Mobile Navigation
For our spring calendar, we’re turning our eye to the sardonic Bette Davis and her turn in a duo of classic women’s pictures for a program we’re calling “Bette Plays the Martyr.”
New 35mm Print!
Now, Voyager (1942)
Dowdy, repressed spinster Charlotte (Bette Davis, with support from her untamed eyebrows) of the patrician Vale family is on the verge of a mental breakdown, thanks largely to her overbearing mother (Gladys Cooper). With the help of avuncular psychiatrist Dr. Jaquith (Claude Rains), Charlotte’s wilting flower begins to blossom, sparking a trajectory of self-improvement that lands her on a pleasure cruise. Onboard, her newfound confidence becomes enmeshed with unhappily married Jeremiah Duvaux Durrance (Paul Henreid). Fondly remembered for suggestive moments of Henreid lighting two cigarettes, one for himself and one for Davis, Now, Voyager could be the Rosetta Stone of the self-sacrificial women’s picture.
35mm, b/w, 118 min. Production/Distribution: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. Director: Irving Rapper. Screenwriter: Casey Robinson. Cinematographer: Sol Polito. Editor: Warren Low. Music: Max Steiner. Cast: Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Gladys Cooper, Bonita Granville.
Old Acquaintance (1943)
Childhood frenemies reunite when author Kit Marlowe (Bette Davis) forges a homecoming on her book tour, where housewife Millie Drake (Miriam Hopkins) lives a simple existence. Inspired by her friend’s newfound fame—and likely driven by jealousy—Millie embarks on her own writing career, finding overnight success with a series of pulpy romances. Unfolding over 20 years at breakneck speed through multiple histrionic episodes, Old Acquaintance lends new meaning to the phrase “high-maintenance friend.”
35mm, b/w, 110 min. Production/Distribution: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. Director: Vincent Sherman. Screenwriter: Lenore Coffee, John Van Druten. Cinematographer: Sol Polito. Editor: Terry Morse. Music: Franz Waxman. Cast: Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, Gig Young, John Loder, Dolores Moran.
