Out, Out Darn Spots

Davis did a few B movies, including The Queen from Outer Space, where her experience working with Zsa Zsa Gabor inspired her to perfect an imitation of the star. Finally, Walt contacted her once more. “When Mr. Disney first thought of Cruella de Vil, thinking of her character loving fur and luxury, he thought of a Zsa Zsa Gabor-type voice, and actually called me in to read the part for Cruella. I was twenty-one years old and totally wrong for Cruella. I wound up sitting up in a room above the studio with the great Walt Disney, and he was actually reading Anita, and I was struggling to read Cruella. As I heard the character of Anita being read, I knew it was me. So I plucked up my courage and asked, ‘excuse me sir, would it be all right if I read Anita, because I feel so much more like Anita than I do Cruella.’ And he let me read Anita, and he became Cruella – a very good one, I might add. And that’s how I became Anita.”

Davis also contributes to a separate special feature titled “Sincerely Yours, Walt Disney,” in which she reads letters as Dalmatians author Dodie Smith which were written during the pre-production and making of the film. “The letters are delightful,” says Davis, “and you can see how excited both she and Walt Disney are about making this film.”

Today, Davis has her theories as to the film’s lasting success. “I think today,” she says, “we live in a world that’s so tough and hard, and when you watch something that’s so captivating and pulls you in and touches the heart, it shows you how wonderful it can all