Stardust: The Bette Davis Story

As with any Silver Screen documentary co-produced by Turner Classic Movies, you would expect nothing less than an account of the highest quality, and STARDUST: THE BETTE DAVIS STORY does not disappoint. One of the most well-balanced accounts on the actress I've ever had the pleasure of seeing, it manages to be surprisingly subjective by presenting a portrait of one of Hollywood's most celebrated legends warts-and-all, complete with archival footage, sound clips and close-up interviews with friends, fans and those people still with us who knew her best.

By turns it's funny, amazing, amusing and very sad - showing a woman who was as complex as the best roles she played, and as someone who worked tirelessly to make sure that her performances (and in some cases the performances of her co-stars) were never "phoned-in", and how consumed with a passion for the work, she payed a terrible price by all but sacrificing the quality of what could and should've been a wonderful personal life.

But rather than go more deeply into the sordid details of affairs, failed marriages and rivalries with contemporaries and studio execs - especially her "surrogate father", Jack Warner, the doc spends a lot more time reviewing some of Ms. Davis's most lauded (and rightfully so) performances from such greats as NOW, VOYAGER, THE LITTLE FOXES, JEZEBEL and one of my personal favorites, THE LETTER.

Bette Davis was not a conventional Hollywood beauty. But then again, she wasn't a conventional anything. And thank goodness that writer/director Peter Jones saw fit to tell her story in anything but a conventional way. I think she would've really appreciated that.

Some documentary biographies make interesting viewing in that we get to see aspects of their personalities, careers, and lives that we either had forgotten, or were just not aware of. "Stardust, The Bette Davis Story", directed by Peter Jones and seen recently on TCM, is that rare, but intelligent endeavor that makes the viewer more aware of the life of an actress that spent her life in front of the camera.

This film clarifies a lot of things about Ms. Davis' life that weren't as obvious as in other documentaries that came before. One thing comes clear, her father's desertion was a big blow to the young child, who felt abandoned by him. In spite of what should have been a bitter resentment on her part, she still kept in touch with him as noted by the many things about herself she sent him throughout the years. Her mother played a big role in Bette Davis life. Her ascent into stardom assured her mother and sister a life of ease they never had during the years that followed the breakup between her parents.

Another thing that comes across is how Ms. Davis had affairs with some of the men in the industry. One anecdote had Patrick O'Neal berating her for a pass she made at him during the run of "The Night of the Iguana" on Broadway. Her battles with Jack Warner is also prominently accounted for by Mr. Jones. Her battle with some of her directors were legendary, yet, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, her "All About Eve" director, tells us how in his experience, he was intimidated at first, based on colleagues' reports, yet, working on that film proved to be a pleasant experience for him, as well as the rest of the cast.

We also get to know her own daughter's rejection when B.D. Hyman got into religion. That was a terrible blow for a woman that had given her all to that child. Ultimately, this must have been what broke her heart. Triumphs and accolades were nothing to her if in the end she lost the daughter she loved so dearly.

The film uses well the many film clips the director and his team were able to assemble for this most informative and complete account of a life that appeared to be glamorous on the surface. Ms. Davis' life was in many ways rewarding, but deep down she must have felt differently when all the tragedy she went through is taken into account.

"Stardust: The Bette Davis Story" is a must for all of her fans.

Stardust: The Bette Davis Story (2006)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Extremely entertaining documentary on the life and career of legend Bette Davis features countless interviews with the actress from various shows including 60 Minutes and the Steve Allen Show. The documentary runs 90-minutes and I feel an extra half hour would have helped things because the movie quite often jumps around from her film life to her sexual life. We hear about all five husbands but also how many other actresses, including Joan Crawford, ended up hating her because she would sleep with their husbands or boyfriends. I'm really not sure all of the dirt was needed but it's here. Also on hand is discussing about how difficult she was to work with and how Jack Warner eventually had to sue her to get her to work. We get interviews with James Woods, Jane Fonda, Ellen Burstyn, Gena Rowlands and Samuel Goldwyn, Jr.. Vincent Sherman is also interviewed where he discusses how difficult she made shooting their first film together and when he asked to be let go, according to him, Davis took him back to her house for a sexual night. In the end we pretty much learn that Davis had a very rough life style and it probably ended with her being very lonely. After a series of strokes and the heartbreak of her daughter writing a not-so-friendly book, she eventually went on a tour to great acclaim. No matter how tough her life is, there's no doubt she left us with some great films, which is the documentaries main point to get across.

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.

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.