Bette Davis black and white

by Stern, Julia A.

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Title Statements

Full title :Bette Davis black and white / Julia A. Stern.

Summary

Bette Davis's career becomes a vehicle for a deep examination of American race relations. Bette Davis was not only one of Hollywood's brightest stars, but also one of its most outspoken advocates on matters of race. In Bette Davis Black and White, Julia A. Stern explores this largely untold facet of Davis's brilliant career. Bette Davis Black and White analyzes four of Davis's best-known pictures--Jezebel (1938), The Little Foxes (1941), In This Our Life (1942), and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)--against the history of American race relations. Stern also weaves in memories of her own experiences as a young viewer, coming into racial consciousness watching Davis's films on television in an all-white suburb of Chicago. Davis's egalitarian politics and unique collaborations with her Black costars offer Stern a window into midcentury American racial fantasy and the efforts of Black performers to disrupt it. This book incorporates testimony from Davis's Black contemporaries, including James Baldwin and C. L. R. James, as well as the African American fans who penned letters to Warner Brothers praising Davis's work. A unique combination of history, star study, and memoir, Bette Davis Black and White allows us to contemplate cross-racial spectatorship in new ways.

Edition Statements

Publication Date:©2021

Publication Statements

Publisher(s):The University of Chicago Press
Place of Publication:Chicago
Language:eng
Publication Date:©2021

The Physical Object

Description:1 online resource (x, 266 pages ) : : illustrations.

Edition Identifiers

ISBN:022681372X, 9780226813721
oclc:on1266904520
LC Classification:PN2287.D32
Dewey Decimal:791.4302/8092

Intro -- Contents -- Historical Note -- Chapter 1. Introduction Black and White -- Chapter 2. 'Little Foxes' and Little Brown Wrens -- Chapter 3. The Poetics of Color in 'Jezebel' -- Chapter 4. Melodramas of Blood in 'In This Our Life' -- Chapter 5. The Whiteness of 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?' -- Chapter 6. Bette Davis Black and White -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Index

Subjects

African American motion picture actors … African American motion picture actors … African Americans in motion pictures African Americans in the motion picture… African Americans in the motion picture… BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY -- Entertainm… Davis, Bette Friendship History -- United States Motion picture actors and actresses Motion picture actors and actresses -- … Noirs américains au cinéma Noirs américains dans l'industrie ciném… PERFORMING ARTS -- Acting & Auditioning PERFORMING ARTS -- Film & Video PERFORMING ARTS -- General Race au cinéma Race in motion pictures United States