In 1935, Bette Davis made the “most dreadful” movie of her career. She won an Oscar for it
Bette Davis won the 1936 Best Actress Oscar for *Dangerous*, but later called it “the most dreadful movie” and said she deserved the award for *Of Human Bondage* instead. The win reflected an attempt to make amends after her acclaimed 1934 performance was left off the Oscar nominations, highlighting how awards decisions can be shaped by controversy as well as acting.
Davis’s portrayal of Mildred Rogers in *Of Human Bondage* drew strong reviews, and public complaints led the Academy to add her as a write-in candidate, though she did not win. The following year, she beat Katharine Hepburn for *Dangerous*, a film the article describes as a weaker vehicle for Davis. She later said her second Best Actress Oscar, for *Jezebel* three years afterwards, was an “honest win”.
In short
- Davis said her first Oscar recognised the wrong film.
- Public complaints followed her omission for *Of Human Bondage*.
- She considered her later *Jezebel* win deserved.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Davis’s Oscar for Dangerous can be defended as recognition of a performance and as an attempt to correct the Academy’s conspicuous omission of her acclaimed work in Of Human Bondage. Awards also reflect the judgement of voters at the time, and a later change of heart by the recipient does not by itself make the original choice undeserved.
The case against
The case against the win is that Davis herself considered Dangerous a poor film and believed her performance in Of Human Bondage was more deserving. If the award was influenced by pressure to make amends for the earlier omission, that suggests the result reflected controversy and institutional embarrassment as much as the acting being honoured.
Explained simply
Bette Davis was a major Hollywood actor whose career included several leading roles in the 1930s. The Academy Awards, often called the Oscars, are annual film prizes; their acting categories are decided by votes from members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Davis played Mildred Rogers in Of Human Bondage, a drama based on a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. Her performance received strong reviews, but she was initially left off the Best Actress nominees; public complaints prompted the Academy to allow write-in votes, though she did not win.
The following year, Davis won Best Actress for Dangerous, beating Katharine Hepburn. Davis later questioned that award and said her performance in Of Human Bondage had been more deserving, a dispute that shows how awards can carry meanings beyond a film’s reception.