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Bette Davis
11 quotes
“I think it was that picture, more than anything else, that gave me a horror of nobility. Ever since then I have fought against portraying saccharine characters. Give me the part of a vixen and I'm happy.”
Bette Davis (1908–1989) first seen 1931 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On Bad Sister (1931), Davis' screen debut; in "Bette Davis Tells Her Own Story," Ladies' Home Journal (July 1941), p. 116
“That picture clinched my future as far as Universal was concerned. They felt that as I had not emerged as a glamour girl after being worked over by John Stahl [], I had no possibilities. When I arrived in Hollywood, when I thought about it all, I considered myself as normally attractive; after that year at Universal I found that I was apologizing for living. Physically I considered myself as one to be avoided. I still cringe at the beating I took.”
Bette Davis (1908–1989) first seen 1931 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On Seed (1931); op. cit., p. 117
“What a dump.”
Bette Davis (1908–1989) first seen 1949 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On Beyond the Forest (1949), ranked #62 in the American Film Institute's list of the top 100 movie quotations in American cinema.
“To look back is to relax one's vigil.”
Bette Davis (1908–1989) first seen 1962 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Lonely Life (1962)
“The act of sex, gratifying though it may be, is God's joke on humanity. It is man's last desperate stand at superintendency. The whole ritual is a grotesque anachronism, an outdated testament to man's waning power. It's all we've got and so we make the best of it. It is not, however, sufficient reason for matrimony.”
Bette Davis (1908–1989) first seen 1962 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Lonely Life: An Autobiography (1962), p. 251; quoted in part by Walter Winchell in "Pass the Worm Pills" Cincinnati Enquirer (January 20, 1963) and in "'Postman' Bares a Stamp of Sex," Daily News (1980), and by Davi…
“Attempt the impossible in order to improve your work.”
Bette Davis (1908–1989) first seen 1974 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From Davis' running commentary in Whitney Stine's Mother Goddam (1974), p. 123
“I love my profession. I would never stop. Relax? I relax when I work. It's my life.”
Bette Davis (1908–1989) first seen 1989 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Nina J. Easton, Los Angeles Times (January 4, 1989) "Bette Davis smoking over `Stepmother' role", Houston Chronicle, p. 10.
“'In the beginning was the Word,' and you must not be tempted with a script just because you have a great part. You want a great role to play, but the whole - the whole - must be good. It'll never succeed if it's just the role you like.”
Bette Davis (1908–1989) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Louise Sweeney (December 28, 1987) "Bette Davis: On the heels of a new honor and a new film, a screen legend looks back over her 60-year career", Christian Science Monitor, p. 19.
“I think Mr. Reagan has done very well under very difficult circumstances. He's had terrific problems physically and he's managed them very well. But my God, the witch hunt today! Is there any human being alive who hasn't done something bad in their youth - like maybe smoke marijuana once? And this man (Judge Ginsburg) found it necessary to admit it! My God! It would be like Mr. Jack Kennedy sitting down and listing all the women (he knew) before he got in.”
Bette Davis (1908–1989) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Liz Smith, United Press (November 23, 1987) "A Whale of an Interview With Bette Davis", San Francisco Chronicle, p. F1.
“I'm the nicest goddamn dame that ever lived.”
Bette Davis (1908–1989) said by 1989 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“May each of my grandsons know, at an early age, what his life's ambition is -- and may he be successful in his pursuit of that goal.”
Bette Davis (1908–1989) first seen 1983 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Cathy Collison (November 16, 1983) "Savitch Remembered Crim In Will", Detroit Free Press, p. 14D.