Now, Voyager (1942) gave Bette Davis one of her most beloved roles, as Charlotte Vale, a woman who remakes herself after years of being controlled by her mother.
Charlotte begins the film timid and unhappy, then emerges, after treatment and a cruise, as a confident woman. Davis traced that change with great care, and her scenes with Paul Henreid, including the famous lighting of two cigarettes, became part of film history.
The film’s appeal lies in Charlotte’s quiet triumph. She does not win everything she wants, but she learns to choose her own life. Davis made that restraint feel like strength, and audiences took Charlotte to their hearts.
Image: Bette Davis in Photoplay, June 1938, Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bette_Davis_-_Photoplay,_June_1938.jpg