1942 – Bette Davis
Now, Voyager
Once again, Bette Davis is nominated for Best Actress. This was her seventh nomination out of ten and it was the fifth year in a row she earned a Best Actress nomination. She was still the gem of Hollywood, and the audiences still loved her. What I liked about her performance here was that it was a different kind of role. She played a woman with crippling emotional insecurities, caused by a domineering and controlling mother who put her down and treated her like an unwanted child, well into her adulthood.
The character’s name was Charlotte Vale, and at the beginning of the film, she is so miserable, she can barely speak, even to the sanitarium psychologist who has her committed to an asylum for a six month period. Even after she is allowed to venture back into the real world, her lack of confidence and fear of social contact was constantly hanging over her like a dark cloud. And Davis, ever the accomplished actress, played it so well I almost didn’t recognize her the first time she was on the screen. She was mousy, frail, forever on the verge of tears. It was not the kind of role I’m used to seeing Davis play.
But eventually she defies her mother enough to learn that happiness is possible for her, and she blossoms into a beautiful and confident woman, capable of being loved, and giving love to others. That was the part that Davis was used to playing, and of course, she did her usual good job. She was beautiful and self-assured, and she played a likeable character. She was often known for playing wicked women like in The Little Foxes or Jezebel. But Charlotte was kind and selfless, generous and polite. And yes, Davis was quite capable of being that, too.
But I think that it was that first third of the movie, where Davis played the insecure, down-beaten woman, where Davis was able to stretch herself as an actress. She showed a side of herself and her acting skills that she didn’t often use, and she did a wonderful job. There was a reason she was the toast of Hollywood. And in this film, she was still on top of her game. I’m not surprised this role earned her yet another Best Actress nomination.