emma jones has been taking stock of bette davis's career. a ferocious combination of queen and worker bee. that ethic drove her from her new england home to broadway and then to hollywood, where, by her mid—20s, she had already made two dozen films. her first significant role was that mildred rogers in 1934's of human bondage. do you know what you are?! you gimpy—legged monster! you are a cripple, a cripple, a cripple! martin, you spent a lifetime studying bette davis, this role of the london waitress, was this the first of the unsympathetic characters that she clearly really relished playing? bette played her to the hilt, she went for broke with this part. and it astonished audiences and critics. they sat back and they said, "who is this woman? "she is one of the best actresses working on the american screen. her image changed, they stopped trying to turn her into a sexy, sort of vamp character, and they started to promote her then as one of the best actresses working in hollywood. mildred didn't produce an oscar, but davis did get her firs