Here she is knitting off-camera with co-star Ann Sheridan (who appears to be crocheting) on the set of The Man Who Came to Dinner.
I haven’t watched Now Voyager for some time but I do seem to remember an early pivotal knitting scene as well as knitting while cruising later on in the film.
She also knit in Phone Call From a Stranger.
Look at the knitting container (case/bag/cylinder – what was this called?) next to her as she works on a contribution for the Red Cross during World War II. If she was knitting in between takes in this photograph, I have yet to identify the film.
Bette Davis’s most famous filmed handwork, though, must be the crocheted lace she worked on throughout the film, The Letter. She is seen here, crocheting on that set, alongside her stand-in, Sally Sage, who is knitting an Argyle sock. I wish we could see their work bag and basket more clearly.
Davis’s character’s crocheting and her supposed finished work are again, important elements in the film. I just wish, too, in this one of my favourite films, let alone favourite films of Bette Davis, that her character had, instead, been knitting lace!
Credits: Images from The Old Maid, Now Voyager, The Man Who Came to Dinner and The Letter owned by Bettman/Corbis? They can all be found on various Flickr accounts.
Image from Phone Call From a Stranger is from The Complete Films of Bette Davis by Gene Ringold, New York: Citadel Press, Inc. (1985, 1990), page 157.
14 comments:
Great post! I was watching "Roberta" this weekend (Fred Astair, Irene Dunn, Ginger Rogers) and there was a knitting joke in it. I always recall Ginger knitting a dog sweater on board the boat, but can't recall the movie right now--it starts a rumor that she's pregnant.
Here's a fun pic of Hepburn knitting with Ginger:
http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/3206048/Hulton-Archive
Thanks very much! I hadn't seen this one before and two more screen favourites of mine!
I love that film about the struggling actresses and the boarding house where KH and GR share a room. Someone else, I think, knits in that one - have to watch it again!
I'm definately going to seek out some of those films, thanks!
The Red Cross container thing looks great.
Thanks for these lovely pics.
I've just found your blog and added it to my feeds. In her autobiography, Peggy Guggenheim mentions that she learnt to knit wheb she was a child and never ceased knitting. Saddly, no visual examples survived :-)
Thanks for the Peggy Guggenheim information!
I love watching The Letter !
One of my favorite movies !
Thanks for this post. I love to spot knitting & crocheting in movies.
Does anyone know of a pattern that exists of the bedspread Bette Davis was crocheting in “The Letter”? Is that considered lace-making or crocheting?
Thanks for this blog! Marne, it looks like crocheted white lace wagon wheel doily pattern. I have crocheted this wagon wheel pattern, it’s beautiful. You can form it over a plastic box, brush with glue, let dry, then pull away from box, you have a beautiful lace jewelry box. I forget the glue (modgepodge?) watching “The Letter” right now! Love love these old movies, my favorite stars, Bette Davis knitting, crocheting! Yes I am a knitting nut these days, watching old movies knitting! Lastly, I love old patterns ! The history is my favorite! Thanks so very much for your blog!!!!
Please respond here (Mary Walsh comment from above) so I can be notified to see any responses. Yes I researched but could not find what Bette was crocheting? It looked like a wagon wheel pattern used as doilies or tablecloths …. I too, would love to have seen those argyle socks 🧦 Bette’s stand in was knitting! Please let me know if you or anyone here has a YouTube knitting channel. I love using old patterns! Old knitting books! I love learning history of knitting. Also, I saw a beautiful YouTube from about 10 years ago, a woman was interviewing an elderly lady from Ireland? She used to knit sweaters for her fisherman husband. Merino wool? The wool that stands up to harsh weather. She said the pattern in the sweater distinguished who (the surname) of the fisherman long ago, so if found or lost they could identify him by his sweater pattern. I have visited Ireland and have some wool yarn from there. Thx again for such an awesome blog!!!!! From a fellow knitter (crocheter;) Mary:) 🧶
Oh well. 3rd time charm. Please email: patrick7mary@gmail.com since I cannot get my email to connect or publish. For any info, comment or suggested YouTube channels. Again, thx 🙏 so much for this blog and all the awesome commenters!!!! (A TCM and knitting nut;) Mary ^ - ^
Thanks so much for your comments, Mary! I don’t know what it says about me when I’m so familiar with an old movie that I don’t have to listen to dialogue but concentrate instead on the handiwork the actors are doing, but I plead guilty to loving classic movies as much as I love knitting/needlework/crocheting. There are many instances of movies featuring needlework, especially period films: in The Heiress” (1949) starring Olivia de Havilland and Montgomery Cliff, protagonist Catherine’s needlework project figures prominently in describing her personality and in “Suspicion” (1941), Dame May Whitty’s character Mrs MacLaidlaw appears to be so focused on her needlework project that she fails to notice her daughter Lina’s (Joan Fontaine) planned elopement. One of my favorite movies is the British adaptation of “Great Expectations” (1947), another period film; one scene features the character Estella as an adult (Valerie Hobson) sitting by the fire at Miss Havisham’s knee. Estella is busily engaged in some sort of needlework, using very small, rapid movements with just the tips of her fingers, being able to speak to the other actors without looking at her hands. I wonder what this type of needlework is? Thank you again for your input!
The pic with Bette knitting with the Red Cross container was on the set of “In This Our Life” (1948), with Olivia DeHavilland and George Brent, see pic of her in the same costume: https://www.hollywoodyesterday.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/In-This-Our-Life.jpg
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