Arena (TV Series) Bette Davis: A Basically Benevolent Volcano (1983) User Reviews

Interview with a legend

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 19 October 2005]

"Bette Davis: A Basically Benevolent Volcano" was shown recently on TCM. This is basically an interview with Bette Davis more than a documentary. In it, we get to see the star of so many films talking to the camera about her views on her career and her films. Since it is a candid conversation with Ms. Davis, she seems to be directing her opinions to us, the viewers, on the other side of the room in an intimate way. The narration by Ian Holm makes a good deal of sense, enhancing what we one is watching.

What this interview could have used was a different format in which, in addition to telling us about herself, more emphasis in her career could have been illustrated with film clips that would have had a more comprehensive and cohesion in examining and illustrating her long association with the cinema. As it plays, one only gets to see some of her most obvious achievements, while other films in which she shone are not even mentioned, or are bypassed without an explanation.

We understand the limitations of this format, and the viewer is lucky to catch a fleeting glimpse of the woman who was a down to earth person in the land of make believe. Ms. Davis never lost touch with her Yankee values and no nonsense attitude toward everything she did. In fact, her puritanical background indicates her upbringing and the influence her mother had on her.

Bette Davis, the consummate actress and artist, confesses her quest for perfection and how most of her work didn't quite satisfy her. In fact, the only film that comes close to her best work seems to be "Dark Victory", which she considered to have met her criteria for the perfection she wanted in everything.

It's a shame that only Olivia DeHavilland, Anne Baxter, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Joseph L. Mankiewicz offer their opinions about Bette Davis. They knew her well, but one misses hearing from other voices too.

The interview is essential for Bette Davis' fans who can see one of the legends of the cinema recounting her life for our benefit.

Adulatory, and not especially thorough, but nearly priceless for buffs...

[moonspinner55 · 7/10 · 5 October 2010]

BBC documentary on actress Bette Davis and her tumultuous 18 years while working on the Warner Bros. lot in Hollywood, narrated by Ian Holm and featuring interviews interspersed with movie clips. Davis, poised and elegant at around age 75, is interviewed, as well as select co-stars (who naturally have nothing but praise for the movie legend). The clips from "Cabin in the Cotton", "Dangerous", "Jezebel", "Dark Victory", "Thank Your Lucky Stars", and others are well used, and Davis is acerbic and clever (and perhaps a tiny bit rueful on occasion) recalling personalities--directors and leading men--from her glory years. Davis' anecdotes will surely make this special worth watching for movie fans, although her years following "All About Eve", her 1950 triumph for Fox, are pretty much frittered away. Still, there are some terrific stories told here, very little gossip, and a satisfying overview of one of the greatest talents in cinema history.

An entertaining look at the life of a legend

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 17 June 2005]

I must admit before my critique that I have a bias. It's because of Bette Davis that I fell in love with film. The movie was "Dark Victory," and I only saw Part 1 on television, but it was enough. When I went to college, I was able to see many of her greatest films with my friends, and those movies stand side by side with some wonderful memories.

Before her debilitating stroke, Bette Davis gave a highly entertaining interview which is incorporated into this British documentary. The portions in which she discusses her life and career are the best parts. The film clips are so grainy as to be distracting. Besides Davis, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Anne Baxter, Olivia de Havilland, and Joseph Mankiewicz are interviewed. The funniest section is Davis' description of making the dreadful Beyond the Forest, about an unhappy woman who wants to get away from the husband and the town in which she lives. "My husband," she says, "should have been Eugene Palette, a big fat character actor. Instead it was Joseph Cotten. Now, who could leave Joseph Cotten?" Davis states she was too old for the character, but doesn't add some other problems (besides the script): the character's name was Rosa Moline, so she had to wear a black wig. She also had to walk on hills and rocks wearing high heels. Age was the least of her problems.

So-so documentary/interview with Ms Davis.

[Aussie Stud · 6/10 · 15 April 2004]

I saw this on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) when they ran a marathon of these classic interviews, and I happened to catch this one profiling Bette Davis.

The title "A basically benevolent volcano" refers to a comment used by Olivia De Havilland (one of the interviewees) to describe Bette (the two worked together in "IN THIS OUR LIFE" and "HUSH, HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE").

A BBC-financed production, this interview with Bette (it was filmed after she had a mild stroke as she can be seen talking out of one side of her mouth, but before she had that massive stroke where it rendered her unrecognizable) takes you back to her childhood where her mother worked her back off to put her through school, and how Bette vowed that she would get a job that paid so well, her mother would never have to work again.

And that she did. From Broadway baby to Hollywood, Bette made an impact at MGM Studios where she filmed a few supporting roles in some duds and then was subsequently fired (ie her contract was not "renewed") where she caught the next train back to the East, about to throw in the towel, when Mr George Arliss himself gave her a telephone call and coaxed her back to Hollywood to star in his latest film as his love interest (LOL!).

They actually show a snippet from this film ("THE WORKING MAN") where Mr George Arliss, heavily dressed in lipstick and make-up, trying to bat away Bette's sexual advances toward him where he plays a man nearly 40 years her senior (if trash like this was filmed today, he would be replaced with Woody Allen).

Back in Hollywood, Bette manages to get a crack at stardom again, this time getting some choice roles as 'strong-willed' female characters, usually either as a victim of violence or a modern day woman. She further discusses her limited roles in generic (of the time) trash like "FASHIONS OF 1934" and "BUREAU OF MISSING PERSONS", but her big break came in 1935 when she finally won the Best Actress Oscar for "DANGEROUS".

She fondly remembers the one role out of her entire film career that she was satisfied with (acting-wise), in "DARK VICTORY" where she plays a heroic woman grappling with the fact that she is going blind. Co-star Geraldine Fitzgerald gives some insight on how intimidated she was from what people had said about Bette at the time. Apparently the word was going around that Bette did not like other actresses getting 'face time' on camera in the same scenes as her, and that if Geraldine wanted to share the camera, she would have to get between a piece of furniture so Bette couldn't push her out of the scene (LOL)! Apparently it turned out to be all lies, and Geraldine thought Bette was one of the sweetest actresses she had ever worked with.

Bette comments on her WWII effort with the opening of the "Hollywood Canteen", an outlet for army veterans to 'mingle' with the stars. They even show footage where she does a small number and goes on to do the jitterbug with a professional dancer where he throws her around causing her to get a few bruises on her knees, yet she wanted it to look as 'realistic' as possible and swore that she was only going to film this in one take, hence the part where she staggers back outside the canteen (all bruised up) to finish her swan song!

She then goes on to talk about her career-defining moment in "ALL ABOUT EVE", where interviewee Anne Baxter gives her two cents on what a brilliant actress she is.

Her film career stagnated for a while until she came back with "WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?". Unfortunately, she (purposely?) avoids talking about this era, especially where it concerns her big comeback in the 60's horror genre (ie "THE NANNY", "HUSH HUSH", "DEAD RINGER", etc) and goes directly to the current day (ie. early 1980's) where she was still acting in her mid- 70's.

Not much is said on her many failed marriages, her disabled daughter "B.D.", the death of her mother or her countless publicized feuds with various actresses (including Ms Joan Crawford).

For a "film prospective", this is a pretty good documentary/interview. If you want to know more about the "personal life" of Bette Davis, you're probably better off with a Lifetime Television "Intimate Portrait". This was probably one of the last good interviews that she gave before she suffered the major stroke that really knocked her to the ground. She was never the same after that and it showed in both her films and personality (apparently she became so cantankerous, even sweethearts Lillian Gish and Helen Hayes couldn't say a nice thing about her).

Nice Interview with Davis

[Michael_Elliott · 10 August 2009]

Bette Davis: A Basically Benevolent Volcano (1983)

*** (out of 4)

Nice documentary/interview has Ian Holm narrating the story of Bette Davis who is also on hand to throw in some comments of her own. The documentary covers about sixty-minutes worth of material but many, many classic films are overlooked. We do get some discussion on how MGM pretty much threw her out of the studio when she came looking for a job and how Universal just used her as a kissing model. We hear about her eighteen years at Warner and how she eventually got out of her contract. Geraldine Fitzgerald, Anne Baxter, Olivia de Havilland and Joseph L. Mankiewicz are all interviewed and share a few good stories. As a documentary this thing is pretty weak because it really doesn't dig deep into Davis and her career and one could say it sugar coats a lot of stuff including her infamous temper and attitude. The one main reason to watch this is because of Davis herself who comes off very charming here and it's obvious she still had a great memory on her. It's too bad there wasn't more interview footage that had her talking at more length about her career. I doubt anyone will learn anything new here but it's still worth watching if you're a fan of Davis and want to see one of her last interviews.

Amusing...but sugar-coated and only skims the surface...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 20 November 2005]

Fans of Bette Davis will surely appreciate watching her talk about the subject dearest to Bette--herself. As with most actresses, like Katharine Hepburn, for instance, it's a subject that truly fascinates her. But somehow, I get the impression she was less than benevolent toward her co-workers.

She's entertaining to listen to as she recounts the stories behind the films she made--well, some of them--but there's lots of material that she never dares touches. The bitter feuds with Miriam Hopkins and Joan Crawford, in particular, are never detailed, nor are all the nervous breakdowns she gave her directors.

The most interesting of her co-stars is Olivia de Havilland, who admits to being frightened of Bette during their first two films, with Bette "only warming up to her" by the time they did IN THIS OUR LIFE. Bette retorts with, "Oh, you were always so damned pretty." De Havilland also reveals how Bette's flare-ups could be frightening, as when she lit into a technician fussing with the lighting.

William Wyler adds an amusing anecdote and Anne Baxter seems to have relished playing opposite her in ALL ABOUT EVE.

But it's what isn't revealed here that could have made the whole thing a little less sugar-coated than it is.

I read recently that when Ruth Roman was asked whether she would ever do another film with Davis (after BEYOND THE FOREST), she simply said, "I'll pass on that." There are many actresses who swear they would never do another film with her--and even sweethearts like Helen Hayes and Lillian Gish couldn't find a kind word to say about her behavior on the set of films she made late in her career. Presumably, she was less than benevolent during the last decade of her life. She also found fault with de Havilland for "upstaging" her at an award ceremony in Paris.

Still, fans will get a sense of her independent spirit and strong will from watching this recap of her career.

Why do certain actors remain stars long after their deaths?

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 28 March 2018]

Working up almost to the end, Bette Davis never fails to amaze me with her wit, humanity and honesty. She's a true Yankee, a non-spoiled earth mother who wanted it all: a career, a home, a husband, and children. She knows she couldn't have it all in the order in which she wanted it, and it's obvious that she knows it is tough to make all of those dreams come true when you have the ambitions that she did. For Bette Davis, here 76 years old and still working, she knows she's just too much, and yet, she had fun being that character that was herself. Co-stars and friends join her in this revealing look back at her life, and the audience gets a glimpse of what is basically a pioneer woman who poo-poo'ed women's lib and stood on her own as a hard working determined human being who succeeded in a man's era, simply based on her own drive, and didn't need feminism to fight for her way in a man's world.

Former co-stars and friends Olivia de Havilland, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Anne Baxter give anecdotes to their time spent with Bette on the set and off, and it is apparent that their loyalty is undying. Bette reveals much about how her plain old fashioned upbringing influenced her drive, how that passed over into how she dealt with marital issues and with raising her children. As being made prior to the scandalous tell-all questionable book by her daughter B.D., Bette shares her love for her children, and being seen years after the book and her rebuttal autobiography came out, it has a far more dramatic impact. The success of "Feud" has not just revived an interest in Bette's films, but brought her legend to the attention of a younger generation who see what it really takes to be successful in a difficult choice of a career. This isn't another by the numbers bio that follows a timeline. It uses that timeline to show the determination for survival, and basically leave behind a lesson on how important it is to know yourself and your limits and to view stardom in a realistic manner that doesn't make those lonely years tougher to get through once the glory has begun to fade.

Horribly produced docu

[Ripshin · 16 June 2005]

This production is all over the map, mixing time-frames and interviews in an annoyingly haphazard manner.

Yes, the segments with then-healthy Davis are great, but they are joined with lame narration, and a confusing structure.

Having watched this immediately after an excellent Joan Crawford TCM docu, I was especially disappointed.

Being that this site requires ten lines, I'll include a side question. Has anyone read that hilarious book (whose title I have forgotten), detailing Miss Davis's bizarre stay at a family's home the year before she died?? Her home was in repair at the time. The true scenario is hilarious. OK, I just Googled, and it is "When Bette Davis Came for Dinner-And Stayed-And-Stayed-And Stayed" by Elizabeth Fuller. It's a hoot.

UPDATE: Catch the recent "Dick Cavett Show" DVD releases in 2006. The interview with Davis is fantastic.