Editing Bette Davis (section)

===Roles and performances===
As early as 1936, [[Graham Greene]] summarized Davis: {{blockquote|Even the most inconsiderable film...seemed temporarily better than they were because of that precise, nervy voice, the pale ash-blond hair, the popping, neurotic eyes, a kind of corrupt and phosphorescent prettiness.... I would rather watch Miss Davis than any number of competent pictures.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/19th-june-1936/15/the-cinema|title=The Cinema » 19 Jun 1936|website=The Spectator Archive}}</ref>}}
[[File:BetteDavisVote64.jpg|left|thumb|Davis registering to vote in 1964]]
In 1964, Jack Warner spoke of the "magic quality that transformed this sometimes bland and not beautiful little girl into a great artist",<ref name="goddamprologueIX" /> and in a 1988 interview, Davis remarked that, unlike many of her contemporaries, she had forged a career without the benefit of beauty.<ref name=MeetingMissDavis>{{cite web|first=Jim |last=Emerson |url=http://www.cinepad.com/bettedavis.htm |title=Meeting Miss Davis |publisher=Jeeem's Cinepad |access-date=August 24, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512012121/http://www.cinepad.com/bettedavis.htm |archive-date=May 12, 2008 }}</ref> She admitted she was terrified during the making of her early films, and that she became tough by necessity. "Until you're known in my profession as a monster, you are not a star", she said, "[but] I've never fought for anything in a treacherous way. I've never fought for anything but the good of the film."<ref name="Movietalk">Shipman (1988), p. 13</ref> During the making of ''All About Eve'' (1950), Joseph L. Mankiewicz told her of the perception in Hollywood that she was difficult, and she explained that when the audience saw her on screen, they did not consider that her appearance was the result of numerous people working behind the scenes. If she was presented as "a horse's ass...forty feet wide, and thirty feet high", that is all the audience "would see or care about".<ref>Spada (1993), p. 272</ref>

While lauded for her achievements, Davis and her films were sometimes derided; Pauline Kael described ''Now, Voyager'' (1942) as a "shlock classic",<ref>Kael (1982), p. 421</ref> and by the mid-1940s, her sometimes mannered and histrionic performances had become the subject of caricature. Edwin Schallert, for the ''Los Angeles Times'', praised Davis's performance in ''Mr. Skeffington'' (1944), while observing, "The mimics will have more fun than a box of monkeys imitating Miss Davis"; and Dorothy Manners, at the ''Los Angeles Examiner'', said of her performance in the poorly received ''Beyond the Forest'' (1949): "No night club caricaturist has ever turned in such a cruel imitation of the Davis mannerisms as Bette turns on herself in this one." ''Time'' magazine noted that Davis was compulsively watchable, even while criticizing her acting technique, summarizing her performance in ''Dead Ringer'' (1964) with the observation, "Her acting, as always, isn't really acting: It's shameless showing off. But just try to look away!"<ref>Ringgold (1966), p. 178</ref>

Her film choices were often unconventional: Davis sought roles as manipulators and killers in an era when actresses usually preferred to play sympathetic characters, and she excelled in them. She favored authenticity over glamour, and was willing to change her own appearance if it suited the character.<ref name="Movietalk" />

[[File:Grauman's Chinese Theatre, bette davis.JPG|thumb|upright|Davis's signature and handprints at [[Grauman's Chinese Theatre]]]]
As she entered old age, Davis was acknowledged for her achievements. John Springer, who had arranged her speaking tours of the early 1970s, wrote that despite the accomplishments of many of her contemporaries, Davis was "the star of the thirties and into the forties", achieving notability for the variety of her characterizations and her ability to assert herself, even when her material was mediocre.<ref>Springer (1978), p. 81</ref> Individual performances continued to receive praise; in 1987, Bill Collins analyzed ''The Letter'' (1940), and described her performance as "a brilliant, subtle achievement", and wrote: "Bette Davis makes Leslie Crosbie one of the most extraordinary females in movies."<ref>Collins (1987), p. 135</ref> In a 2000 review for ''All About Eve'' (1950), Roger Ebert noted: "Davis was a character, an icon with a grand style; so, even her excesses are realistic."<ref>{{cite web | first = Roger | last = Ebert | url = http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000611/REVIEWS08/6110301/1023 | title = Review of ''All About Eve'' | publisher = RogerEbert.com | date = June 11, 2000 | access-date = August 24, 2008 | archive-date = July 9, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070709051542/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20000611%2FREVIEWS08%2F6110301%2F1023 | url-status = dead }}</ref> In 2006, ''Premiere'' magazine ranked her portrayal of Margo Channing in the film as fifth on their list of 100 Greatest Performances of All Time, commenting: "There is something deliciously audacious about her gleeful willingness to play such unattractive emotions as jealousy, bitterness, and neediness."<ref>{{cite journal|title=100 Greatest Performances of All Time|journal=Premiere|date=April 2006}}</ref> While reviewing ''What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?'' (1962) in 2008, Ebert asserted that, "No one who has seen the film will ever forget her."<ref>{{cite web |first=Roger |last=Ebert |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080216/REVIEWS08/14917937/1023 |title=What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) |publisher=RogerEbert.com |date=February 16, 2008 |access-date=December 29, 2011 |archive-date=September 20, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920074936/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20080216%2FREVIEWS08%2F14917937%2F1023 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1977, Davis became the first woman to be honored with the AFI Life Achievement Award.<ref>Sikov (2007), p. 405</ref> In 1999, the [[American Film Institute]] published its list of the "[[AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars]]", which was the result of a film-industry poll to determine the "50 Greatest American Screen Legends" in order to raise public awareness and appreciation of classic film. Of the 25 actresses listed, Davis was ranked at number two, behind Katharine Hepburn.<ref>{{cite web | url =http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/stars.aspx | title = AFI's 100 Years, 100 Stars, Greatest Film Star Legends |publisher = American Film Institute | access-date = August 24, 2008| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080822055357/http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/stars.aspx| archive-date = August 22, 2008}}</ref>