It is one of the most iconic scenes of The strange passenger (1942)
The film directed by Irving Rapper, in which Bette Davis plays one of her best roles, tells the story of a single woman who regains her self-esteem and independence thanks to therapy with a psychologist and the distance she takes from her oppressive mother. A journey in which Davis's character is transformed physically and psychologically, becoming a woman who takes control of her life, sophisticated, and who, why not, can also smoke a cigarette whenever and with whomever she wants.
Tobacco smoke –and this was real then- is an element that appears surrounding the romantic scenes that the film shows between the character of Davis and Paul Henreid. The old strategy of asking for a fire to chat with the man or woman you like was already more than invented in classic cinema. In fact, it was with this film that Hollywood would be inspired, on several occasions, to bring to the big screen one of the most elegant and original ways of sharing a cigarette.
This is how Hollywood learned to light a cigarette
It occurs in the last sequence of the film, when Charlotte Vega, the protagonist, makes one of the most difficult decisions. She is at night and in a dimly lit room, only illuminated by the light that filters through a large window, she talks with Henreid's character. In front of him, with her eyes blurred with tears, Bette Davis approaches him and -this time yes- it is she who offers him a cigarette.
He takes two and lights them at the same time. Immediately after, he takes one of them out of her mouth and gives it to her, who, still staring at him, takes a puff. The thick smoke of both intersects moments later, thus closing one of the most powerful scenes in the film, before Davis releases the final sentence: "Let's not ask the Moon, we have the stars."
For a time, it was said that the gesture was the brainchild of Heireid himself, whose wife also smoked and whose cigarettes he used to light that way. An idea that Rapper would like, is who would incorporate the scene into the film, during filming. Of course, that did not appear in Olive Higgins Prouty's novel of the same name on which the film was based, but years later, when the original scripts for The Odd Couple could be seen, it was shown that this had arisen during the writing of the script, signed by Casey Robinson.
Bette Davis's performance in this 1942 film directed by Irving Rapper met with unanimous praise from critics and earned her an Oscar nomination in the Best Actress category. The role of the neurotic and unwanted daughter of a domineering elderly mother that Davis plays in this film came to her when she was in the middle of her artistic career, already an established star.
