Stardust: The Bette Davis Story

Stardust follows Bette Davis from the inside, drawing on her vast personal archives to build a portrait that goes beyond the public legend. The film assembles rare documents, home movies, and candid conversations into a steady, unsentimental account of a performer whose intensity shaped an era. Through newly conducted interviews and carefully curated clips, the documentary invites viewers to see the woman behind the files, the roles that defined decades of stage and screen, and the resilience it took to stay creatively vital. It avoids sensationalism while offering sharp observations about Davis's confrontations with directors, studios, and critics, and about the price of maintaining artistic control in Hollywood, a balance struck with wit and candor. It also traces the way her public persona evolved with changing times and audiences, revealing a savvy, stubborn artist who never stopped challenging the industry, and it resists easy explanations.

Directed by Mark A. Catalena and Peter Jones, Stardust draws on Davis's private archives and fresh interviews to map a career defined by fearless performances and fierce independence. The documentary originally aired as a television special in 2006, with intimate backstage stories and commentary from peers, and it points to the uneasy compromises that shaped even her most celebrated moments.

Box office data is not applicable to this television documentary, which aired on television rather than in theaters. Consequently there is no worldwide gross to report, and the film is primarily distributed through broadcast channels and home media.

The project did not receive major nominations or wins in the awards circuit, functioning as a retrospective that prioritizes archival material and intimate conversations over ceremony recognition, aiming to illuminate a storied career through context rather than accolades.

Critics respond to its intimate approach, balancing Davis's screen brilliance with the realities of fame. The film examines themes of artistic autonomy, the burden of public perception, aging in Hollywood, and the lifelong drive to reinvent oneself, supported by commentary from Susan Sarandon's narration and fellow actors.