Ann-Margret Recalls Bette Davis ‘Lookin’ Out’ for Her During Film Debut in ‘Pocketful of Miracles’

Ann-Margret’s first film left a lasting impression — thanks to late costar Bette Davis.

Though the Hollywood icon had a reputation for being difficult prior to her 1989 death at age 81, Ann-Margret told Interview Magazine that she experienced a softer side of Davis on the set of the pair’s 1961 flick Pocketful of Miracles.

In an article posted on Wednesday, December 10, the 84-year-old declared: “I played her daughter and I really felt like it.”

The Emmy winner went on to explain that famed perfectionist Davis helped her learn the movie ropes ahead of her onscreen debut at age 20.

“I was about to have a close-up,” she recalled to Interview. “I didn’t know [about] close-shot, medium-shot, you know. She was there and she, at one point, stopped all the filming and said, ‘Ann-Margret, this is your close-up, I want you to look as good as you possibly can. Makeup! Hair!’”

Of course, when two-time Oscar winner Davis — known for starring in All About Eve, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Jezebel and more — beckoned, the crew listened.

“The makeup person and hair person came and when they finished she looked and said, ‘Okay, now we can go on,’” Ann-Margret continued. “Oh, she was lookin’ out for me.”