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Davis auditioned for George Cukor’s stack theater company. Although George Cuker wasn’t very impressed with Davis’ audition, he gave Davis her first paid acting assignment anyway.
Davis first week’s stint was playing a chorus girl in the play ‘Broadway’. Later on, she was to play the character of Hedwig in ‘The Wild Duck’. (hedwig was the character she saw Entwistle play.) Afterwards, Davis made her Broadway debut in ‘Broken Dishes’ (1929) then followed it with ‘Solid South’. A talent scout from Universal Studios saw Davis perform and invited her for a screen test in Hollywood.
On December 13, 1930, Davis arrived with her mother by train in Hollywood. She later recalls that she was surprised that no one was at the train station waiting for her. The person, who was suppose to pick her up, had left because he didn’t see a woman that looked like an actress.
Davis failed her first screen test but was used in a few screen tests for other actors. In an interview with Dick Cavette in 1971, she described the experience: “I was the most Yankee-est, most modest virgin who ever walked the earth. They laid me on a couch, and I tested fifteen men… They all had to lie on top of me and give a passionate kiss. Oh, I thought I would die. Just thought I would die.”
Another screen test was arranged for Davis for a film ‘A house Divided’ (1931) but didn’t get the part. The cinematographer, Karl Freud, thought because Davis had beautiful eyes she would be suitable for the film ‘The Bad Sister’ (1931). Davis made her debut in the film. The film was not a success. None of the films she did with Universal Studios were a success. It wasn’t until she signed a five year contract with Warner Brothers that things started to look up for Davis.
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