Another Bette says what she thinks

Press, 22 June 1989, Page 16

Another Bette says what she thinks

By

Christopher Michaud

of Reuters

NZPA-Reuter New York At the age of 81, Bette Davis has been swathed in awards and tributes, from two Oscars to a prestigious New York gala in her honour recently.

But when you arrive at her hotel suite, Davis does not play the big star. She stands by the door, ready to greet you. She is amiable and accommodating. It’s hard to see why so many people have found her intimidating — though she says it is something she herself understands and has come to expect.

“a great deal of it is rub-off of some of the characters I have played, and a great deal of it is longevity,” she said. “And a great deal of it, and maybe the most of all I feel, is that I am very famous for saying exactly what I think.” Davis was in New York to be honoured by the Film Society of Lincoln

Centre, which each year presents a life achievement award to a veteran of the film community. She said she could hardly be more pleased. "It’s a very prestigious award, and a very worthwhile organisation. They care about films and preserving them, and helping young actors and writers.” Davis doesn’t have much time for today’s films. “It’s become sort of a special-effects industry. It used to be only Disney doing the effects, but now everybody’s sort of flying around everywhere," she said. She learned her craft as a contract actress at Warner Brothers and thinks beginners have it tough today, without the studio system of making movies and training actors.

"I’m glad I was (starting out) in 1930, I must say. They’re lost today, they have no training gfpund. My first years at

Warners, I must have made 10 or 12 films, little ‘B’ pictures, but that’s how I learned,” she said. “When I first arrived in Hollywood, I couldn’t believe that people could be this secure,” she said. “I used to sit in a corner and I didn’t smoke or drink. And so in order to be considered an actress, I learned to smoke. I didn’t do much about the drinking part, but 1 learned to swear. It made me feel very actressy and sophisticated.”

Davis, who was married four times, is often associated with nasty roles. But many of her most acclaimed parts were as sympathetic heroines or spoiled women who came to find warmth and courage.

■ Typical was “Jezebel,” for which she received her second Academy Award. She won her first Oscar for “Dangerous ” in 19$. >