Bette Davis Speaks [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

by Boze Hadleigh (Author)

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 Description
In a collection of interviews with the author, conducted from the mid-1970s until her death, the legendary actress shares her candid views on her four husbands and various lovers, her costars and rivals, her films, and the difficulties of aging.

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: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,842,374 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

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

By A Customer

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.

4 of 4 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

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.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

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

By A Customer

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???