ALL ABOUT BETTE (TV)
Summary
This program, hosted by Jodie Foster, documents the life of actress Bette Davis, with interview clips of the elderly Davis interspersed with her career highlights. The show begins with scenes from some of Davis’s 101 films, after which Foster gives an overview of Davis’s six decades in show business. Foster says that Davis prioritized her career over a personal life, fueled by her “raw energy” and embodying the spirit of the ‘30s emancipated woman. Born Ruth Elizabeth Davis on April 5, 1908 in Lowell, Mass., Davis’s mother enrolled her in acting school, leading to her Broadway debut in “Broken Dishes” in 1929. A year later, she was signed to a Hollywood contract, as recalled by Davis in a 1971 clip from “The Dick Cavett Show.” Davis talks about how she wasn’t as pretty as most young starlets, which may have precipitated her being dropped by Universal Studios. She was subsequently hired by Warner Bros., and developed “a smashing relationship” with studio head Jack Warner. She made her breakthrough with “Of Human Bondage” in 1934, then won an Oscar for “Dangerous.” Davis married Harmon Nelson, after which she weathered a stormy period at Warners where she tried to break her contract and was forced back to work. Soon, Davis won a second Oscar for “Jezebel,” under the direction of William Wyler, who became her lover. Clips from Wyler and Davis’s subsequent collaborations, “The Letter” and “The Little Foxes,” are shown, during which Foster tells how Wyler and Davis grew apart, though she had divorced Nelson. Clips then illustrate Davis’s favorite role: the dying socialite in “Dark Victory.” Foster tells how Davis began an affair with her leading man, George Brent, then dropped him and took up with director Anatole Litvak on the set of “The Sisters.” When Davis subsequently played against Litvak’s wife, Miriam Hopkins, in “The Old Maid” and “Old Acquaintance,” she and Hopkins became lifelong enemies. In an interview on “Good Morning America,” Davis calls Hopkins “a real bitch” and says she “didn’t behave like a professional” though she thought Hopkins was “a very good actress.” Talking with Cavett, Davis also tells of Errol Flynn’s lack of acting expertise during “The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex.” Olivia de Havilland is shown in a “This Is Your Life” clip in which she and Davis reflect on their lifelong friendship. Davis married Arthur Farnsworth before embarking on “Now, Voyager,” which won her a fifth Oscar nomination in 1942. A montage shows Davis’s trademark use of smoking cigarettes on film, then documents Davis’s work in co-founding the Hollywood Canteen during World War II to get celebrities to entertain the troops. Following the death of Farnsworth, Davis married William Grant Sherry, who was later accused of abusing her. In 1947, she gave birth to a daughter, Barbara Davis, then divorced Sherry. After suffereing a series of flops and leaving Warner, she made a comeback with “All About Eve” in 1950 by replacing the injured Claudette Colbert. Davis subsequently married co-star Gary Merrill and adopted two children, one of whom was brain-damaged and had to be institutionalized. Ten years later, the couple divorced. In the ‘50s, after finding a dearth of leading lady roles, Davis began doing commercials. In 1960, she had a second comeback in the horror film, “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” More headlines were generated over Davis’s rivalry with co-star Joan Crawford, whom Davis accuses of ruining her chances of winning an Oscar for “Baby Jane.” Later, Davis became the first woman to receive the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award. After going on to TV movies and work on a series, Davis suffered a stroke at age 75, then contracted cancer. In a clip, Davis comments on the vitriolic book written about her by her daughter, with whom she never spoke again. In 1987, Davis made one of her final films, co-starring with Lillian Gish in “The Whales of August.” Foster tells how Davis died in Paris at age 81 on Oct. 6, 1989, following a trip to Spain in which she fell ill. Finally, Foster reflects on Davis’s legacy as a clip montage is accompanied by Kim Carnes’s tribute song, “Bette Davis Eyes.” Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: TNT
- DATE: July 17, 1994 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:48:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:40529
- GENRE: Arts documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Arts documentaries;
- SERIES RUN: TNT - TV, 1994
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ellen M. Krass … Executive Producer
- Susan F. Walker … Producer, Director
- Louise M. Gallup … Co-Producer
- David Ansen … Writer
- Steve Orich … Music by
- Jodie Foster … Host
- George Brent
- Kim Carnes
- Dick Cavett
- Joan Crawford
- Claudette Colbert
- Bette Davis
- Olivia de Havilland
- Arthur Farnsworth
- Errol Flynn
- Lillian Gish
- Miriam Hopkins
- Anatole Litvak
- Gary Merrill
- Harmon Nelson
- Barbara Davis Sherry
- William Grant Sherry
- Jack Warner
- William Wyler