What would Bette Davis do?' British reactions to Bette Davis in the 1940s

During the 1940s, Britain had a ‘special relationship’ with Bette Davis. At a time when many British film critics regarded Hollywood stars as merely typecast players, Davis was considered to be a true actress. Audiences also rated Davis's talents highly and while cinemagoing was at its height in the mid 1940s her popularity was truly exceptional. She ranked among the top ten stars at the British box-office for six consecutive years (1942 to 1947).1 This was a feat unmatched by any other actress in that decade, and was significantly better than Davis's record in the USA, where Betty Grable and Greer Garson outshone her in a parallel set of rankings.2 But what lies behind these accolades and rankings that indicate Davis was so highly regarded in Britain? In order to address that question, this article considers the reception of Now, Voyager (Irving Rapper, 1942), one of Davis's most popular and critically lauded films. Focusing exclusively on British reactions to the film, it takes account both of critical reviews and of audience responses in the mid 1940s

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