DARK VICTORY

The Life of 

BETTE DAVIS

by ED SIKOF

author of SUNSET BOULEVARD: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF BILLY WILDER

Advance Reading Copy (ARC): An ARC/galley/uncorrected proof is a limited edition version of a book sent to reviewers, booksellers, librarians, and bloggers prior to its scheduled release and may differ slightly from the final version. I purchased this book from a charity thrift store and its sale is covered under the terms of the “First-Sale” doctrine of the U.S. Copyright Act. NOT A PRE-ORDER. Ships immediately. / Ships immediately upon receipt of payment.

Trade-size Paperback with illustrated wrappers
Publisher : Henry Holt and Co.
468 pages
Condition: New
Publication Date: October 2007

The legendary Hollywood star blazes a fiery trail in this enthralling portrait of a brilliant actress and the movies her talent elevated to greatness

She was magnificent and exasperating in equal measure. Jack Warner called her "an explosive little broad with a sharp left." Humphrey Bogart once remarked, "Unless you're very big she can knock you down." Bette Davis was a force of nature--an idiosyncratic talent who nevertheless defined the words "movie star" for more than half a century and who created an extraordinary body of work filled with unforgettable performances.

In Dark Victory, the noted film critic and biographer Ed Sikov paints the most detailed picture ever delivered of this intelligent, opinionated, and unusual woman who was--in the words of a close friend--"one of the major events of the twentieth century." Drawing on new interviews with friends, directors, and admirers, as well as archival research and a fresh look at the films, this stylish, intimate biography reveals Davis's personal as well as professional life in a way that is both revealing and sympathetic. With his wise and well-informed take on the production and accomplishments of such movie milestones as Jezebel, All About Eve, and Now, Voyager, as well as the turbulent life and complicated personality of the actress who made them, Sikov's Dark Victory brings to life the two-time Academy Award-winning actress's unmistakable screen style, and shows the reader how Davis's art was her own dark victory.

From Publishers Weekly

The biggest surprise of Sikov's perceptive and superbly written new Bette Davis biography is that there are still fascinating details to be discovered after more than a dozen full-length biographies have been devoted to her since her 1989 death. Sikov (On Sunset Boulevard) follows the volatile actress's long career, specifying how her insecurities and craving for love propelled her into the dueling self-medications of liquor and acting. Even she didn't seem to understand the anger that drove her to battle everything she encountered, from Hollywood producers to the tarnished brass doorknobs in her many houses. Her personal life was littered with broken marriages, affairs, abortions, feuds and neglected family members, but professionally she created dozens of unforgettable performances. Both sides of her life make for compelling reading. Sikov spends two-thirds of the book documenting the grueling production of most of the 52 films Davis made under her 18-year contract at Warner Bros. These illuminating tales mix familiar lore with newly excavated material. Sikov loses some steam when Davis's film career sputtered in the late 1960s. The last 20 years (when she was too ornery to die, too driven to sit still, too proud to recede into muted seclusion) is dismissed too quickly in 60 pages. Photos not seen by PW. (Nov.) 

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

'They don't make Hollywood icons like they used too... as much an exercise in nostalgia as a fascinating slice of cultural reportage' Val Hennessy, Daily Mail

Film critic ED SIKOV is the author of the critically acclaimed On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder and Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers. He has taught at Columbia University, Haverford College, and Colorado College, and lives in New York.

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