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Bette Davis: Acting and Not Acting her Age

Shingler, Martin (2015) Bette Davis: Acting and Not Acting her Age. In: Women, Celebrity and Cultures of Ageing: Freeze Frame. Palgrave, London, pp. 43-58. ISBN 9781137495129

Item Type: Book Section

Abstract

Throughout a long film career, Bette Davis challenged the conventions of both gender and ageing, producing some of the most remarkable and controversial depictions of ageing femininity in films like Mr. Skeffington (1944), All About Eve (1950), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) and The Whales of August (1987). Having triumphed in studio era Hollywood of the 1930s and ‘40s, she refused to retire gracefully in the 1950s and insisted on working throughout the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Consequently, as a visibly ageing woman star, she unsettled one of gendered inequalities at the very heart of Hollywood. An examination of a number of Davis’ most successful films in terms of gender and age provides a fuller understanding of her controversial star image.

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More Information

Depositing User: Martin Shingler

Identifiers

Item ID: 6619
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137495129
ISBN: 9781137495129
URI: http://sure.sunderland.ac.uk/id/eprint/6619
Official URL: http://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9781137495112

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Catalogue record

Date Deposited: 09 Sep 2016 10:24
Last Modified: 08 Jan 2021 16:15

Contributors

Author: Martin Shingler

University Divisions

Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries > School of Media and Communications
Institute of Arts and Creative Industries > Media and Cultural Studies Workstream

Subjects

Media > Cinema and Film

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