A Stolen Life (Warner Bros.) (1946)

Drowning Not Easy When Drownee Is Swim Champ BETTE DAVIS is currently playing one of the most exacting roles of her screen career as identical twins in Warner Bros.’ “A Stolen Life," now at the Strand. Supporting her in the romantic drama are Glenn Ford, Dane Clark, Walter Brennan and Charlie Ruggles. MAT NO. 2D Portraying Self, Bette Davis Takes Acting In Stride Bette Davis, now starring in Warner Bros.’ “A Stolen Life” at the Strand, took over Las Rosas, one of California’s most historic eating places near the old mission at San Juan Capistrano, as the scene for a birthday party honoring her sister Barbara. The invitations requested the guests to appear in Spanish costumes. As the star awaited the arrival of her guests, an uninvited couple arrived and she, in her colorful Spanish costume, directed them to one of the unreserved dining rooms. As the young lady passed Bette, she remarked to her escort, “Doesn’t that waitress look like Bette Davis?” To which Bette Davis herself replied in amusement, “Yes, everybody always tells me that.” An hour later, when the news of her presence had traveled throughout the place, the young couple returned requesting her autograph. DANE CLARK plays an important featured role in support of Bette Davis in Warners’ "A Stolen Life," coming to the Strand on Friday. A stirring and unusual drama of rivalry between twin sisters, the film also features Glenn Ford, Walter Brennan and Charlie Ruggles. MAT NO. 1H Star Contemplates Purchase Of Home Her friends at Warner Bros. are willing to bet that Bette Davis, now starring in Warner Bros.’ “A Stolen Life,” at the Strand, will soon own a house on the Monterey Peninsula. The star is already mistress of Riverbottom, her Glendale home near the Warner studio; a beach house at Laguna; and her New England farm, Sugar Hill, New Hampshire. She often tells friends, however, that the MontereyCarmel area in California is her favorite spot on the west coast. It took a week to drown Bette Davis at the Warner Bros. studios for her newest picture, “A Stolen Life,’ now at the Strand. It took a full week and the hard work of ninety or more persons, any one of whom could have rescued her without too much exertion. When the sequence was finally finished a waggish sound man on the set—the same one who had caught her final gurgle in his microphone—wise cracked, “Bette never looked wetter—not better—wetter.” Nature had a hand in the drowning of Hollywood’s first lady during a real blow along the California coast. But for the closeup scenes of her final struggle the star was brought to the studio where a huge tank of water and all the necessary wave and wind equipment had been installed. Nature in the rough and a closeup photograph just don’t go over well together. The Warner storm kings can stir up a very realistic no’wester at that. Enough wind machines surrounded the Davis set to blow the top off the Los Angeles city hall. Huge casks of water on the top of steep chutes aided her apparent demise. It is not on record that Bette ever drowned in a picture before. She has died, gone blind, mad and dispirited but she has never suffered a watery death before. In the light of the fact that she reported when she first came to Hollywood that she had once won a life-saving swimming record on the Atlantic coast, it, apparently, had never before occurred to her producers to drown her. Here, at long last, was the opportunity. As the less admirable of two sisters, it was up to Bette to drown _ realistically, without ever indicating, by word or gesture, that she could easily save herself by putting into practice a few of her well practiced swimming strokes. This is not as easy as it may sound. Even pretending to Glenn Ford plays the romantic lead opposite Bette Davis in Warner Bros.' new drama, "A Stolen Life," now at the Strand Theatre. Others featured in the film include Dane Clark, Walter Brennan and Charlie Ruggles. MAT NO, 2E drown, while tons of water are cascaded on you, is not fun and the natural thing to do is to swim away from such danger. Bette, however, knew from the script that she was supposed to drown in the scene and had known it for all the long months “A Stolen Life’ had been in production. She was well prepared for it. Under the careful direction of Curtis Bernhardt she struggled against the water, neither wisely nor well, and consequently met her cinematic end in a blaze of technical glory. “An actress to the last,” sighed director Bernhardt as he ordered the scene printed and the lights and cameras taken away. New Father Finds Pride Goes Before Fall In Filmland There’s one thing sure about becoming a new father in Hollywood: fun-loving studio workers won’t let you forget it. Curtis Bernhardt, the director, knows that. Bernhardt, who directed Bette Davis in Warners’ “A Stolen Life,” now at the Strand, recently became the father of a baby boy named Anthony. Because Tony was not yet born by the time work on the film began, Bernhardt reported at Warners as usual. But when Bette Davis, who produced the picture, realized his shaken condition, she promptly and good-naturedly ordered him from the set, telling him to report to his wife at the hospital. The baby was born at 10 o’clock in the morning, and Bernhardt returned, laden with cigars to divide among the crew. Awaiting him was a life-sized doll and a prop man standing ready with diapers and a stop watch. While the entire crew and company watched, Bernhardt was schooled in changing the doll against time. His best was 68 seconds for the job. Getting down to business at last, after a number of rehearsals Bernhardt finally called for action. There was absolute silence. Emoting was about to, to start for a particularly tense scene when, instead of the expected dialogue, came a loud recording of a baby’s squawling. Bernhardt really knows by now that he’s the dad of a brand new baby boy. WALTER BRENNAN is seen as a down-East Yankee in the new Bette Davis starring film, Warners’ “A Stolen Life,"" now at the Strand. Others in the featured cast include Glenn Ford, Dane Clark and Charlie Ruggles. MAT NO. IJ ln iamemstmetmettaemmmnimammic cacti aerated emenm dimmer aren neem ania nnn eee ei teen d 6