Bette Davis & Miriam Hopkins are friends & rivals in romance & writing in 1943's "Old Acquaintance." This WB comedy-drama takes place over two decades & ends on New Year's Eve. The dynamic divas lead a great cast in this smart soap that has some sharp comedic moments. Cheers! My look back:
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 45 | November 4, 2023 8:39 AM |
Bette hated Miriam, referred to her as a bitch on some tv show interview years later, but did acknowledge her talent as a actress. Miriam would try to do stuff to upstage her co-stars though, so I can understand Bette's dislike, but Bette knew how to protect herself from being upstaged as well. I'm sure Bette loved the scene where she got to shake Miriam quite strongly!
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | January 2, 2022 11:15 PM |
I can't believe her first film feud occurred in 1943.
I would think a pugnacious, antagonistic, perverse difficult woman like her would have been feuding long before that.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | January 2, 2022 11:19 PM |
This was on TCM early this morning...around 6 am.
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | January 2, 2022 11:23 PM |
From Bette's memoirs, "This 'N' That":
[quote]"In all my years as an actress, I have only criticized two actresses with whom I have worked. The first is Miriam Hopkins and the second is Faye Dunaway, whose name is most appropriate. Several times I wished I could have 'Dun-away' with her. Any race for witchery featuring Miss Hopkins and Miss Dunaway would most definitely end up in a tie."
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | January 2, 2022 11:26 PM |
Hopkins is great in the films I’ve seen of hers. One of my favourites is “the heiress”.
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | January 2, 2022 11:35 PM |
'The Heiress' is a perfectly-crafted film and Miriam's career was going nowhere at the time.
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | January 2, 2022 11:39 PM |
They also made “The Old Maid” in 1939 and resented each other well before that
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | January 2, 2022 11:42 PM |
Bette’s autobiography discusses her feud with Hopkins. Miriam had done Jezebel on stage but the film role went to Davis who won an Academy award.
Afterwards on first day of filming the Old Maid, Miriam showed up in exact replica of jezebel dress and Bette blew her cool
Miriam was constantly trying to upstage Bette. When the camera wasn’t on Hopkins, she would look at her watch, adjust pictures on the wall, etc. Anything to distract Bette.
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | January 3, 2022 12:00 AM |
Everyone hated Miriam Hopkins
| by Anonymous | reply 9 | January 3, 2022 12:02 AM |
Hopkins was excellent in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with the awesome Frederic March. So good!
| by Anonymous | reply 10 | January 3, 2022 12:12 AM |
I wish I could remember the director interview where he talked about Miriam doing those weird upstaging things - and it wasn't only to Bette Davis, but others as well. I think he said something like Bette immediately started giving it right back so the entire set became a terrible place.
| by Anonymous | reply 11 | January 3, 2022 12:14 AM |
We need another bette davis for our time. The actresses today are so vanilla and boring.
| by Anonymous | reply 12 | January 3, 2022 12:23 AM |
Interesting she didn’t trash Crawford except for a few snide remarks
She always said Joan was a pro unlike Faye.
| by Anonymous | reply 13 | January 3, 2022 12:24 AM |
[quote] We need another bette davis for our time.
Judy Davis
(even though she looks frightful)
| by Anonymous | reply 14 | January 3, 2022 12:29 AM |
I'm wondering how Miriam got along with Bette's friend Olivia de Havilland on the set of 'The Heiress". Miriam actually did the play on tour, playing Catherine rather than the aunt.
| by Anonymous | reply 15 | January 3, 2022 12:29 AM |
Hopkins was a supporting character actress by time of the Heiress, so directors probably didn’t tolerate this behavior as much.
Bette and Joan always had friction with other actresses in a lead role. As long as women had small parts, there were no problems
| by Anonymous | reply 16 | January 3, 2022 12:36 AM |
William Wyler was the main director who used Hopkins in later years, so he really liked her and got along well enough. She was a fabulous actress and her work as both leading lady in things like the great "Trouble in Paradise", "Becky Sharp", and others, including the two opposite Bette Davis, and later character/supporting in "The Heiress" and "The Children's Hour" is enjoyable to watch.
| by Anonymous | reply 17 | January 3, 2022 2:31 AM |
Hopkins played self centered, narcissistic bitches very well..."Old Acquaintance" and the aunt in "The Children's Hour". I guess it wasn't much of a stretch for her.
| by Anonymous | reply 18 | January 3, 2022 2:52 AM |
Bette David first met Miriam Hopkins when Bette joined George Cukor's theater group for the 1926 season. Miriam was a veteran actress in the troupe, while Bette was a contentious and obstinate young upstart who couldn't take criticism and quarreled repeatedly with Cukor, which riled Hopkins and other group members like Louis Calhern and Reginald Owen. The actors banded together and demanded she be ousted. Davis claimed Cukor fired her before the next season, but Cukor denied it.
| by Anonymous | reply 19 | January 3, 2022 2:55 AM |
I watched it this morning on TCM. Miriam is so hammy in it. Bette was clearly the better actress in all their scenes together.
It was wild how the actors reached for cigarettes as soon as they entered a room. Every scene featured at least one actor smoking in it. It was like they couldn't function without a cig in the hands. Of course, Miriam used one of those long cigarette holders. Was cigarette use that prevalent back then?
| by Anonymous | reply 20 | January 3, 2022 2:55 AM |
It seems like Bette was in a feud with everybody. One might wonder if you're in multiple feuds the problem - is you.
| by Anonymous | reply 21 | January 3, 2022 2:57 AM |
Miriam was one of my dearest, oldest friends. She survived having to work with Davis TWICE!!
I barely made it 1.5 times.
Bless you, Miriam
| by Anonymous | reply 22 | January 3, 2022 2:58 AM |
Cigarettes were considered as sophisticated, adult and sexy back then. It brought an air of "glamour" in the movies.
| by Anonymous | reply 24 | January 3, 2022 3:05 AM |
I don't ever recall Joan Crawford smoking in a movie.
| by Anonymous | reply 25 | January 3, 2022 3:06 AM |
[quote] I guess it wasn't much of a stretch for her.
It was playing a stretch playing a sexy wanton in this film. She was playing opposite sexy Cedric Hardwicke and smouldering Alan Mowbray.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 28 | January 3, 2022 3:10 AM |
[quote] Cigarettes were considered as sophisticated, adult and sexy back then.
It's crazy how people followed irrational fads in order to be part of a peer group.
I think the current fad to be a non-binary transvesite is an equally irrational fad.
| by Anonymous | reply 29 | January 3, 2022 3:27 AM |
"Now, Voyager" is a wonderful film, but probably should be rated "R" or PG-14 or something since it started many, many people on the path to smoking by making it look so romantic, what with Paul Henreid lighting two cigarettes in his mouth and offering on to Bette Davis.
| by Anonymous | reply 30 | January 3, 2022 6:01 AM |
^
That was an obvious symbol for Fellatio.
| by Anonymous | reply 31 | January 3, 2022 6:11 AM |
I actually preferred the remake with Jacqueline Bisset and Candice Bergen.
| by Anonymous | reply 32 | January 3, 2022 6:11 AM |
Why did so many of Bette's films go downhill after "All About Eve" and until "Baby Jane"? She was only like 40, and Crawford made some really good film in the 1950s.
| by Anonymous | reply 33 | January 3, 2022 6:16 AM |
She was typecast as old despite really not being.
| by Anonymous | reply 34 | January 3, 2022 6:19 AM |
"The Story of Temple Drake" is a great precode drama starring Miriam. She nearly steals 'Trouble in Paradise", but Kay Francis is a real delight in that one. When Kay went to Warner Brothers, Ruth Chatterton was getting the prestige films, but after she left, Kay became Queen of the lot for three years. It's too bad she never did a film with Bette. They ran into each other in the 60's, and Kay told Bette that she was just glad to grab the roney and run, being very wealthy but sadly having health issues. Bette lived moderately but wanted the juicy roles. Kay has the number of films that I consider underrated classics, but Bette has a larger number of more remembered A films.
Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Blondell were also under contract during this time, although Barbara was not exclusive at Warner's. Joan did nearly a dozen films in 1932 I believe. Stanwyck and Davis are in one scene together in so big but don't share any dialog together. Apparently Davis was nervous on the set and that set Barbara off. Warner Brothers was certainly more in male-dominated studio with the gangster films, but the pre-code woman's dramas are a lot of fun. It wasn't until Davis became queen of a lot and settled her lawsuit (which she lost) that the better parts started really coming her way, and between 1938 and 1946, everything she did was top-notch, at least production-wise. It was only when Crawford came aboard that she had a rival there, although Stanwyck returned there f0r a few years too for single picture deals (1944-47).
| by Anonymous | reply 35 | January 3, 2022 6:41 AM |
Did Kay Francis make more money with warners than bette Davis? How did Kay retire wealthy and Bette had to keep working despite acting in so many memorable films for the studio.
| by Anonymous | reply 36 | January 3, 2022 6:46 AM |
The link below is the only thing I could find in regards to movie star salaries of the 1930s. Bette and Kay were neck-and-neck, and Barbara Stanwyck was higher than them. But Barbara had the insight to not sign a contract exclusively with any studio, going from Columbia to Warner Brothers to Paramount without obligation, and freelancing at RKO, 20th, and MGM as well.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 37 | January 3, 2022 7:48 AM |
My mistake with the link above. That list indicates box office.
| by Anonymous | reply 38 | January 3, 2022 7:51 AM |
Bette always said that she had trouble figuring out what to do with her hands in a scene, which is one reason why she was smoking so often. You'll also see her wringing her hands a lot, twisting a kerchief, things like that.
| by Anonymous | reply 39 | January 3, 2022 7:55 AM |
Bette had to support her whole family including a sister who was ill, plus she had a lot of ex-husbands to pay for. Kay avoided all that.
| by Anonymous | reply 40 | January 3, 2022 7:55 AM |
R36, During her heyday, Kay Francis was the highest paid actress at Warner Bros, earning $115,000 a year (over $2 million in today's figures). Bette at the same time was only making $18,000. Unlike Bette, Kay had no children to support, and left her nearly $1 million estate to The Seeing Eye, Inc., a guide dog school.
| by Anonymous | reply 41 | January 3, 2022 7:57 AM |
I thought Miriam said she disliked Bette for sleeping with her husband, Anatole Litvak. Miriam said that Bette was “a greedy little girl at a party-table who just had to sample other women’s cupcakes.”
| by Anonymous | reply 42 | January 3, 2022 9:02 AM |
She better keep her paws off of Miles' cupcakes. Ask Dorothy.
| by Anonymous | reply 43 | January 3, 2022 2:10 PM |
I'm sure Bette provided for very good care for daughter Margo. One thing is clear that Bette tried very hard to be as good a mother as she knew how. Son Michael obviously adored her. If "Feud" is accurate, Bette didn't deserve what B.D. did to her. Bette obviously made an impact on her assistant Katherine who became a late in life surrogate father for her. Bette did comment that she found what WB did to Kay despicable. Two WB contract players she spoke highly of that didn't go into stardom were Jean Muir (quite good in a lot of films she made there) and later Jane Bryan who seemed to be the go to ingenue in the late 30's. Ann Dvorak was another contract player she spoke highly of. Bette also spoke highly of Sylvia Sidney who was at Paramount and fought against the moguls over the same type of films over and over.
| by Anonymous | reply 44 | January 3, 2022 2:23 PM |
I think Bette may have spoken highly of Ann Dvorak because she was no career threat to her. Dvorak was really the bigger star when Bette was coming up but somehow Dvorak's career went south fast. However I would say that Dvorak was the better actress.
| by Anonymous | reply 45 | November 4, 2023 8:39 AM |
