Bette Davis filmography One of Davis' biggest successes at Warner Brothers was "Now, Voyager" (1942), which earned her another Academy Award nomination. Her later films for the studio, including "Winter Meeting" (1948) and "Beyond the Forest" (1949), failed at the box office. She turned down leading roles in "Mildred Pierce" and "Possessed" - both films eventually went to Joan Crawford. As her popularity waned, Warner Brothers dropped her contract in 1949, and from thereafter on, she occupied a freelance career. Davis received a career revival in "All About Eve" (1950) for 20th Century-Fox. She played an aging Broadway star, Margo Channing, who is
Bette Davis Giddens, a role originally played on Broadway by Tallulah Bankhead (Davis had portrayed in film roles initiated by Bankhead on the stage twice before - in "Dark Victory", and "Jezebel)". Wyler encouraged Davis to emulate Bankhead's interpretation of the role, but Davis wanted to make the role her own. She received another Academy Award nomination for her performance, and never worked with Wyler again. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Davis spent the early months of 1942 selling war bonds. After Jack Warner criticized her tendency to cajole crowds into buying, she reminded him that her audiences responded most strongly