FILM 2049: THE LITTLE FOXES

TRIVIA: Bette Davis had legendary make-up artist Perc Westmore devise a white mask-like effect for her face to emphasize Regina's coldness. William Wyler hated it, likening it to a Kabuki mask.

Bette Davis and William Wyler fought a great deal during filming. Disagreements ranged from Davis's interpretation of the character (Wyler thought she should be more sympathetic) to the appearance of the house (Davis thought it was far too opulent for a family struggling financially), to her appearance (Wyler thought her white makeup made her look like a Kabuki performer.) Davis eventually walked out of production, but returned when she heard rumors she was going to be replaced by Katharine Hepburn or Miriam Hopkins.

William Wyler encouraged Bette Davis to see Tallulah Bankhead's Broadway performance. Davis was not keen on the idea but agreed to do so, regretting it instantly as she realized that she was now forced to play the character in a very different manner. Bankhead played her as a fighter; Davis' interpretation was of a cold, calculating and conniving woman.

Teresa Wright's debut and her first Oscar nomination.

According to Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the reason Jack L. Warner loaned Bette Davis to RKO for this movie was to settle a $300,000 gambling debt Warner had with Samuel Goldwyn. It has been said that all of the studio moguls (Jack L. Warner, Samuel Goldwyn, Harry Cohn, Louis B. Mayer, Darryl F. Zanuck and Carl Laemmle) would gather and play cards after work, after having "stabbed each other in the back" during the day.

When it opened at Radio City Music Hall in New York, it set an all-time attendance record for a normal opening day at the theatre, with over 22,000 people attending.

Shot during one of Los Angeles' hottest heatwaves in years, with temperatures on the soundstages frequently rising above 100 degrees.

For the second straight year, a William Wyler directed Bette Davis in a vehicle which was nominated for Best Picture, Director and Actress at the Academy Awards. (The year before the film in question was The Letter (1940).) And for the second straight year, everyone went home empty-handed.

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