likes Bette just a teense more than Kate and it's arguably the reverse for me but we agree they are both a notch or two above most of the actresses of their time and most of whom have come since.
We were emboldened by the fact that the American Film Institute once claimed they were number one (Kate) and number two (Bette) of the greatest female screen legends... I think 100 of them made the list.
Then we got into discussing whether or not they had ever met. Frankly, I'd wondered this before and once looked online for a picture of them together and found none. I know some of you will check, too, and if you find one, please it send to me. I will thank you and hang my head in shame. And so will you, Hollywood chum.
More than likely Hepburn and Davis never met. Some of us are inclined to think that all film actors and actresses back then knew one another to some degree. But that wasn't always the case. Those from one studio didn't often know those from other studios. Even at the same studio, unless they worked on the same film, they often didn't know each other and were often no more than nodding acquaintances.
Hepburn was under long contracts at two studios, RKO in the 1930's and MGM in the 1940's. Davis started in the 1930's at Universal and was later at Warner Brothers where she reigned as the queen. Hepburn had much competition at both of her studios and was never regarded as the queen. Both were part of a hit list in the late 30's rendering them Box Office Poison. The Independent Theater Owners of America asked to not receive any more of their movies due to exceptionally low grosses.
There was a time that they both could have been on the RKO lot at the same time when Davis went there to make Of Human Bondage (1934) but I presume if they'd met, the studio would have wanted to turn it into a photo op. They could have met at a party, sure, but neither was the party-going type, especially Hepburn. When she wasn't making a film, she usually hightailed it back to her family in Connecticut or was doing a Broadway show. In the Tracy years they were generally in California but rarely socialized. Davis, on the other hand, seemed to have always been working and there were husbands, boyfriends and children to keep her busy in L.A.
After my chat with my buddy, I pored through my six bios on Hepburn and four on Davis. I find it interesting that in the books written about them, the other's name is in the index but not regarding a friendship or a meeting. In memoirs they have written, there are no indexes but I combed the pages of each and am confident there was nothing mentioned about meeting or a friendship. It should also be noted that Charles Higham wrote biographies on each of them and there was no mention in either book that they'd met.
I found it interesting when I read it years ago that Davis harbored some jealousy about Hepburn although she greatly admired her. She particularly loved Hepburn's face and she saw all of her movies, dissecting every one from start to finish and analyzing Hepburn's work. She envied that Hepburn found working at RKO was like a country club while Davis thought she was on a chain gang at Warners.
I also read somewhere that Hepburn said Davis was her favorite actress. She apparently said it sometime in the 40's. If true, it was a generous statement on her part because she rarely complimented actors in those days. She didn't find most of them to be very talented and she saw few movies and that included her own. In later years, after they appeared in The Trojan Women (1971), she bestowed much praise on Vanessa Redgrave and continued to do so for the rest of her life.
There was some competition along the way and some projects that fall in the what if realm. On the Oscar front, Hepburn was nominated for 12 Oscars and won an astonishing four of them (thus far unbeaten). Davis secured 10 nominations and won two of them. They were true competitors four times when they were both nominated in 1935, 1940, 1941 and 1962. Davis won in 1935.
Davis was once considered to play Elizabeth I in Hepburn's Mary of Scotland (1936) but negotiations broke down. (That usually means a billing issue when two big stars are involved.) Davis would later play the British queen in two films.
They both had a Gone With the Wind (1939) connection. Warners bid on the book with the intent to star Davis and later Hepburn tested for the role. When Davis did not get the part, Warners put her quickly into Jezebel, a similar role to Scarlett O'Hara, and Davis won her second Oscar for it.
It has been said that Davis patterned parts of Margo Channing in her acclaimed All About Eve (1950) on Hepburn. One wonders what the mighty Kate thought of that.
Then there's The African Queen. Warners at one time purchased the book for Queen Bette but apparently a hectic family life prevented her from making it. The studio let its option lapse and Kate took over the role... one of her best.
Hepburn was offered a role in the Broadway production of Tennessee Williams's Night of Iguana but turned it down and who should assume the role? You guessed it... Bette Davis.
As late as 1977 producer Hal Wallis (friendly to both actresses) wanted them to costar in Whitewater. It was about two powerful women who change a small Texas town but again negotiations fell through. The film was never made.
Well, okay, if we conclude they never met, then let's tackle the question of the title. What if they had met? How might that have gone? I think they might have liked one another a great deal because they had a lot in common.
They were only 11 months apart in age and were proud yankees. Both used that expression and neither ever forgot her roots or stopped talking about them. Hepburn was born into wealth in Connecticut and still owned the family home until the end of her life although in later years she stayed more in her New York apartment. With not a silver spoon in sight, Davis was born in Massachusetts but transplanted to Maine. She would keep a home there long after she moved to California. Davis liked California... Hepburn never much cared for it.
They could have talked about their families to whom these yankee girls were extremely devoted. Hepburn was especially close to her father and one brother. Davis was close to her mother and sister. If they could have been truly honest with one another, both could have divulged still open wounds from their early lives. Davis was unusually honest and open about her personal life and as an actress but Hepburn was not.
On film sets they were practically twins. Each was imperious and notoriously difficult to get along with. Their mutual problem was not so much that they were spiteful shrews but rather that they were serious, hard working actresses and expected others to be at the top of their games. Well aware of their standing in the acting game, each knew and said it was her name up there and all had to go right. Their instincts about themselves particularly but the profession as well were exquisite. They were principled, disciplined, adroit, and could be uncompromising in their forthrightness with colleagues. Both had great understanding of the overall movie-making process, not just acting. Neither had very much humor about herself... perhaps their Achilles' heels.
They could have spoken of the types of actresses they were and perhaps their approaches to their craft. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for that one. Both were dramatic actresses who did some comedy and were excellent at both. Both played spinsters and queens. Hepburn played a number of heiresses while Davis played murderers. Hepburn played more high-minded roles than Davis did and Davis was far more willing to play unsympathetic characters than Hepburn was.
They could have discussed oilman/aviator/movie mogul Howard Hughes because they both dated him... at different times. Don't most people like sharing stories of a common boyfriend?
I expect that actors also like talking about other actors they've both worked with. Some they had in common were Henry Fonda, Herbert Marshall, Humphrey Bogart, Paul Henreid, Charles Boyer, Franchot Tone, Joseph Cotten (with Kate on Broadway), James Stewart (with Bette in a TV movie) and Spencer Tracy.
They might have had some fun discussing The Corn Is Green since Bette did the movie version in 1945 and Kate did it on television in 1979.
It's more colorful sharing about life's adventures when one has lived long enough to have lots of them. I see a late-in-life chat between them as providing that color. Had it happened then, the one part that might have been difficult for Bette is discussing how her career was going in those days.
She felt the need in the sixties to put an ad in the trades seeking work. When she got it, it turned out to largely be in horror pictures (a couple of good ones as I see it). If that had happened to Kate, it would have been a horror. Although she made a few embarrassing films in her last chapter, by the 60's Kate still had three more Oscars to win. She largely switched to television but all her work was in high-quality productions.
What a history they could have shared in a great conversation. Perhaps neither wanted to be the one to make the call.
Next posting:
She took a dive
How interesting Your post! Actually, even though I think I saw almost all movies of these two great actresses, I never thought to make a comparison between them. I may be wrong but my opinion is that while Hepburn might have played roles Bette Davis played ( I can see KH in Jesabel) it's hard for me to think BD in KH role of Stage Door. It's just an example but there would be more. But, for the importance that my opinion can have, I will never stop considering both immensely great!!!
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