Beyond the Forest (1949)

Who better than Ms. Davis to impersonate herself? This is her last film for Warner Brothers so old Harry gave her the screws with this melodramatic pot-boiler which, as it turn out, is an absolute hoot. A plethora of zingers, one-liners and one of the most famous lines in American cinema ("What a dump"), Bette chews up the scenery in her long hair wig and heaving breasts like never before. She's just plain nasty and as Elizabeth Taylor would later describe her to Richard Burton in "WAOVA", she's "discontent" or she's a housewife..."She buys things". Well, the only thing BD buys here is a one way ticket to the platform of the local Chicago bound train depot, before applying a slathering of make-up which surely was a try-out for Baby Jane. You must watch this if you love campy, over-the-top emoting by an iconic actress hell-bend on career self-destruction.