Bette Davis & Rosanna Arquette in The Dark Secret of Harvest Home (1978)

When Nick and Beth Constantine (David Ackroyd and Joanna Miles) stumble upon the charming town of Cornwall Coombe, CT, they think they've discovered the perfect haven for themselves and their daughter Kate (Arquette). They're told the house they've fallen in love with isn't for sale, but several weeks later they get a call from a couple they met in town who tell them that the owner would like to meet them. When they meet Widow Fortune (Davis) she warmly welcomes them to the town and makes them an offer on the house they can't refuse. The Constantines pull up stakes in New York and settle in the charming town to start anew. All is idyllic until Nick starts to feel uneasy about some aspects of the traditions and history of the town. It's people have eschewed modern methods and stick to farming styles practiced since ancient times. There's some tension between residents interested in change and the majority of the townsfolk who stick to "the way." As the family experiences the quaint festivals surrounding the growing season Nick's uneasiness deepens. Is something sinister going on in Cornwall Coombe?

This television film was actually a two part mini-series, based on the book Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon. It's never been released on DVD or VHS in a complete version, though you can find an edited version on both formats that leaves out much of the plot. It's also available in full on YouTube, thanks to an upload by TVTERRORLAND. The sound is low and there are a few jumpy cuts here and there, but you get the full story with all the subplots.

Obscurity factor: 8 (no full versions available on any media, on YouTube, not well remembered)

Bette Davis in Payment on Demand (1951)

Obscurity factor: 8

Joyce and David Ramsey (Davis and Barry Sullivan) are married with two daughters almost grown. To Joyce's great surprise and dismay, one night David comes home and asks for a divorce. The story of their marriage is told in beautifully conceived and filmed flashbacks, while the story of their divorce unfolds in the present. Joyce is a scheming society climber with no sense of loyalty to friends or business associates. The flashbacks show her development and hint at contrition.

This film takes an unflinching look at divorce and some of the reasons for it, and though some aspects of the film are dated, most notably the notion that a divorced woman has no future, the subject matter is handled with honesty and tact. Look for a spicy performance as an established society matron by Jane Cowl.

This film has recently emerged from the shadows and can now be found on DVD, thanks to Warner's Archive collection. It was just aired on TCM last night where I saw it for the first time. The trailer above is from the TCM website and the poster is available at MoviePosterShop.com.

Obscurity factor: 8 (available on DVD, occasionally screened on TCM, known as Bette's forgotten film)

Errol Flynn & Bette Davis in The Sisters (1938)

Obscurity factor: 7

This film has a great history. It's the first pairing of Bette Davis and Errol Flynn, who would, more notably make Elizabeth and Essex several years later. It's also directed by Anatole Litvak who had an affair with Bette and was married to Miriam Hopkins, with whom Bette worked several times and also with whom she shared an enormous animosity - mostly likely because of that affair. Bette plays Louise, the most sensible of three sisters (the other two were Anita Louise and Jane Bryan) living in Montana at the turn of the century. She's sensible at least until she marries sports writer Frank Medlin. He has high hopes for a career as a novelist and sweeps her off her feet and to San Francisco.  He's not exactly the most promising young man, however and times are tough for the young couple. After she takes a job to support the two of them, Frank runs away on a freighter to the South China Seas. The night he leaves is the night of the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Louise is left to piece together her life in the ruins of that California town without Frank. Will they be reunited?

Also in the cast are Beulah Bondi, Henry Travers and Donald Crisp. It has an epic quality with an earthquake scene rivaling the better known San Francisco (1936) with Clark Gable, Spencer Tracey and Jeanette McDonald.

This film isn't available on DVD yet, but a VHS was released in 1998 and can still be found on Amazon. I caught it on TCM, so it's occasionally aired. The trailer above was uploaded to YouTube by skipjacktuner.

Obscurity factor: 7 (known to Flynn & Davis fans, but otherwise obscure, not on DVD)

Bette Davis in Stranded (1957)

Here, thanks to BDeyes81, is another lost Bette Davis gem from the anthology series Telephone Time. Bette plays a school teacher who must protect 5 children in a blizzard that cuts them off from civilization. It's nice to see her patient, kind, competent characterization of a teacher. These lost gems are so much fun to rediscover. The ending is a bit abrupt - I surmise that there was a tag that has been left off - but it's worth a look even so.

This is one of those productions that's extremely hard to find. You might be able to track it down in a collection of episodes of the series, but it would be difficult to locate. Thanks again to BDeyes81, it's above, for your viewing pleasure.

Obscurity factor: 10 (only available on YouTube).

Bette Davis in With Malace Toward One 1957

Thanks to YouTuber BDEyes81 here's another obscure Bette Davis teleplay. In this episode of General Electric Theater she plays an accountant who has aspirations of being a writer. In furtherance of those aspirations she attends a writer's conference and meets a rather disdainful editor. Look for Frances (Aunt Bea) Bavier as a seamstress early on.

These episodes are such fun to look back on, and so exciting to find because of their rarity. Thanks to BDEyes81 for uploading these fun glimpses into the past. This title is available in full on YouTube (installment 1 of 3 above) and if you dig deep enough (searching for the title and Bette Davis), can be found on General Electric Theater compilations on iOffer.com.

Obscurity factor: 10 (available only on YouTube and iOffer.com)

Bette Davis in Fraction of a Second 1958

Television is such a great source for obscure content featuring known stars. Many of them appeared in some wonderful teleplays that have since been completely forgotten. This is one of those forgotten gems that has a very Twilight Zone quality. Bette Davis plays the loving mother of a young daughter. She has a charming home and devoted house keeper (Dorothy Adams - the maid in Laura). She walks her daughter to the corner for school and returns home to find everything has changed - her maid is gone, her home has become a boarding house and no one has heard of her. She's taken to the police and tries to explain what's happened, tries to convince people, but to no avail. The script was based on a Daphne Du Maurier story and was shown as part of the anthology series Suspicion. Look for a young Marion Seldes as a prison matron who escorts Bette Davis to her daughter.

 

This sort of thing is very rarely shown and, unless the series is well known like The Twilight Zone, even more rarely released on DVD. It's available in full on YouTube, thanks to an upload by BDEyes81.The entire series is also available on iOffer.com

Obscurity factor: 10 (Available only on YouTube and iOffer)

Bette Davis & Ernest Borgnine in Bunny O'Hare 1971

This is turning into a bit of a Bette Davis week. I was surprised to find Bunny O'Hare on the American Life Network last night. American Life Network is one of those life style channels way up in the hundreds. Oddly enough it's pitched to a largely conservative audience, but features very campy content on a regular basis - they used to have both Rhoda and Phyllis on every day at 5 and 5:30. So I was surprised, but not overly so to find this super campy, obscure film on.

Bunny O'Hare is one of those films by the establishment about the counter culture of the 70's. Bette Davis and Ernest Borgnine rob banks. They're dress up like hippies, ride a motorcycle and make away with the loot all to support Bunny's (Davis) ungrateful children (John Astin and Reva Rose) whose money grubbing ways have lead to Bunny's house being foreclosed on. The bank tears down the house and she meets Bill Green (Borgnine) in the melee as he's trying to salvage the plumbing. Meanwhile Lieutenant Greely (Jack Cassidy) is trying to solve the crime. He's more than ready to believe that it's being perpetrated by hippies so he brings in a young officer (Joan Delaney) to help him understand the "radical anarchists".  It would be a rip roaring good time if it had been directed more swiftly, but thanks to Davis and Borgnine there's some charm to be had.

This was another one of those lost films that was practically unavailable anywhere until it was picked up by Netflix as a Watch Instantly title. It's not on DVD and there is no video on YouTube. The movie poster above is available at MoviePosterShop.com.

Obscurity factor: 8 (only available on Netflix)

Bette Davis & Robert Wagner in Madame Sin 1972

When it comes to casting apocalyptic females David Greene got it right with Bette Davis. Madame Sin is about a shadowy figure with seemingly unlimited funds out for world domination. She kidnaps a CIA agent (Wagner) and through mind control, forces him to assist her in stealing a Polaris submarine. With distinct overtones of James Bond, this film is high on sleek 70's glamor and bleak 70's pessimism. Bette parades around in the most outlandish wigs, makeup and fashions and exudes some serious evil. This was originally a television movie for ABC. It was intended to launch a series which never happened, so after its initial airing in the states it was released theatrically abroad. Look for Denholm Elliot as Madame Sin's henchman.

The film isn't available on DVD, but there was a VHS release of it years ago - that's how I saw it. It's available on iOffer.com and the trailer above is uploaded to YouTube by DVDFilmFun. It's unlikely it will ever see a television schedule again, so the above options are probably your best shot at screening it.

Obscurity factor: 9 (No DVD, just old VHS copies available, never screened on TV, available on iOffer.com)

Bette Davis & Gena Rowlands in Strangers 1979

Strangers, The Story of a Mother and Daughter one of Ms. Davis' later triumphs. She plays a crusty New Englander whose estranged daughter comes home to try and mend fences. The tenuous relationship they develop is threatened when the daughter confesses that she's dieing of cancer. The subject matter could be maudlin and sentimental were it not for the well crafted script by Michael De Guzman in the hands of two such talented performers and the capable direction of Milton Katselas. This television production premiered on Mother's Day in 1979 and has since been largely forgotten. It's worth a revisit.


This production isn't available on DVD, but there was a VHS release of it in 1989 and you can still find copies on Amazon. It's also available on YouTube. The first installment, uploaded by BDEyes81 is above.

Obscurity factor: 8 (not on DVD, available on VHS and YouTube, rarely screened on TV)

Bette Davis in The Decorator 1965

I just love this little bit of fluff that Bette Davis did in 1965. I'm just sorry that it wasn't picked up. It would have been a wonderful series. The concept was that Bette was a decorator with a very strange way of doing business. She would move in with her clients while doing over their homes. This first episode finds her being hired by an ego maniacal oil tycoon (Ed Begley) who wants to do over a house on their property in grand style for his daughter and potential son-in-law, in hopes that it will scare him off. Of course, Ms. Davis throws a wrench into the works in traditional sit-com style. She plays her part to the hilt, which is great fun to watch. I'm especially fond of her southern belle routine early on. Also look for the irrepressible Mary Wicks as her assistant.

This is extremely rare. It can really only be found on YouTube, thanks to a three part upload by HeyDeyFan. The first installment is above.

Obscurity factor: 10 (never aired pilot, not available anywhere except YouTube)

Bette Davis, Susan Hayward & Joey Heatherton in Where Love Has Gone 1964

When it comes to tearing up the scenery, no one does it better than Bette Davis. Although, Susan Hayward is no slouch in the scenery tearing department either. Put them together in a film and expect fireworks! Where Love Has Gone certainly delivers on that promise. Based on a pulpy Harold Robbins novel of the same name, it's loosely based on the Lana Turner/Cheryl Crane/Joey Stompanato story of a mother/daughter love triangle. Bette Davis plays the domineering mother of sculptress Susan Hayward. Her interference in her daughters affairs have tragic consequences for Hayward and the man she loves (Mike Conners of Mannix fame). They bear a child (Heatherton) and divorce, leaving Hayward to raise her alone. Not an easy task for a woman who is in a constant state of rebellion herself.

Be ready for a huge dose of drama in this one. It's at a fever pitch right from the start. It's fun to see three generations of Hollywood women in one film, though Heatherton hasn't fully owned her glamorous womanhood yet. The film was recently released on DVD and for the time being can also be seen on YouTube in its entirety, thanks to LorreB




Obscurity factor: 5 (available on DVD, rarely seen on television, available on YouTube)