Stardust: The Bette Davis Story

...And how it Broke Bette's heart.

I became very interested in Bette after seeing this the first time in 2006 when I came out... Not that I did not already love her as one of my favourite actresses... But because of this documentary, I have changed my opinion of Miss Davis, as not just one of the best, but The Best Actress, ever.

And as such, she was never really left a moment's peace in her personal life. However, this documentary shows, that fact never affected Davis work ethic, and she plod on regardless of what was going on with her life.

I think the documentary ought to have had a bit more to say about The Hollywood Canteen, a pivotal point in her career, and one that awarded her the highest civilian honour in real life, even above Bob Hope. It is almost like I am proud to be a Davis fan because of what she did for our Servicemen in WWII.

A lot of people always measure Davis by the Joan Crawford Yardstick... And the documentary maker here also does that, to a small degree. I think in reality, Davis probably never had the slightest Crawford, but Crawford, who was always combative with the other high profile stars at her studios (aka, Norma Shearer at MGM) - It is almost as if, Since Norma Shearer, who beat Crawford hands down at MGM, retired in 1941... Crawford targeted Miss Davis as her new "antagonist"- Something which I don't think Davis thought of at all, as any Crawford/Davis feud (Or Crawford/Shearer feud) was always more so on the part of Crawford. It is a sad laughable thing about Crawford, not that it makes me disrespect Crawford for it, but Davis just wasn't like that at all, Miss Davis was always more interested in the health of the Film (to the point of micromanaging things) to deal with petty Crawford Feuds.

The documentary maker of this, I think could have used better wisdom collecting the filmed anecdotal items: Such as those comments from Davis Former Husband William Grant Sherry's wife (who used to be Davis' nanny - I forget her name, but her name is unimportant, as, the PERSON is unimportant) - I can't believe that the documentary makers would use that particular source of footage- INCLUDING the footage where the woman, if I could loosely use that term woman, just about makes a blanket statement that Bette had something to do with Arthur Farnsworth's untimely death.

I appreciate the clips from Bob Osbourne and James Woods... And it is important to show all aspects of the person, but Betty was as complicated as anyone- The film does however show the high level of disrespect of BD Hyman toward her mother, something that shocked me, especially as how Hyman considers herself not just a Christian, but a Minister: And As Such is a very Poor example of one.

The tragedy of this documentary are the clips from BD, whose betrayal must have hurt Bette more than anything done to her by anyone else in her lifetime.

I am glad that they showed the BD clips, as they show this Girl/Woman, whom Davis loved more than anything... What an inconsiderate Phony "Christian" she was and is, using a "Mommy Dearest" attack to accumulate 100,000 dollars (which is more than the usual sum publishers forked out in those days) which she claims to have used to Christian Ministries:

And if I were to tell this BD Hyman anything, it would be that money obtained from the public Disrespect of one's blood Parent... Is NOT money that God has blessed and has put His hand on.

This documentary shows this disrespect, and not in a flattering light toward Hyman.

Hyman did not consider, that good ministry, IS looked at by the public, and if Hyman's anti-Mom books are considered by Hyman as something God either WANTED, Ordained, or Supported: That She is WRONG and as a Christian I want nothing to do with THAT God, who would allow parental disrespect as a means to access money for so-called Christian Works, and any Minister or Ministry that is FOUNDED on such.

I am glad that the original book was laughed off of the shelves by the critics. - Hyman was revealed as a Hypocrite who needs to either shut-up or make it right with her Mother.

BD, Your Mother loved you, and you can actually make it right even now.

It would be difficult to do a bad documentary on Bette Davis - she was such a dynamic actress and woman and never boring - but this beautifully produced documentary, "Stardust: The Bette Davis Story" is over the top in excellence, paying great attention to the actress' private life as well as her movie career. Using photos, film clips, interviews with family, Davis herself, and voiceovers from coworkers, a picture emerges of Davis as a driven actress, a perfectionist, a wonderful homemaker and ultimately, a very lonely woman.

Her son Michael, who unlike her spoiled daughter B.D., loved his mother very much, states that she drank quite a bit. This was probably much less true in her heyday and exacerbated as she aged. That perhaps contributed to her becoming increasingly more difficult to work with as the years went on. Like many great stars, without the cushion of a studio, with the loss of creative control/choice that comes with moving into character roles, Bette Davis became less secure. It became more important for her to be able to intimidate the director and those around her. During the major part of her career, she was surrounded by top directors and stars - these now became people with less talent than herself, and as a result, the later films suffered. Fortunately, though, she went out with a bang, with "The Whales of August."

Bette Davis had an indomitable spirit throughout her life. She gave us some great films and brilliant performances. "Stardust" gives us insight into the woman behind them.

For me, it's difficult to pick who was the greatest actor of the 20th century: Bette Davis or Barbara Stanwyck? Each had to work harder than men actors to get roles portraying strong women characters; each played so many diverse lead characters they they couldn't be stereotyped into a typical role; each had sensational acting ability; each couldn't be cast as simpleton sexual objects for men to exploit; each was utterly devoted to her acting career for their entire lifetime; each didn't receive nearly enough official recognition by being awarded for outstanding leading and supporting characters; each stoled the shows from great leading actors in nearly every scene they played; each was not what would be called a 'raving beauty', and yet, on film, their spirits brought the beauty forth from within themselves in such a fashion to become gorgeous; each allowed themselves to be cast in highly controversial roles well before the social issues were talked of in their time. Having said all of that, I cast my vote for Bette Davis as the greatest actor of the 20th century.

This biographical documentary of Bette Davis' work and life is revealed quite expertly well through a well balanced mixture of actual film clips from some of Davis' great silver screen performances, television talk-shows when she reveals key intimate details about her life, values, beliefs, and sensibility.

The film biographers of "Stardust..." do a remarkably fine job of selecting clips of Davis' peer commentators who were knew Davis as their friend, mother, acting mentor, neighbor, and a kids-turned-actors who grew up either on stage with Davis or in her home.

This is one of the most well balanced film biographies of an actor that I have viewed (repeatedly). There are historic clips not available (at this time) to the public, included in "Stardust...." This, for a Davis collector, it is a must own, especially in DVD format.

And yet--having given that title to my commentary--I have to say that not everything depicted here paints BETTE DAVIS with a rosy glow. It's an accurate, no holds barred sort of documentary of her life on and off the screen--and some of it has a "warts and all" kind of truth to it that does away with gushing fan worship that some seem to prefer their favorite stars bathed in. For those fans, this is an eye-opener.

Instead, it's a penetrating look at the kind of Yankee upbringing the actress had, how she craved from her father the kind of attention she only got from her mother "Ruthie"; how her father's indifferent attitude toward her career as an actress was something she was never able to overcome; how the main influence on her life was the mother who doted on her rather than her less strong-willed sister; and, finally, how she developed into a strong and determined young woman who was not about to let anyone stand in the way of the sort of career she felt she fully deserved.

All of this is accompanied by interesting family still photos, excellent film clips, and, occasional remarks from co-workers or friends on how they see Bette Davis, the person and the actress.

While much of the material has been presented before, it has never been examined with such precision and understanding, giving a clearer portrait of the actress than ever seen before.

Peter Jones is to be congratulated for writing an excellent expose. It's not a gushing fan tribute, but an extremely sharp and penetrating look at a woman who had many admirable traits, but whose ambition and self-absorption (an ingredient necessary for a successful actress), left her with some bitter memories of a not altogether successful personal life.

I have seen quite a few documentaries on Bette Davis and I read a biography about her as well, as she's definitely my favorite actress. However, this Turner Classic Movies production is superior to the other films I've seen about her for two main reasons. Because TCM owns almost all of Miss Davis' films, they were able to use far more relevant clips than other shows about her. Plus, given their resources, they were able to piece together old interviews by many long-passed stars to create an excellent portrait not just of this actress on stage but off as well. Miss Davis was arguably the best actress ever, but off screen she was a psychological mess. This documentary does NOT ignore her negative side as so many "white-wash" documentaries do--you get the star, warts and all and I really appreciated this. Some of the people had terrible things to say about Bette as a person (and some very positive things) and it also discussed her daughter's "tell-all" book. About the only reason I didn't give the film a 10 is that with all these real life antics, it would have been really nice to have psychotherapists interviewed as well to create a deeper psychological profile--discussing her personality disorders and how they served her so well in films and undermined her ability to really connect with others. Still, a very fascinating and frank biography--one not to be missed.

For an even better TCM biography, look for the one on Joan Crawford, Bette's off-screen rival. It manages to be just a hair better and more insightful--though both films are terrific.