MovieChat Forums > The Letter (1940) Discussion > How to go to pieces (a la Bette Davis)

How to go to pieces (a la Bette Davis)

posted 17 years ago by onepotato2
5 replies | jump to latest

I like the movie overall, but the Davis outburst is probably the best unintentionally funny moment Ive seen in about a year.

Here's how to handle your next big dramatic moment:
1) choke back a sob (or eight) while you convey your big sob-story
2) then, all of a sudden, break into enormous sobs...
3) at the exact moment you twist your body (right) and throw your face behind your right hand, while...
4) lunging your left hand out behind you, towards the person you have chosen as your designated social support figure (boyfriend, husband, darkie servant)

I burst out laughing at this moment in the movie, and backed over it to laugh again, three or four times - what a bizarre, unnaturalistic, dated, unsubtle piece of hollwywood ham!!!

[–] Cello1949-2 16 years ago

Hmmm...perhaps you should leave the classics alone. And with the extra time you'll have, look up the meaning of "classic."

If you watch TCM at all, you might pay attention to Meryl Streep's tribute to Bette Davis.

[–] lastmidnite2 15 years ago

The weird thing is, I believe onepotato is a huge Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte fan. Now THAT'S not over the top!

[–] ashisthegal 15 years ago

there's no need to act condescending. the OP isn't mocking Bette Davis or this film in a bad way - they are just appreciating it for what it is, and it's true that she does overact, as was the style in a lot of these films from this time period. personally, i love watching things like that, and obviously the OP did too, if she kept rewinding it.

[–] Regina_Giddens 14 years ago

LOL maybe it was just the character. Leslie Crosby is some crazy stalker/murderer after all, she probably had some kind of mental disorder that caused her to go spastic.

Take us the foxes, the little foxes...

[–] onepotato2 13 years ago

Wow. That scene still makes me laugh, but.... I have SO come to love Wyler and Bette Davis over the last few years, Regina (ha ha ha - I love the Little Foxes) Wyler's long takes, his prediliction for astonishing contrast-y b and w compostions that slide past the camera, the tension building over long sequences, Gayle Sondergard, every bit Davis's equal as her fulminating, wordless rival, with her strong presence and stronger revulsion for Davis.

Wow. It's a melodrama, but the quality is very high.