Bette Davis tickled repeatedly in "The Great Lie" (1941)

Ladies and gentlefiends.....this find, from just yesterday, really needs to be explained, to be fully appreciated. I don't even know where to start.

First off, big chocolate chips of love should be showered upon MB7700...who commented on a thread I started in the General Discussion forum. That's what led to this thread. More on this friend-of-us all later.

I love great movies, and I don't care when they're made. This week for me, for whatever reason, has been Bette Davis Week. And after finishing three of her greatest roles this week ("Of Human Bondage", "Dark Victory" and "Private Lives of Elizabehth & Essex"), I just felt to rave about her a bit. And so I started a thread about her! And it's here:

http://www.ticklingforum.com/showthread.php?274015-Bette-Davis

Now, as an added bonus, in that thread, I attached a short little clip, that's ALMOST a tickle....it's implied that she's ticklish having her knees touched....or maybe not, you judge, but what a giggle. That's the first clip, I'm attaching below, "Dark Victory", 1939 (the same year she played Queen Elizabeth!!)....she's got a crush on this doctor who's examining her, played by George Brent...with whom Davis was having an affair with, in real life.

In that thread, I naively wrote: this is probably as close as we're going to get of a scene with Bette Davis getting tickled.

Well....maybe an hour went by.....and our brother, MB7700 posted this:

"I have never seen the movie, but supposedly she gets tickled a number of times by George Brent in The Great Lie (1941)."

http://mykethemakeupguy. blogspot.com/2011/12/beauty-icon-bette-davis.html

(I put a space in there....but here's what it says, I'll save you the click:

"Davis also starred in The Great Lie in 1941, opposite George Brent. It was a refreshingly different role for Davis, as she played a kind, sympathetic character. Also, Brent tickled Davis during many of the film's scenes. The audience, used to Davis' strong-willed character, caught a rare glimpse of her succumbing to giggles and squirms resulting from her own ticklishness."

WHAAAAAAT???!!!

All of the great mainstream lists from days gone by....and this has never popped up? Well it just goes to show you!!

WIthin moments, I had the movie, don't ask me how......beautifully directed, another impeccable performance from Bette Davis....not a bad movie, not great......but I was shocked and stunned (a little Rutles reference for you ), shocked and stunned at how many times tickling came up in this movie.

They're all acted. I'm not going to tell you these are the greatest scenes ever to appear on the TMF. But for sheer volume in one movie, the cumulative sum of all the ticklings she gets....including under her arm, and yes, for all you crazy, kooky,feet-ticklin' bastards, she gets her feet tickled too.....and on top of that, just being Bette Davis, possibly the greatest actress in all of sound film....this is noteworthy news! This is not Booby McBoobface getting tickled on I'm Almost A Celebrity, Get Me A Career...this is Grand Dame Bette Davis! I mean, she was President of the Academy when this movie was made!

(And that's not all the beans spilled by MB770.....for instance, for you F/M junkies out there.....our man George Brent, the guy tickling her in all these clips, got a taste of his own medicine (as MB7700 put it) by none other than Olivia D'Haviland! At least that's how it read in the newspapers! See?:

https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=eUwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2412,4200915&hl=en

Operator! Get me LemourtDamour!

And MB7700 posted even more! But that'll be for another thread.......) Or just go check out the comments in the original thread.

Ok, so here's what's attached....and for those of you who appreciate this...and I know some of the raised-on-teenage-mutant-kungfu-panda people might not dig it but you know...those of you who collect this stuff like stamps.....give it up for MB7700, who put me hot on the trail.

1.) Dark Victory (1939): Bette Davis has a crush on George Brent who plays a doctor who's examining her. NOT quite a tickling scene....or is it alluded to? You be the judge.

2.) The Great Lie: On their wedding night, George Brent helps his new bride on with her shoes.....giggling ensues.

3.) The Great Lie: George Brent chases her on the lawn, catches her, and makes her break up as she's trying to talk, a move all us 'lers know, love and liberally employ

4.) The Great Lie: Now George Brent pulls her over his knee and gives her a good upperbody tickling (including under her arm) before she gets away. Acted, yes.....but acted by a great actress! I'm sure every giggle is completely crafted and premeditated. Every movie her laugh changes, that's how thorough of an actress she was. Still.....

5.) The Great Lie: No reaction, but look closely....Bette Davis is on the bed, George Brent comes over and tickles her foot. And I know there's a contingent of footboys on here who are sock lovin', so....just so you know....that's what she's wearing in this (minor) clip.


Enjoy, you enjoyers!

And...awwww....just as a little bonus, , two more scenes that aren't tickling but......:

1.) She's holding a letter behind her back and he chases her around, promising he's going to get it from her sooner or later....the threat is implied. I mean...that's what I would have meant, if I were in his shoes! (a spectacular tickling scene with this scenario also happens in the movie "Come To The Stables", which I'm sure any mainstream conniseur knows).

2.) She fondly remembers getting chased around in this sweet, tearful clip........and we all know what happens when you chase a girl and catch her......

Great finds I love seeing casual everyday tickles in mainstream movies. I find it's a great way to humanize characters, and make them endearing.

Great finds! Thanks for the links.

I'm an old movie buff and adore Bette Davis!

I have no recollection of ever seeing the move The Great Lie or I am sure these scenes would have been burned into my memory for all of time.

Thanks to you and MB7700 they will be now

Thank you for sharing these amazing clips.

BRAVO!

Jim
MTJpub.com

Seeing a young Bette Davis getting tickled in a movie? Wonderful. Thanks for the share.
A black and white movie from the 60's "Night Must Fall" has a couple of scenes throughout it where Albert Finney tickles/pokes his girlfriend played by English actress Sheila Hancock. It's a psycho-type mystery. I remember seeing it as a kid and recently got it on Amazon. By the way, Susan Hampshire is in it, she's barefoot or in stocking feet a couple of scenes, but not tickled.

Hey Director, just woke up, thanks for the tip.

Ok, got the movie, ha! That didn't take long. It's a busy week for me so I don't know when I'll be able to put up the clips, but sometime this week, once I find them.

Albert Finney tickles Audrey Hepburn twice in "Two For The Road", two years after this movie.

Gee, I didn't even think anyone noticed the Susan Hampshire clip I put up weeks ago.....it was such a dud, I held back on all my "Masterpiece Theatre" tickle clips! Including a (very slight) clip of young Helen Mirren! Heppy to see someone appreciates Hampshire, another great actress, oh my gosh, you ever see the First Churchills, or the Forsyte Saga? Wow. As a director, Director, worth checking out.

Do you have remember about where the scenes happened? Or I'll just watch the movie....I mean, I could do alot worse than watching Albert Finney, and Susan Hampshire.

So happy you guys appreciated the clips. Hey, MB7700, we're a hit! Whaddya say we take this act on this road?!

(PS: In general, I have a great source for old films, foreign films, some newer indie films....nothing crappy Hollywood mainstream of the last 20 years, but pretty much anything else....movie snob stuff, you know.....so if anyone has any memories of scenes that maybe have never been posted...now's a great time to let me know! I may be able to get them! Witness these Bette Davis scenes, and the scene The Director just told me about!)

Those were great, thanks! Too bad she didn't laugh when her sock foot was tickled, guess she felt her character wasn't in the mood to giggle in that scene like she did in other ones. Obviously her character was very ticklish and tickling was a thing that couple had. I wonder if that movie was remade if that same theme would be in the movie. *Sigh* If only I was rich enough to be a producer and had money to blow lol.

"I never could stand looking at Bette Davis, so I don’t want to see her act, you see." -Orson Welles

It's a good find regardless.

Dearest Leo said:

Hey Director, just woke up, thanks for the tip.

Ok, got the movie, ha! That didn't take long. It's a busy week for me so I don't know when I'll be able to put up the clips, but sometime this week, once I find them.

Albert Finney tickles Audrey Hepburn twice in "Two For The Road", two years after this movie.

Gee, I didn't even think anyone noticed the Susan Hampshire clip I put up weeks ago.....it was such a dud, I held back on all my "Masterpiece Theatre" tickle clips! Including a (very slight) clip of young Helen Mirren! Heppy to see someone appreciates Hampshire, another great actress, oh my gosh, you ever see the First Churchills, or the Forsyte Saga? Wow. As a director, Director, worth checking out.

Do you have remember about where the scenes happened? Or I'll just watch the movie....I mean, I could do alot worse than watching Albert Finney, and Susan Hampshire.

So happy you guys appreciated the clips. Hey, MB7700, we're a hit! Whaddya say we take this act on this road?!

(PS: In general, I have a great source for old films, foreign films, some newer indie films....nothing crappy Hollywood mainstream of the last 20 years, but pretty much anything else....movie snob stuff, you know.....so if anyone has any memories of scenes that maybe have never been posted...now's a great time to let me know! I may be able to get them! Witness these Bette Davis scenes, and the scene The Director just told me about!)

Click to expand...

Hi there,
The tickling (upper body) occurs during the first half of the movie, usually when he has her backed up against a wall in the kitchen, or upstairs in the bedroom. They're not the ultimate tickle scenes but they're good for mainstream, especially for a 60's movie (I love 60's movies!). Enjoy!

Tickling as Cinema Sedition

Leo, <p>This wonderfully effusive post would be fabulous even if it DIDN'T include the delicious clips. Please do continue to share your enthusiastic effusions on tickling in Studio Era movies.<p>
I think one of the reasons romantic tickling scenes from this period are so delightful--and so surprising when they're as straightforward and numerous as these in one feature--is that Studio movies then were in the grip of the joyless prudes wielding censoring shears for the industry's own Production Code and various state and city censor boards. It was tricky to physically depict passion--even playful passion, maybe especially playful passion--in a 1941 movie. Kisses were timed with a stopwatch--and don't even think of implying a curious tongue. Touching below the waist? Not so fast! A couple in the same bed? Quick! The smelling salts!<p>
Tickling WAS a really clever way of symbolizing passion without, ah, teasing the censors overmuch. It's used to superb effect in THE GREAT LIE. I can think of two other nifty 1941 scenes where a woman tickling a man (probably a safer move with the censors overall) established a history of a physical relationship between characters. One is Gail Patrick reenacting her favorite tickling ploy with old flame William Powell (he desperately trying-not-to-stray) in LOVE CRAZY. Another--played more for situational slapstick and less for establishing character--is Joan Blondell buying precious time by tickling her (obvious) lover John Howard to keep him from intelligibly filing a story by phone in THREE GIRLS ABOUT TOWN. <p>
Another reason why tickling in a movie like THE GREAT LIE still resonates so is BECAUSE it appears in THE mainstream medium of the time, and enacted by two of the most popular performers then. (Brent is hardly at Davis' level in modern renown, but he WAS a big heartthrob then, even if a Millennial audience might not get it.) The fact that Davis and Brent act the tickling as deftly as they did more serious moments in the pic helps it work even more.<p>
Anyway, bravo to you and MB for the find. I think there's more gold in them thar fillums. Prospect on, brave cinephiles!

wow.....Good job..

TeeHeeLawrence said:

Leo, <p>This wonderfully effusive post would be fabulous even if it DIDN'T include the delicious clips. Please do continue to share your enthusiastic effusions on tickling in Studio Era movies.<p>
I think one of the reasons romantic tickling scenes from this period are so delightful--and so surprising when they're as straightforward and numerous as these in one feature--is that Studio movies then were in the grip of the joyless prudes wielding censoring shears for the industry's own Production Code and various state and city censor boards. It was tricky to physically depict passion--even playful passion, maybe especially playful passion--in a 1941 movie. Kisses were timed with a stopwatch--and don't even think of implying a curious tongue. Touching below the waist? Not so fast! A couple in the same bed? Quick! The smelling salts!<p>
Tickling WAS a really clever way of symbolizing passion without, ah, teasing the censors overmuch. It's used to superb effect in THE GREAT LIE. I can think of two other nifty 1941 scenes where a woman tickling a man (probably a safer move with the censors overall) established a history of a physical relationship between characters. One is Gail Patrick reenacting her favorite tickling ploy with old flame William Powell (he desperately trying-not-to-stray) in GIRL CRAZY. Another--played more for situational slapstick and less for establishing character--is Joan Blondell buying precious time by tickling her (obvious) lover John Howard to keep him from intelligibly filing a story by phone in THREE GIRLS ABOUT TOWN. <p>
Another reason why tickling in a movie like THE GREAT LIE still resonates so is BECAUSE it appears in THE mainstream medium of the time, and enacted by two of the most popular performers then. (Brent is hardly at Davis' level in modern renown, but he WAS a big heartthrob then, even if a Millennial audience might not get it.) The fact that Davis and Brent act the tickling as deftly as they did more serious moments in the pic helps it work even more.<p>
Anyway, bravo to you and MB for the find. I think there's more gold in them thar fillums. Prospect on, brave cinephiles!

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Well hello, Tee-Hee Lawrence! Thank you for taking the time to write such an effervescent response! You made some excellent points, in fact...all of them! I had forgotten about Girl Crazy, didn't know about "Three Girls About Town", I'll try to find them, and if you can think of any more, please drop me a line.

I know there's a beautiful short tickle that Spencer Tracy gives Lana Turner in "Cass Timberlane" but that's a movie I presently don't have (though I have the scene on videotape somewhere).

Thanks again for shedding light on the restrictions they had back then, and for the appreciation and encouragement! You're swell, mister!

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed!

I may have missed you posting this scene but if not, there's a sweet cute scene in "The Awful Truth" where Cary Grant is hiding behind a door that's blocked by Irene Dunne (one of my favs), as she tries to talk to Ralph Bellamy, Grant starts poking her in the side with a pencil causing her to twitch and giggle.

The Director said:

I may have missed you posting this scene but if not, there's a sweet cute scene in "The Awful Truth" where Cary Grant is hiding behind a door that's blocked by Irene Dunne (one of my favs), as she tries to talk to Ralph Bellamy, Grant starts poking her in the side with a pencil causing her to twitch and giggle.

Click to expand...

I do have that one! And also "Once Upon A Honeymoon" where he tickles Ginger Rogers. I'll post those soon. He also tickled Deborah Kerr (according to her autobiography) during the filming of "An Affair To Remember"! And watching those clips? He knew what he was doing, that's not fake acting tickling! Somehow, I don' t think any of those girls minded!

"Variety Girl" has got to be one of the greatest all-time tickling scenes, and definitely of the 40s. "Come To The Stables" is one I always loved also, that's one of the greats. Though I had always wished Celeste Holm had been playing that part, instead of the nun that walks in!!!

wow! this is just awesome! i remember seeing marilyn tickled too, socks nylons bare shots and everything. good stuff!

I know Marilyn says "Your medals. They tickle" when Lawrence Olivier gets close to her in "The Prince and the Showgirl", actually a pretty disappointing scene, even if you just like hearing the word. Would love to know if there's another Marilyn scene out there, who wouldn't? Anyone know? There's that pic of Montgomery Clift about to tickle her foot while she's sleeping on the set of "The Misfits". That's the only one I know about.

one thing im wondering about that sock scene, is that it doesn't match what george is doing to her sock feet, yet she's wearing the same thing in the video.

Thanks for the posting I have to say you guys are quite articulate intelligent and you write incredibly well thank you for the Post

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I missed these the first time around I guess... great finds, she seems really ticklish!