LOL. Only Bette Davis could make an incoherent, illogical melodrama like this work! Bravo! And I know it's wrong, but I loved "Dr. Smith," hamming it up too. Thanks for posting!
That was smashing! I am impressed with this piece. Davis and did some smashing acting in the 50s on television. Thank you for posting. I wish we had pieces like this on television these days.
Yes she did! I miss this quality of actors. It seems many of the shows from the 70's and some of the 80's had some of the best story lives. The camera work was wonderful!
Bette Davis....probably hands down the best performer who ever existed......notice how effective her reactions are, she doesn't even have to be talking but you know exactly what her feeling is. Amazing.
That's Dr Smith from Lost in Space playing Hong Kong Sam. This was presented by General Electric Theater. In the 1950s and 1960s there were a lot of anthology series on the air with great casting and scripts.
"Now it's YOUR turn to use the phone", "And if I don't?", "I'll kill you" -- Haha, our ancestors loved campy dialog. But it was a decent piece for a 30 TV drama. The twist is not a huge surprise but all in all pretty good. Notable is that Hong Kong Sam is Jonathan Harris, Dr. Smith from the original Lost In Space TV show.
Nothing to do with the movie young child three or four years old Virginia field and Forest Forrest Tucker used to visit near my parents and they used to play with me when I was a little kid I have some pictures of us together I was very young for 5 years old so I don't really remember but whenever I see far as talking right thing I used to sit on his name I probably sat on her knee when she was so beautiful. My mom told me they were just super nice people she really liked them
Bette Davis was so beautiful in her younger days, just like Joan Crawford. But later on (and in this film) they took on such a hard look - not attractive at all
This is a slick 25 minute drama that nowadays would be padded out to 2 hours fifteen minutes and would be none the better for it. Everything here is established instantly and perfectly - location, character, backstory, suspense, plot twists. Totally efficient, enjoyable and fully dramatic. It was TV but no one was slumming it or doing it half heartedly, it's a great little piece.
..... and the black n white cinematography. I'm guessing she was wearing Coco Chantal. Edith Head did her gown for All about Eve. I just read "Miss D & Me". Every Bette Davis fan should read it. Her last words and wishes are bittersweet.
Bette Davis was my favorite since l was a very young age now lam 73 years young. I could not wait to see her movies. She was my number ONE. Every movie she did l could not get enough of her only she could do her movies she had a different way of walking l saw one of her movies that she was like 18 or 20 years old. Only one Betty Davis.
I lost it when she was out on the ledge. How unnerving. Bette Davis was the greatest actress who ever lived. 25 minutes of sheer suspense. Bravo, Bette ❤️
Don’t you wish that the great Bette Davis did audiobooks? Can you imagine her reading “The Godfather”? Or the classic “Wuthering Heights”? A good children’s fairytale, Hansel and Gretel. That would’ve been something! But then again, just to hear Bette Davis read names and numbers from a phone book would’ve been an event.
High heels on the croncrete ledge 20 stories up!! 😅 Her masterful, full throttle performance, as always, captivating. I love watching her. I could marathon shorts and movies with Bette Davis all day and all night.
love the way bette is so precise with words 'i must see him tonight' 'i must talk to him', 'well surely he would have come back to tell me'.....makes a change from slang, swearing etc....ohh for the good old days!
So glad to have been introduced to Better this way, I’ve seen a couple of her films but these shorts give me good impression of how talented she was and give me an appreciation of her talents
The telephone operator is Lisa Lu who appeared in Crazy Rich Asians as Ah Ma - 60 years later!! Aki Aleong who plays the police assistant is also still acting!
Yes! And the hotel bell person/messenger is veteran TV/movie/voice actor, James Hong! Met him at a coffee shop in SF in the 1980's when they were filming the Golden Child (w/Eddie Murphy). Unfortunately, that movie was a flop, but James has always been one of my fav character actors...and a very nice guy!
... for all of those who are giving negative comments about an actor from the Bronx (Jonathan Harris) playing a Chinese, can’t you understand that it hasn’t been 2020 forever. And quit saying that there was racism in films ... blah blah blah. It’s called acting. It’s an industry that’s different from any other. It is an art form that is different from all the others and different from regular every day professions and work. It’s make-believe! Not only that, it’s only been within the relative past 100 or 200 years that women have been allowed and accepted to play theatrical performances as a given. Look it up! Women’s roles in ancient Greece and in Japan and even in England were performed by men. Not only that, it’s only been the past 100 or so years that to be in the theater was an unsavory career, especially for a woman. Actors and actresses had the worst reputations, and this was for the United States and Europe, although I think Europe was a bit more broad minded about the acting profession. I wish that all you people who want to clean up yesterday’s cultures using your 21st century high moral grounds had a sense of history. By the way, I think a lot of us enjoyed Jonathan Harris‘s performance. For pity’s sake, it’s a 30 minute television episode. And it reflects the time in which it was made ... and I’m happy to see Bette Davis give another good performance. Because 300 years ago, she wouldn’t have been allowed a theatrical performance. Accept history on its own terms. It is your own time of living that you can rail against and work for change.
Bette Davis wisely moved into television when her movie career cooled down. And then along came a little movie called “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?”, putting her picture career back in gear.
I knew that he was involved but I didn’t know she knew. Great twist. Betty always delivers a performance that is natural and at the same time there’s that energy of the expression of her being that entertains you.
1. Nice to see BD looking glam. 2. She had a very masculine way of smoking. 3. Shades of her very best movie, "The Letter." 4. Bette's character has got GUTS. 5. What a WEIRD little story. Very cool.
It's not the same actor. This is Aki Aleong. The actor in The Letter was Victor Sen Yung. The Letter was made 18 years before this TV drama. There's an almost 20 year age difference between the two men.
.... I read somewhere that Bette Davis purposely used the cigarette as a prop, as part of her character and part of her performance. Someone could do a compilation of Bette Davis smoking and I would watch it!
Fabulous ,at her usual best . Glad for TH-cam to have these on as including myself had little if any Knowlodge that many the biggest movie stars did some these half hr series for tv . Work is work no matter what one does ! But seen Crawford , Allyson , since in these .
Loved it! Much better than current tv shows!
Has all the powerful of a full length movie but takes only 25 minutes to watch! Fits perfectly into my day.
Betty Davis commands the stage... Either you have it or you don't and Betty Davis created it!!!
Lots of twists and turns by way of plot. Top notch acting and not a wasted second. Nice to see Mr Harris from lost in Space in support
his makeup was a mess lol
Bette Davis was one fine actress. ❤
I think they say TV is a cool medium, and Bette had 'hot', big screen energy. But I love seeing these shows. Thank you so much!-
It would be an ideal society if we have today’s modern technology along with the old days’ decorum.
Only if accompanied with compassion, moral values, personal accountability and integrity.
@@Fred-mp1vf ... I'm sure they had most of those back then. Especially moral values and compassion and kindness. Something that people today lack.
LOL. Only Bette Davis could make an incoherent, illogical melodrama like this work! Bravo! And I know it's wrong, but I loved "Dr. Smith," hamming it up too. Thanks for posting!
If course, I knew I'd seen him before, thanks, trying to remember was driving me mad!
Actress for excellence for me
That was smashing! I am impressed with this piece. Davis and did some smashing acting in the 50s on television.
Thank you for posting.
I wish we had pieces like this on television these days.
we do, the kardashians
Yes she did! I miss this quality of actors. It seems many of the shows from the 70's and some of the 80's had some of the best story lives. The camera work was wonderful!
Daniel Hammond there aren’t any actors like this anymore
@@greerchase9443 a
wow Bette Davis was just a brilliant actor.
Bette is and has always been my favorite actor. Hello yes.
Brilliant. Love it! Bette🥰🤗👏🏻
Great, love Betty Davis!!
Bette Davis....probably hands down the best performer who ever existed......notice how effective her reactions are, she doesn't even have to be talking but you know exactly what her feeling is. Amazing.
I don't agree at all. She is a very good actress, but just too overwrought. Like Crawford. Just too much.
@@MisterSplendy Ohhhh....when the story requires an overwrought character she's the best IMO.
Thank you for uploading these rare television films! Muchas gracias!
I heartily concur !!
Yes, Bette!!! What an ending!!!
Great ending..just great!!! And Jonathan Harris's makeup was crazy....
That's Dr Smith from Lost in Space playing Hong Kong Sam. This was presented by General Electric Theater. In the 1950s and 1960s there were a lot of anthology series on the air with great casting and scripts.
yes...and oh how racist of them to have him playing that part.
@@D.C.22 Racist? Don't be ridiculous!
How right you are ! Its a shame that the number of anthology shows dwindled over time. :-(
@@D.C.22 how is that racist? It's called acting.
I recognized him from his nose and eyes.
Just great! Thanks for such a rare treat :)
That was really a great little movie!!!
thankyou! LOOOVE Betty Davis!!
there are no bullets in that gun, Frank. Amazing.
Love it!
Yes, love this davis gem!
Wonderful how it moves quick with not one but two finale surprises! Thanks, Alan Eicher.
Is that Jonathan Harris?
Oh, the pain! The pain!!
thank you, good story good actors.
What a good show. I kinda figured out the twist at the end, but it was still good.
Betty Davis WE LOVE YOU x
Bette did quite a lot of tv back then.. I recognized Johnathan Harris behind the "yellow face" makeup.
These are so good!
Thank you Alan your a star!
Just...don't...mess...with... Bette,...boys.
"Now it's YOUR turn to use the phone", "And if I don't?", "I'll kill you" -- Haha, our ancestors loved campy dialog. But it was a decent piece for a 30 TV drama. The twist is not a huge surprise but all in all pretty good. Notable is that Hong Kong Sam is Jonathan Harris, Dr. Smith from the original Lost In Space TV show.
Gem ❤
Always with a cigarette in hand
steven reid yup till the day she died .
Bette wins.
Are any of these shows available on DVD?
The Chinese guy is the scientist on Lost In Space! He always talked to the robot
Dr. Smith as Charlie Chan. Why do I want bbq pork now 🤔😄
Good flick
Nothing to do with the movie young child three or four years old Virginia field and Forest Forrest Tucker used to visit near my parents and they used to play with me when I was a little kid I have some pictures of us together I was very young for 5 years old so I don't really remember but whenever I see far as talking right thing I used to sit on his name I probably sat on her knee when she was so beautiful. My mom told me they were just super nice people she really liked them
Agreed
Omg that's Dr Smith!
Meryl runs a close 5th place to Bette
Knew he was in on it.
Auntie Mame.
Guy from Lost in Space...lol
How old was Bette here?
I think she was late 40's or early 50's.
Born 1908
She out forced his ass,lot missing from content,but still enjoyable! Ment to say out foxxed,my phone does what it wants somtimes!Lol!
Look closely! That's Dr smith ( lost in space) playing asian man!!!
Jam-packed 25 min. The private eye wasn't a very convincing Chinese. Thanks. Good noir.
But you are Blanche, You are in the chair!!!
F-Troop 😃
Hahahaha. The Chinese man who is following Mrs. Marlow is Dr. Zachary Smith! Talk about cultural appropriation!! Hahahaha! 🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂
Hong Kong Sam? Hahaha! 😂😂
Bette Davis was so beautiful in her younger days, just like Joan Crawford. But later on (and in this film) they took on such a hard look - not attractive at all
Think I'll stay out of hong cong
Bette Davis didnt age well - here she looks and sounds like she is in her 60s ( Maybe she was im not sure) - and that terribe voice
I think she's a great actress but I never did think she was a beauty. I agree, she didn't age well.
This is a slick 25 minute drama that nowadays would be padded out to 2 hours fifteen minutes and would be none the better for it. Everything here is established instantly and perfectly - location, character, backstory, suspense, plot twists. Totally efficient, enjoyable and fully dramatic. It was TV but no one was slumming it or doing it half heartedly, it's a great little piece.
..... and the black n white cinematography. I'm guessing she was wearing Coco Chantal. Edith Head did her gown for All about Eve. I just read "Miss D & Me". Every Bette Davis fan should read it. Her last words and wishes are bittersweet.
Well said 👍
@@pAusten i
@@pAusten
I think that you meant “Coco Chanel”.
tom the whiner
Only Bette Davis can pull off holding a gun in one hand, her purse in the other and look totally plausible! Thanks for this entertaining little gem!
also climb on 8 story ledge in high heals
if she had a cigarette hanging from her bottom lip at the same time it would not have surprised me.
@@beverlylawyer2286 while smoking a cigarette
Lol. True
Great one! Very Alfred Hitchcock. Bette Davis, as always, was the best.
Every one of these short movies is a precious gem. We can only admire them while we have them.
Bette Davis was my favorite since l was a very young age now lam 73 years young. I could not wait to see her movies. She was my number ONE. Every movie she did l could not get enough of her only she could do her movies she had a different way of walking l saw one of her movies that she was like 18 or 20 years old. Only one Betty Davis.
I lost it when she was out on the ledge. How unnerving. Bette Davis was the greatest actress who ever lived. 25 minutes of sheer suspense. Bravo, Bette ❤️
And she took her handbag, and did it in heels, what a gal!
@@tasscatThat made it even more unrealistic
"There are no bullets in that gun Frank". That is a superb ending.
Indubidubly 🙂
TWENTY FIVE MINUTES and I went through an entire gamut of emotions and a complete surprise at the end.
Love seeing these classic shows and Bette Davis is wonderful!!
Don’t you wish that the great Bette Davis did audiobooks? Can you imagine her reading “The Godfather”? Or the classic “Wuthering Heights”? A good children’s fairytale, Hansel and Gretel. That would’ve been something! But then again, just to hear Bette Davis read names and numbers from a phone book would’ve been an event.
Better than what's on tv now.
Amen!
Way
I certainly have a notion to second that emotion !! :-)
It doesn't take much at all to surpass the junk produced today.
High heels on the croncrete ledge 20 stories up!! 😅 Her masterful, full throttle performance, as always, captivating. I love watching her. I could marathon shorts and movies with Bette Davis all day and all night.
love the way bette is so precise with words 'i must see him tonight' 'i must talk to him', 'well surely he would have come back to tell me'.....makes a change from slang, swearing etc....ohh for the good old days!
Its that new england background of hers!
Being a stage actress first helped her.
Indubitably ! Her diction was impeccable !
So glad to have been introduced to Better this way, I’ve seen a couple of her films but these shorts give me good impression of how talented she was and give me an appreciation of her talents
Love Bette Davis. Thank you for uploading.
I totally agree !!
Great acting, but wow!...an even better well written story/ plot. What a surprise ending to this great crime mystery. Thank you.
The frantic chase for an elusive husband, takes many forms. You can feel her panic and confusion.
Bette Davis showing how it’s done on the big screen and TV. Boom!!!!
The telephone operator is Lisa Lu who appeared in Crazy Rich Asians as Ah Ma - 60 years later!! Aki Aleong who plays the police assistant is also still acting!
OMG
thank tou! always nice to see another woke person in the comments😍
Yes! And the hotel bell person/messenger is veteran TV/movie/voice actor, James Hong! Met him at a coffee shop in SF in the 1980's when they were filming the Golden Child (w/Eddie Murphy). Unfortunately, that movie was a flop, but James has always been one of my fav character actors...and a very nice guy!
... for all of those who are giving negative comments about an actor from the Bronx (Jonathan Harris) playing a Chinese, can’t you understand that it hasn’t been 2020 forever. And quit saying that there was racism in films ... blah blah blah.
It’s called acting. It’s an industry that’s different from any other. It is an art form that is different from all the others and different from regular every day professions and work. It’s make-believe! Not only that, it’s only been within the relative past 100 or 200 years that women have been allowed and accepted to play theatrical performances as a given. Look it up! Women’s roles in ancient Greece and in Japan and even in England were performed by men. Not only that, it’s only been the past 100 or so years that to be in the theater was an unsavory career, especially for a woman. Actors and actresses had the worst reputations, and this was for the United States and Europe, although I think Europe was a bit more broad minded about the acting profession.
I wish that all you people who want to clean up yesterday’s cultures using your 21st century high moral grounds had a sense of history.
By the way, I think a lot of us enjoyed Jonathan Harris‘s performance. For pity’s sake, it’s a 30 minute television episode. And it reflects the time in which it was made ... and I’m happy to see Bette Davis give another good performance. Because 300 years ago, she wouldn’t have been allowed a theatrical performance. Accept history on its own terms. It is your own time of living that you can rail against and work for change.
Magnificent comment from beginning to end. Thank you for taking the time!
Bette Davis wisely moved into television when her movie career cooled down. And then along came a little movie called “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?”, putting her picture career back in gear.
Baby Jane is one of my favourites!
Another Masterful Work by the Incomparable Bette Davis. Thank you for posting this.
Excellent screenplay and acting all around...but especially Bette Davis. She was a real Gem!
I knew that he was involved but I didn’t know she knew. Great twist. Betty always delivers a performance that is natural and at the same time there’s that energy of the expression of her being that entertains you.
So glad to finally see some of the pilots she shot. No matter how big she was she remained in love with the work!
Of course...these were the years when she HAD to take this work since the studios were being shady to her.
Yes ! She was a real pro ! Gave her best, whether it was a film, a stage performance, a TV program or a radio show ! :-)
What pilots ? This is avstand alone tv drama... there was no intention yof making a series after this.. stop
What pilots ? This is a stand alone tv drama... there was no intention of making a series after this.. stop
She was extraordinary!
I'm going to start saying THANK YO just like Bette. Love this stuff! Do watch "The Letter". You're welcome.
Isn't that the old guy from Lost In Space?
No its Forrest Tucker the head of 'F Troop'.
Really?
yes, the oriental guy is from Lost in Space
Jonathon Harris (Dr. Smith) playing Chinese man
@Donna Burwell amen!
Great movie 🎥 although the download wasn’t the best it was still watchable.
1. Nice to see BD looking glam.
2. She had a very masculine way of smoking.
3. Shades of her very best movie, "The Letter."
4. Bette's character has got GUTS.
5. What a WEIRD little story. Very cool.
I'm pretty sure the actor in the police station was in The Letter - didn't he play James Stephenson's assistant?
Certainly seemed like him! Amazing.
"The Letter " was my favorite, too.
It's not the same actor. This is Aki Aleong. The actor in The Letter was Victor Sen Yung. The Letter was made 18 years before this TV drama. There's an almost 20 year age difference between the two men.
.... I read somewhere that Bette Davis purposely used the cigarette as a prop, as part of her character and part of her performance.
Someone could do a compilation of Bette Davis smoking and I would watch it!
Great movie, I never saw. Thank you. She was a great actresses.
She didn't have to go to extremes, to get noticed, like today's actresses.
Fabulous ,at her usual best . Glad for TH-cam to have these on as including myself had little if any Knowlodge that many the biggest movie stars did some these half hr series for tv . Work is work no matter what one does ! But seen Crawford , Allyson , since in these .
Exactly. Work is work . Bette called these her 10. Dark years but she was way too critical. She did a lot of fine work. Like here .
Never heard of the Bette Davis show but I love it Thanks
Could you imagine how people would lose their minds if an American played an Asian today?
Rolling on the floor.
I instantly recognized Jonathan Harris despite the makeup.
Thank you so much for this I really enjoyed this. 🤗⚘🤗⚘🤗⚘🤗⚘
Wow, what a twist! I didn't have a clue, but how smart she was.
Jonathan Harris steals all the scenes he's in. Great episode.
Bette Davis is very good in this show
Crawl along a ledge with high heels...
I love it when a plan comes together.
That final scene! Wow!
I believe the man who played "Hong Kong Sam" also played Dr. Zachery Smith on "Lost in Space".
It’s the eyes😊