Barely a year after George Arliss had requested Bette Davis for his film The Man Who Played God (1932), he "again materialized like a genie" to cast Davis as his spoiled daughter in The Working Man (1933). "It was the first important picture I had made in ages," Bette recalled in her autobiography, The Lonely Life (137). "Mr. Arliss directed me to advantage... He taught me always to think of what came before a scene and what was to come after. Scenes being shot out of sequence are the devil to play. 'Always keep the continuity in your head. It will help.' It did. One had to remember pitches of voice and mood to the fraction so that scenes when juxtaposed would blend. The Working Man was another big success and dignified my struggle [with the studio]."
We meet Bette's character in a cute halter-neck plaid bathing suit,
complete with matching head scarf.
Bette Davis, whose diction is music to the ears, does good work in the role of Jenny.
~ The New York Times
You can juuuust make out the stripes on this hat.
Bette Davis scores strong. There's delicious humor and the dialogue sparkles.
~ Film Daily
Velvet?
June 1933 also saw Bette Davis get her first Photoplay cover! An article about The Working Man appeared inside. I've included it below.
Click here to see the rest of Bette's costumes, including the nightgown, from The Working Man. According to the July 1933 New Movie Magazine, the diagonal striped Orry Kelly gown is gray and white chiffon.
Sources:
Davis, Bette. The Lonely Life: An Autobiography. G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1962.Ringgold, Gene. Bette Davis: Her Films and Career. Citadel Press. 1966, 1985.
No comments:
Post a Comment