Front Page Woman: Bette Davis Just Won't Quit

Is it worth the watch?

If you like movies where people talk at 100 miles per hour and wear great hats, you’ll probably have a blast. If you need your dramas to be slow-burning and deeply psychological, you might find this one a bit too caffeinated for its own good. It’s a breezy, slightly messy, and very entertaining ride.

Bette Davis is just electric here. She plays Ellen Garfield, a woman who is clearly the smartest person in every single room she walks into. She’s fighting for her spot on the front page, and the way she stares down her editor is honestly worth the price of admission alone. 🎥

The chemistry between Davis and George Brent is... well, it’s complicated. They spend half the movie trying to outscoop each other, which leads to some genuinely funny scenes of them sabotaging one another. It’s like watching a real-life war happening over a typewriter. Sometimes I felt like they were going to kiss, and sometimes I felt like they were going to throw a lamp at each other. Maybe both?

The newsroom stuff

The office environment feels like a total fever dream. Everyone is shouting, phones are ringing off the hook, and people are throwing papers everywhere. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in Daring Days, though with way more cigarettes.

There’s a moment where Davis is trying to get a story while dealing with a ridiculous situation involving a murder trial, and I found myself just laughing at how quickly the plot moves. It doesn’t stop to explain anything. It just keeps shoving you forward. It’s exhausting but in a good way.

I noticed there’s a random side character who just sort of disappears halfway through the movie. No explanation. He just stops showing up. Maybe he went to lunch? I don’t know. It felt very grounded in the reality of a busy newsroom where people are just replaceable parts anyway.

The pacing is a little weird in the middle. It’s like the writers forgot they were supposed to be building toward a climax and just decided to have everyone yell at each other for ten minutes straight. Honestly? It worked for me. Sometimes you just want to see Bette Davis be right and everyone else be wrong.

It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s lean. It doesn't waste time trying to be profound. It just wants to be a snappy, fun story about a woman who is tired of being told to sit in the corner. If you want to see someone hold their own in a room full of suits, give it a shot. 🗞️