Best Actress 1950: Gloria Swanson and Bette Davis

By the late 1940s, the careers of both Bette Davis and Gloria Swanson seemed to have reached their ends. But in 1950, both made two of the most talked-about and celebrated comebacks in Hollywood history - Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard” and Bette Davis as Margo Channing in “All about Eve”. In this video, I talk about these two fascinating women and their unique journeys. The peaks and downfalls of their careers, how they landed their acclaimed parts and how they influenced the later parts of their lives. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 02:59 The writing of “All about Eve” and “Sunset Boulevard” 13:22 Who can play Norma Desmond? 16:10 The career peak of Gloria Swanson 22:32 The casting Margo Channing 27:25 The downfall of Bette Davis’s career 41:30 Gloria Swanson agrees to do a screen test 43:52 Bette Davis working on “All about Eve” 51:10 Sunset Boulevard mixing reality and fiction 54:05 Gloria Swanson joins United Artists 56:42 The fiasco of “Queen Kelly” 1:03:52 The downfall of Gloria Swanson’s career 1:13:09 Gloria Swanson keeps working 1:16:42 How Gloria Swanson shaped Norma Desmond 1:23:25 Gloria Swanson working on “Sunset Boulevard” 1:25:48 The shooting of “All about Eve” 1:27:09 Bette Davis finds new love 1:36:19 Reactions to “Sunset Boulevard” and Gloria Swanson’s performance 1:41:47 Reactions to “All about Eve” and Bette Davis’s performance 1:43:39 Margo Channing or Tallulah Bankhead? 1:46:36 Bette Davis back on top 1:48:40 My Review 1:56:51 The Academy Awards 2:02:40 How were the comebacks of Bette Davis and Gloria Swanson perceived? 2:09:45 The curse of Norma Desmond 2:14:20 The remainder of Gloria Swanson’s career 2:22:49 Final thoughts You can find the reviews of the other Best Actress nominees of 1950 here:    • Best Actress 1950   Website of the documentary "Boulevard! A Hollywood Story": https://www.boulevardmovie.com/ Review of Bette Davis in "The Star":    • Best Actress 1952: Joan Crawford and Bette...   Review of Bette Davis in "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane":    • Best Actress 1962: Bette Davis and "What E...   Ressources: "Tallulah. My Autobiography" by Tallulah Bankhead "Sunset Boulevard" by Steven Cohan "Joseph L. Mankiewicz Interviews" by Brian Dauth "The Lonely Life" by Bette Davis "This'n That" by Bette Davis "Anne Baxter. A Bio-Bibliography" by Karin J. Fowler "Pictures will Talk. The Life and Films of Joseph L. Mankiewicz" by Kenneth L. Geist "Gloria Swanson" by Richard M. Hudson and Raymond Lee "George Cukor. A Double Life" by Patrick McGilligan "Bette Davis. The Performances That Made Her Great" by Peter McNally "Bette Davis. Her Film and Stage Career" by Jeffrey Robinson "Dark Victory. The Life of Bette Davis" by Ed Sikow "The Life and Times of Billy Wilder" by Ed Sikov "More than a Woman. An intimate Biography of Bette Davis" by James Spada "All about 'All about Eve" by Sam Staggs "Close-up on Sunset Boulevard" by Sam Staggs "Vanity Fair's Tales of Hollywood - Everything about Eve" by Sam Staggs "Mother Goddam. The Story and Career of Bette Davis" by Whitney Stine "Swanson on Swanson" by Gloria Swanson "Gloria Swanson. Ready for her Close-up" by Tricia Welsch Music Hanging Out - Bruno E. #academyawards #bestactress #oscars #allabouteve #annebaxter #bettedavis #gloriaswanson #sunsetboulevard #billywilder