# Who’s the greatest film actress of all time, Bette Davis or Barbara Stanwyck? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 12, 2004, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-greatest-film-actress-of-all-time-bette-davis-or-barbara-stanwyck/249924 "2004-06-12T02:24:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-greatest-film-actress-of-all-time-bette-davis-or-barbara-stanwyck/249924/21 "2004-06-13T16:42:29Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Why beat up? She was terrific. Well, my opinion is that she was one of the few actresses who was both stunningly beautiful and accomplished at her profession. There are some who would say that, as a guy, I’m responding to her looks rather than to her talent. That’s correct, to some extent, as I would watch her reading the phone book for hours on end, if allowed to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-greatest-film-actress-of-all-time-bette-davis-or-barbara-stanwyck/249924/22 "2004-06-13T20:32:10Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Hepburn will always be a favorite, and she was capable of a lot of, for lack of a better metaphor, _vertical_ depth, but not a lot of range. “She ran the gamut of emotions from A to B.” ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-greatest-film-actress-of-all-time-bette-davis-or-barbara-stanwyck/249924/23 "2004-06-14T16:19:08Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > I loves me some Missy Stanwyck, but you can’t forget Claudette Colbert. Lillian Gish. Marlene Dietrich. > > I have huge admiration for Davis, Crawford and Hepburn (indeed, I will defend Joannie to the death, as you all know), but they were all highly mannered–not that that’s a bad thing, but it bit into their versatlity. Colbert was great in \*Cleopatra \* and _Imitation of Life_, but I don’t think of her as having much range. I’ll admit that I don’t have much exposure to Gish; only 4 or 5 movies. But Dietrich of course will always be a favorite too. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-greatest-film-actress-of-all-time-bette-davis-or-barbara-stanwyck/249924/24 "2004-06-14T16:36:38Z")
Range? Claudette excelled in comedy (_It Happened One Night, Three Cornered Moon, Midnight, The Palm Beach Story_) and drama (_Imitation of Life, Since You Went Away, So Proudly We Hail_)—the only kinds of film she missed were crime dramas and musicals. As for Dietrich, I’ve always thought she was underrated as an actress and Garbo overrated. You can easily see Dietrich taking on any of Garbo’s roles: but can you possibly see Garbo in _Destry Rides Again_ or _Witness for the Prosecution_? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-greatest-film-actress-of-all-time-bette-davis-or-barbara-stanwyck/249924/25 "2004-06-14T18:31:28Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I’ll be beat up for this, but Ingrid Bergman is also one of my faves. Yeah, I’d to say Ingrid’s in my top 5. \*Europa 51 \* is one of the greatest films ever made, and her performance is what carries it. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-greatest-film-actress-of-all-time-bette-davis-or-barbara-stanwyck/249924/26 "2004-06-14T18:44:29Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Range? Claudette excelled in comedy (_It Happened One Night, Three Cornered Moon, Midnight, The Palm Beach Story_) and drama (_Imitation of Life, Since You Went Away, So Proudly We Hail_)—the only kinds of film she missed were crime dramas and musicals. > > As for Dietrich, I’ve always thought she was underrated as an actress and Garbo overrated. You can easily see Dietrich taking on any of Garbo’s roles: but can you possibly see Garbo in _Destry Rides Again_ or _Witness for the Prosecution_? I haven’t seen all of Colbert’s, but while I agree she slides rather easily between comedy and drama, Bette makes each role its own genre. Most of Colbert’s comic performances (that I’ve seen) are relatively interchangeable; ditto her dramatic. Like Hepburn’s. And of course I agree wholeheartedly about Dietrich, even over Garbo. _Blonde Venus, The Devil Is a Woman, The Scarlet Empress, Destry Rides Again, Rancho Notorious, Touch of Evil, Judgment at Nuremberg_–I’ve seen each of these many times, and would gladly watch them all again. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-greatest-film-actress-of-all-time-bette-davis-or-barbara-stanwyck/249924/27 "2004-06-14T19:02:08Z")
Which reminds me. They’re talking about Gwyneth Paltrow doing a biopic of Dietrich. Now, don’t get me wrong, but _whaaaa_? Sylvia Plath, OK. But shouldn’t Uma Thurman or Michelle Pfeiffer do Dietrich? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-greatest-film-actress-of-all-time-bette-davis-or-barbara-stanwyck/249924/28 "2004-06-14T19:08:20Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Which reminds me. > > They’re talking about Gwyneth Paltrow doing a biopic of Dietrich. > > Now, don’t get me wrong, but _whaaaa_? Sylvia Plath, OK. But shouldn’t Uma Thurman or Michelle Pfeiffer do Dietrich? Looks wise I would say Uma Thurman’s a great choice. In terms of acting, I can see the choice of Gwyneth Paltrow, though. Uma Thurman’s inconsistent; sometimes she’s great and sometimes she’s awful, sometimes both in the same movie. I’m not quite sure how she would pull this role off. Paltrow is consistently very good in many types of roles. You’re likelier to get the right performance. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-greatest-film-actress-of-all-time-bette-davis-or-barbara-stanwyck/249924/29 "2004-06-14T19:56:54Z")
Oh, lordie, I hope they don’t do a bio-pic, those things are never anything but awful. And with the “doc-u-ment-awy” _Marlene: a Film_, it’s also redundant. ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-greatest-film-actress-of-all-time-bette-davis-or-barbara-stanwyck/249924/30 "2004-06-14T20:24:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Who’s the greatest film actress of all time, Bette Davis or Barbara Stanwyck? 😕 Who is the greater of the two, or who is the greatest of all time? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-greatest-film-actress-of-all-time-bette-davis-or-barbara-stanwyck/249924/31 "2004-06-14T20:24:14Z")
TCM’s been running a Dietrich doc. Seems to be pretty good, though it’s the only one I’ve seen so I don’t have anything to compare it to. The first time I saw it, I was amazed at her wartime activities, and thought at the time that it was a great story that needed to be told. But you’re right; this side of _Coal Miner’s Daughter_, the celebrity biopic is not a genre that has produced a whole lot of great films. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-greatest-film-actress-of-all-time-bette-davis-or-barbara-stanwyck/249924/32 "2004-06-14T21:51:28Z")
Pah I say to your Stanwycks and Davis’s! The best film actress of all time even has a Faith Hill song about her! “Miss Gish, Miss Gish! Unstoppable!” Lillian Gish had more range than both of them put together. Her career spanned 75 years. They come a close second and third though. > [@lissener](#): > > Crawford very early on became mostly a parody of herself. What? _Johnny Guitar_ camp and self parody? :eek: [sub] You watch 500 movies a year and have only seen five Gish pictures? Shame.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-greatest-film-actress-of-all-time-bette-davis-or-barbara-stanwyck/249924/33 "2004-06-14T21:58:24Z")
> [@Ilsa\_Lund](#): > > Pah I say to your Stanwycks and Davis’s! The best film actress of all time even has a Faith Hill song about her! “Miss Gish, Miss Gish! Unstoppable!” > > Lillian Gish had more range than both of them put together. Her career spanned 75 years. > They come a close second and third though. > > What? _Johnny Guitar_ camp and self parody? :eek: > > [sub] You watch 500 movies a year and have only seen five Gish pictures? Shame.[/sub] Yeah, I know. And I didn’t see any of them BECAUSE they were Lillian Gish movies; they were mostly to check off my Griffith list. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-greatest-film-actress-of-all-time-bette-davis-or-barbara-stanwyck/249924/34 "2004-06-14T23:16:11Z")
Get yous some Victor Sjostrom. _The Scarlet Letter_ (1926) and _The Wind_ (1928). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-s-the-greatest-film-actress-of-all-time-bette-davis-or-barbara-stanwyck/249924.md?page=1)