Bette Davis: 1937 to 1943—Motherhood

Abstract

Chapter Two concentrates on Bette Davis’s work between That Certain Woman in 1937 and Old Acquaintance in 1943, concentrating on six films that are connected in terms of direction and writing through the work of Edmund Goulding and Casey Robinson. The four other films, all of which are discussed in detail, are The Old Maid, All This, and Heaven Too, The Great Lie, and Now, Voyager. The discussions consider the negotiation between the dangers of adultery and the claims of motherhood in these films, and look at issues of place, particularly the strategic meanings of interiors and exteriors. The adaptation of the source materials for The Great Lie and Old Acquaintance is explored in the chapter’s conclusion.