Editing Bette Davis (section)

===1942–1944: War years===

In 1943, Davis told an interviewer that she had molded her film career on her motto, "I love tragedy," and ironically, until [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor]], she had been recognized as the American favorite of Japanese moviegoers—because to them, she "represented the admirable principle of sad self-sacrifice."<ref name="Flanner">{{cite magazine |last1=Flanner |first1=Janet |title=Cotton-Dress Girl |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1943/02/20/cotton-dress-girl |magazine=The New Yorker |publisher=Conde Nast |access-date=April 6, 2023}}</ref>

In 1942, numerous Hollywood entertainment industry members joined forces to form the [[Hollywood Canteen]].<ref name="mitchtorr">{{Cite book |title=The Hollywood Canteen: Where the Greatest Generation Danced With the Most Beautiful Girls in the World |last1=Mitchell |first1=Lisa |publisher=BearManor Media |date=July 11, 2013 |isbn=978-1593934095 |location=Albany, Georgia |pages=13–15 |last2=Torrence |first2=Bruce |others=Foreword by [[Joan Leslie]] |chapter=Chapter 1 – The Heart of the Matter: How It Began |quote=When John Garfield sat down for that commissary lunch with Bette Davis, he told her about what he had seen in New York—and of his strong belief that Hollywood must have its own Canteen as soon as possible. }}</ref> Davis and [[John Garfield]] were the driving force who were credited with organizing the canteen, along with the aid of 42 unions and guilds in the industry, plus thousands of celebrity volunteers from the [[Hollywood Victory Committee]] and beyond.<ref>{{cite news |last=Graham |first=Sheila |date=December 20, 1942 |title=Hollywood Canteen Joy To Many Lonely Lads: Started By Bette Davis and John Garfield and Enthusiastically Supported By All the Stars in the Movie Capital, It Is the Mecca For Every Soldier and Sailor Passing Through |pages=A15 |work=The Hartford Courant |access-date=August 5, 2023 |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/559727344|id={{ProQuest|559727344}} }}</ref><ref name="Sikov2008" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Harrison |first=Scott |date=March 6, 2017 |title=From the Archives: Entertaining the troops at Hollywood Canteen |url=https://www.latimes.com/visuals/photography/la-me-fw-archives-entertaining-troops-canteen-20170302-story.html |access-date=August 5, 2023 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> The Canteen offered food, dancing and entertainment for [[Soldier|servicemen]] and was staffed by members of the entertainment industry. Davis served as Canteen president through the end of the war.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Considine |first=Shaun |url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=MhT-DQAAQBAJ&pg=GBS.PT48.w.0.0.0.0.2&hl=en |title=Bette & Joan: The Divine Feud |date=January 25, 2017 |publisher=Graymalkin Media |isbn=978-1-63168-107-3 |edition=Ebook |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=February 9, 1945 |title=Davis Reelected Canteen Prexy |pages=5 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2320416795  |id={{ProQuest|2320416795}} }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=April 19, 1944 |title=Bette Davis Heads Canteen Third Year |pages=19 |work=Daily Boston Globe |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/840200228 |id={{ProQuest|840200228}} }}</ref>  
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:BetteDavisArmyBall.jpg|thumb|Davis attending the 1983 Army Ball where she was presented the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal]] -->In 1983, Davis received the [[Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award|Distinguished Civilian Service Medal]] from the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] for her work with the Hollywood Canteen.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 13, 1983 |title="Medal is given to Bette Davis" |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/537875698 |website=The Baltimore Sun|id={{ProQuest|537875698}} }}</ref>

She appeared as herself in the film ''[[Hollywood Canteen (film)|Hollywood Canteen]]'' (1944), which used the canteen as the setting for a fictional story. [[Warner Bros.]] donated 40% of proceeds from the film to both the Hollywood Canteen and the [[Stage Door Canteen]] in [[Manhattan]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 12, 1943 |title=Bette Davis in Canteen Film |pages=8 |work=The Herald Tribune |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1267877319 |id={{ProQuest|1267877319}} }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1941-1950. F4 |publisher=University of California Press |year=1999 |isbn=9780520215214 |pages=1071}}</ref>

Davis showed little interest for the role of repressed spinster Charlotte Vale in the drama film ''[[Now, Voyager]]'' (1942), until Hal Wallis advised her that female audiences needed romantic dramas to distract them from the reality of their lives. It became one of the better known of her "women's pictures". In one of the film's most imitated scenes, [[Paul Henreid]] lights two cigarettes as he stares into Davis's eyes, and passes one to her. Film reviewers complimented Davis on her performance, the [[National Board of Review]] commenting that she gave the film "a dignity not fully warranted by the script".<ref>Ringgold (1966), p. 120</ref> She received her seventh [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Oscar]] nomination for ''Now, Voyager''.[[File:Bette Davis in Now, Voyager publicity still.png|thumb|left|upright|Davis in ''[[Now, Voyager]]'' (1942), one of her most iconic roles]]During the early 1940s, several of Davis's film choices were influenced by the war, such as ''[[Watch on the Rhine]]'' (1943), by Lillian Hellman, and ''[[Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943 film)|Thank Your Lucky Stars]]'' (1943), a lighthearted all-star musical cavalcade. Davis performed a novelty song, "They're Either Too Young or Too Old."

''[[Old Acquaintance]]'' (1943) reunited her with Miriam Hopkins in a story of two old friends who deal with the tensions created when one of them becomes a successful novelist. Davis felt that Hopkins tried to upstage her throughout the film. Director [[Vincent Sherman]] recalled the intense competition and animosity between the two actresses, and Davis often joked that she held back nothing in a scene in which she was required to shake Hopkins in a fit of anger.<ref>Spada (1993), pp. 198–200</ref>

In August 1943, Davis' husband, Arthur Farnsworth, collapsed while walking along a Hollywood street and died two days later. An autopsy revealed that his fall had been caused by a skull fracture he had suffered two weeks earlier having accidentally fallen down a flight of stairs.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 27, 1943 |title=FARNSWORTH DIED AFTER 2 ACCIDENTS; Autopsy Reveals Bette Davis' Husband Cracked Skull Before He Fell in Street (Published 1943) |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1943/08/27/archives/farnsworth-died-after-2-accidents-autopsy-reveals-bette-davis.html |access-date=March 13, 2024 |language=en}}</ref> A finding of accidental death was reached. Highly distraught, Davis attempted to withdraw from her next film ''[[Mr. Skeffington]]'' (1944), but Jack Warner, who had halted production following Farnsworth's death, persuaded her to continue. Although she had gained a reputation for being forthright and demanding, her behavior during filming of ''Mr. Skeffington'' was said to be erratic and out of character. She alienated Vincent Sherman by refusing to film certain scenes and insisting that some sets be rebuilt. She improvised dialogue, which made the writer [[Julius J. Epstein|Julius Epstein]] rewrite scenes at her whim. Davis later explained her actions with the observation "When I was most unhappy, I lashed out rather than whined." Some reviewers criticized Davis for the excess of her performance; [[James Agee]] wrote that she "demonstrates the horrors of egocentricity on a marathonic scale".<ref>Spada (1993), pp. 218–225</ref> Despite these reviews, ''Mr. Skeffington'' was another box-office hit and earned Davis another Academy Award nomination.<ref>Spada, p. 201</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The 17th Academy Awards {{!}} 1945 |date=October 4, 2014 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1945 |access-date=September 9, 2023}}</ref>