Because he was that movie!!..He put in a performance that turned a boring screenplay into a fantastic hit!! Reality..Bette Davis could have been replaced and I thought Ann Sheridan did a better job than Davis..Bette Davis had to always be the center of attention and Monty took away from that.
shareOf course, Monty Wooley was that movie; he played the title role. The reality is the movie wouldn't have been made without Bette Davis because she was its box office insurance. Warner didn't think the rest of the cast members, especially Wooley, was big or popular enough to attract a wide audience for the film. Hence Davis was cast. So contrary to what Anticaria/Shane Garnett insists, the name of Davis provided the star power the movie needed.
Bette Davis had wanted John Barrymore to play the part but he was already too ill to work so she grudgingly settled for Wooley.
Davis served the picture well by underplaying the less showy role of Maggie. She gave a quiet but luminous performance which was a change of pace from the neurotic women she played in previous films. It's one of the reasons why she agreed to do The Man Who Came to Dinner. It would have ruined the film had she tried to upstage anyone and she was happy to let Ann Sheridan have fun with the showier part she was playing. This was an ensemble cast and every actor did well with their parts by staying in character.
Of course, Monty Wooley was that movie; he played the title role.
Good one, markedjuan. As usual. 😅
He did a good job at being nasty, of course, but the movie would have been totally forgotten nowadays if it wasn't for Bette's taking part in it. Her name alone made it possible that it was released on DVD.
Animal crackers in my soup
Monkeys and rabbits loop the loop
Bette Davis knew her role was supporting, going in. Not unlike her choosing to play the role of Maggie in " The Great Lie", over the showier role that Mary Astor won an Oscar for.
Just because something can't be explained,doesn't mean it becomes yours!
Being Human
I actually love her and Monty in the film.
They have amazing chemistry and Bette is cute as a button.
No offense to Sheridan fans but I never saw her appeal as an actress and I never found her to be particularly attractive. Very bland actress.
Monty Woolley had originated the role on Broadway. He was the natural replacement for John Barrymore after Barrymore's embarrassing, boozy performance at a presser. In the whole madcap, insane, Hollywood-inside-joke-laden production, her performance was the solid, emotional center. Woolley was the perfect man you loved to hate, and there's no indication that Davis resented that.
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