine over their 20 year friendship. Bette herself explaining her favorite movies, people she did and didn't like working with, tidbits about her personal life, awards she'd won, and missed opportunities. It wasn't some author who never knew her personally making up things they thought had happened, or filling in blanks themselves.

Overall I was very pleased with this book...and am very glad I found it. Now that I've had my Bette Davis fill, I can be a little more patient while waiting for her new bio to become available!

The thing I found most enjoyable was reading Bette Davis speaking - a strong and vibrant personality comes through and it is both enjoyable and interesting to read.

Also, in it she reveals some information such as names of affairs which she says that she didn't reveal in her own biography The Lonely Life. She discusses her thoughts on co-stars and loves and family, it's fascinating.

I agree that it is interesting to read what Bette Davis actually had to say, although some of it seems a little embellished, and he seems to always be "fishing". I know I'm in the minority, but I coudn't finish the book because of Mr. Stine's style of writing. I kept thinking that, at the turn of the page, he was going to end up in bed with her. His constant reference to Miss Davis as "Miss D." drove me crazy - It remindes me a little bit of John Meyer's "Heartbreaker", although his (Mr. Stine's) isn't written in the manor of self-pity. I just found it kind of creepy. I will stick to the standard biography.