The Bette Davis Collection Volume Two - The Memorable TV DVD Review

One of the true giants of the golden age of Hollywood Bette Davis's career spanned forty years, her biggest years being from the late thirties through to the early fifties and this gorgeous 6 disc box set (5 movies and one documentary) includes some of her best loved movies. Davis had started out in second string roles in the early thirties in films such as Three on a Match and 20,000 Years in Sing Sing before becoming Warner's most important actress more than able to hold her own against her male counterparts including the likes of Humphrey Bogart and Errol Flynn. Davis felt that Warners kept her down and throughout much of her career was at loggerheads with them, nevertheless they did put together some fantastic projects for us, movies that have stood the test of time and are classics today.

Take Jezabel in which Bette plays a self-involved southern belle whose neurotic attempts to mould her fiancé (Henry Fonda) to her own designs eventually bring about her tragic downfall. Made in 1938 and directed by William Wyler the movie was seen as something of a pre-empter of Gone With The Wind, here Davis is at her scheming and sensual best.

Marked Woman is more of a minor movie from 1937, still in Warner's gangsters vein, which they were undisputed kings of, and sees Davis co-starring with Humphrey Bogart and playing a nightclub hostess who has to testify against her mobster boss, again it's a very intense performance from Davis.

The Man Who Came To Dinner is a piece of 24 carrot gold with a brilliant performance from Monty Woolley as author Sheridan Whiteside who finds himself confined to a suburban home after an accident and is soon creating chaos, Davis here is second fiddle to Woolly as his unflappable secretary but the movie is a piece of pure joy.

Old Acquaintance (remade years later as Rich and Famous) is a classic chick flick with Davis playing author Kit Marlowe whose best friend is fellow writer Millie (Miriam Hopkins). Millie has everything that Kit wants - including her husband, the story spans 20 years as Marlowe's life starts to unravel. It's high quality drama that should be compulsory viewing for today's rom-com style film-makers.

Whatever Happened To Baby Jane is the classic 60's gothic horror that teamed Davis with fellow screen legend Joan Crawford for a very creepy story about an ageing former child star who lives with her invalid sister - before too long murder is in the air. Both stars are fantastic and the movie did much to revitalise their careers allowing Davis to find something of a niche late in her career.

Stardust The Bette Davis Story is a riveting 88 minute documentary, narrated by Susan Sarandon, tarcing Bette's story with some great clips, interviews, reminiscences and classic phots of this great screen legend.

For any fan of classic Hollywood this set is a pure delight and for any Bette Davis fan this is simply must have DVD material.

ANY SPECIAL FEATURES?

There is a huge array of extras, each disc being given plenty of care and attention and have been put together like a night at the movies back in the thirties and forties with cartoons and comedy shorts . Jezabel has a new featurette called Jezabel: Legend of the South, a commentary from film historian Jeannine Basinger, a Melody Masters: Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra musical short and a vintage cartoon The Mice Will Play; Marked Woman has a feature called Ripped From The Headlines, 2 classic cartoons - Porky's Hero Agency and She Was an Acrobat's Daughter and the theatrical trailer; The Man Who Came To Dinner has a classic vintage comedy short from Joe McDoakes called So You Think You Need Glasses, a vintage cartoon called Six Hits and a Miss as well as the theatrical trailer and a new featurette called Inside a Classic Comedy; Old Acquaintance features a commentary by director Vincent Sherman and author Boze Hadleigh, a featurette called A Classic Woman's Picture, a vintage short called Stars on Horseback, the theatrical trailer and a cartoon called Fin N Catty; Whatever Happened To Baby Jane is a very impressive 2 disc set with 3 documentaries, a vintage feature going behind the scenes, an audio commentary and a brilliant excerpt from The Andy Williams Show featuring Bette.