Original subtitles

[traffic]

[Ava] The truth is that the only time I'm happy,

is when I'm doing absolutely nothing.

I don't understand people who like to work and talk about it ,

like it was some sort of goddamn duty.

Doing nothing feels like floating on warm water to me.

Delightful... perfect.

[smoky saxophone jazz]

[Elizabeth Goulsen] She was the only Hollywood actress,

who didn't take herself seriously.

Who didn't care about the whole star system thing.

She was portrayed as a femme fatale,

but in reality she was more of a...

Bohemian... a sort of gypsy girl.

[music continues]

[Edward Z. Epstein]Top directors appreciated what she had to offer.

she didn't.

But maybe that was part of why she was so...

appealing on screen you know,

she didn't think that much of herself.

[Michael Garady] You could create the Ava Gardner enigma,

on your own canvass.

You could put everything together and you could have a wonderful recipe...

of a fascinating woman.

[music builds and crescendo]

[light music]

[Ava] I was born on Christmas Eve 1922,

in Grabtown, North Carolina.

How about having to live through childhood,

with my birthday and Christmas Day,

being just about simultaneous celebrations?

That meant I'd probably be stuck with one present,

instead of the two I just knew I deserved.

And the news got worse. It appeared that there was this whole other person,

Jesus Christ, whose birthday a lot of people tended to confuse with mine.

I was personally outraged.

[chuckling] It was a long time before I forgave the Lord for that.

[Christmas carols]

The funny thing is, she was a little blonde child.

Cinema's most beautiful brunette,

started out with strawberry blonde curls,

in an Italian quattrocento pageboy cut.

[Edward] She was the baby of the family,

she was like sixteen or eighteen years younger...

than the next sibling.

So Ava was a very late child,

and she would have been the apple of all her sisters eyes.

So Ava had a... a very positive upbringing.

She and her brother Jack, whom she adored,

ran wild together.

They were country kids.

[swing jazz]They grew up on a tobacco farm.

He was the gang leader,

and she always hung out with her brother's friends.

She was the only girl in her brother's gang.

[swing jazz continues]

[narrator] At an early age, young Ava, in exchange for a little pocket money,

works in the fields with her parents, Molly and Jonas Gardner .

She helps harvest the precious tobacco leaves

which are tied, dried and sorted,

before being offered for sale to the tobacco companies.

[Edward] They were... not affluent,

but they had money,

until the Depression struck.

She was about 8 years old,

and then everything changed.

Then they were in...

in dire financial straits.

[Elisabeth] They were extremely poor.

They moved from town to town, from port to port,

and it's Ava's mother, Molly Gardner,

who was a very strong woman,

who took care of the children and supported the family,

because the father wasn't really up to it.

[Ava] When you're poor, dirt poor,

and there's no way of concealing it, life is hell.

[orchestral music]

When you live in the sticks, there always some work and enough food,

and you with friends of the same age and background,

you may never know you're poor.

But when you restart life in a big city,

oh, baby, does that condition begin to hurt!

[narrator] Molly now a widow, and her daughters Beatrice and Ava,

settle down in Newport News.

Ava attends secretarial classes,

to learn be a shorthand typist.

[Elisabeth] Like all young girls of her generation,

she was fascinated by the movies.

She went to seeGone with the Wind and Greta Garbo films,

but she didn't see herself as a movie star.

Her elder sister, Bappie Beatrice on the other hand,

really wants to be a part of this world, by proxy.

[jazz]

[narrator] The independent Bappie moved to New York

and married Larry Tarr, a professional photographer.

He soon notices young Ava's extraordinary photogenic potential.

[Elisabeth] When Ava Gardner went to New York to stay with her sister,

her brother-in-law took a series of portraits of her.

She was a sweet young woman,

not at all sultry.

Except she was already very beautiful,

she already had those incredible large, shadowed eyes,

with their hypnotic gaze.

[Michael] Those early photographs of her, she was so natural,

really beautiful features, lovely cheekbones, lovely structure.

[Elisabeth] When he displayed a portrait of Ava in his studio window,

it soon came to the attention of people at Metro Goldwyn Mayer,

who wanted to give this unknown young woman

in a straw hat, a screen test.

And that's how the fairy tale began.

[Edward] So thanks to Larry Tarr

taking a photograph of Ava,

and the messenger boy,

from Loews Incorporated, MGM,

he did take the pictures to the proper person at MGM in New York,

and the person was interested.

Ava's screen test at the age of 18,

for MGM in New York... is catastrophic.

She doesn't know how to act,

and she doesn't know how to pose.

They said: "Sit down" and I sat down.

"Look to your right. good.

Now to your left, good.

Stand up. Good.

Walk over to the piano, pick up the vase of flowers,

come back here and set it down on the table. good."

I couldn't see what was good about it.

I felt that it was a waste of time and...

I hoped that they knew what they were doing.

Then they filmed what they called "the screen test" interview.

"Your name?"

That's when my southern accent came out... "Ava Gardner."

He was sure that wouldn't lead to anything,

because it didn't sound like she was speaking English.

Her southern accent was that thick.

To such an extent that the man takes a look at the screen test,

and says: "We're going to send a silent test to Los Angeles,

we're going to cut out the sound."

So Ava's career starts off in a silent movie!

[narrator] The visionary, Louis B. Mayer, head of the Los Angeles studios,

sums up the general impression when he says:

"She can't talk. She can't act. She's terrific!"

When Ava's face came on that screen,

every man in the room fell madly in love with her.

So there was obviously something there right from the start.

They signed her.

And she no sooner did she get out to California,

when one of the publicists took her on a tour of the sound stages,

you know, this is where you'll be working, etcetera, etcetera.

[Elisabeth] Her beginnings in Hollywood, are quite traumatic for her.

She doesn't do any acting, she spends her time being groomed,

with big efforts made to conceal the adorable dimple she had in her chin,

which was part of her charm and that her father loved so much.

She cries the day they fill in her dimple with foundation cream.

They pluck her eyebrows, which were amazing, a bit like Liz Taylor's.

They really tried to tone her down, and they were successful.

She was really natural,

and... the type of natural beauty

that if you enhance it with too much make up,

it would... it would kill

that wonderful... natural... quality.

Very few like that.

At the time when Ava Gardner is under contract to MGM,

the studio's going through a transition period.

It's no longer the great MGM

that had produced Garbo or even Lana Turner.

It's now an MGM in decline,

with a Louis B. Mayer at the end of his career,

now having to compete with television.

So there's a tendency to make historical costume dramas,

in which women don't have a central role.

So it's in this MGM where Ava Gardner makes her début.

Ava Gardner is rapidly pigeonholed

at MGM as a very pretty girl, but who's not an actress.

She was the girl they had readily available,

for whenever they needed an attractive female figure

in the background,

or for a cutaway shot.

[light music]

[Ava] I spent most of my time in what they called Leg Art Alley,

where photographers did nothing but take publicity stills for newspapers and magazines.

I didn't like it one bit.

I especially remember a record heat day in Los Angeles,

when somebody said ok,

let's get somebody who's got good legs and knockers,

and put her in a bathing suit, on top of this enormous block of ice.

And who was chosen for the honor... Ava Gardner.

I wore a red candy-striped bathing suit,

I held an ice cream cone,

and smiled happily as my bottom froze.

No one ever called it an intellectual profession.

[narrator] From 1941 to 1946,

Ava appears in twenty or so films,

for which she doesn't even appear on the credits.

She plays utility roles such as

telephone operator, student or waitress,

amongst the hundreds of other Hollywood extras.

And on one of the sound stages,

Mickey Rooney filming

Babes on Broadway,

a movie with Judy Garland.

He was only 21.

[Elisabeth] He was already a teen idol,

famous for his roles in series,

that were great hits in Hollywood.

And she sees this little pintsized guy dressed up like Carmen Miranda,

wearing wedge heeled shoes,

ruffled skirts, a bandana, banana shaped earrings.

Not exactly her idea of a sexy male!

She even wonders if he isn't a midget dressed up as a woman.

[Edward] Mickey took one look at this brand new,

absolutely without any experience at all, nothing,

and he made his play for her

and she didn't respond.

She immediately brushes him off,

and there then follows a series of dates, where she stands him up,

because she has absolutely no desire to go out with a midget in drag.

Even if he is a big star at MGM.

Her sister, Bappie,

will play the role of counselor, of madam almost.

Telling her:" listen honey,

he isn't very handsome but he's powerful, make an effort."

So she decides to give him a chance.

They have dinner...

and after 27 proposals,

the 28th time, out of sheer exhaustion,

she tells him: Ok, I'll marry you, Mickey Rooney.

[Mickey Rooney] Ava and I would like to thank everybody for their many good wishes,

especially our boss, Mr. Louis B. Mayer,

Thank you very much.

[Edward] She was the only virgin in Hollywood.

Now that's a pseudo joke,

but it may have been true, that she was.

She was a virgin in fact. And on her honeymoon night,

when she performed her duty as Mrs. Rooney,

she admits that the little midget didn't disappoint her.

She relates in her memoirs with her customary bluntness,

that once she got into it, it was quite enjoyable in fact.

What marrying Rooney did was make her,

I mean, in today's terms, she would be on TMZ.

she would be in the tabloids because she was Mrs. Mickey Rooney.

As a matter of fact, she signed her autograph

in those days as Mrs. Mickey Rooney.

And looking back on it, she said that's where her self-esteem was.

I think that's how she got fame to start with,

and of course she was very beautiful to look at.

[narrator] Mickey and Ava's marriage will last only 16 months.

It's at this time that Ava meets the eccentric billionaire, Howard Hughes.

Hughes is an aircraft manufacturer,

an aviator who's also a maverick filmmaker,

producing and directing big budget films.

He's one of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the United States,

and a psychotic womanizer.

[Elisabeth] This man was phobic, paranoid

and would sink into schizophrenia,

a few years later.

but at that time, he still held his rank.

[Edward] Howard Hughes was mad about her.

He wanted her in his bed and in his life.

He already had a dozen girls.

He'd slept with just about all the Hollywood actresses.

Amongst his conquests, was Lana Turner,

the blond bombshell and number one vamp of that time.

and Ava would have made a nice addition to his collection.

She doesn't sleep with him.

She has this sort of innate talent for resisting,

when resistance is called for.

It's not that she's a prude, she just senses that she needs to resist.

[film excerpt]Get out of my room!

[Edward] He was very possessive.

You know if... If you were involved with Howard Hughes,

he'd put you in a house, he gave you a car,

he had private detectives following you.

That was not... Ava.

As he's paranoid,

he hides microphones in Ava's house,

and he thinks he hears Mickey Rooney's voice,

who's reappeared on the scene.

Come on, I have my Oldsmobile outside.

[Elisabeth] He bursts into her home like a madman,

rushes upstairs...

and slaps Ava.

[Ava] I groped around the bar for something to throw at him,

and my hand closed round the handle

of a large heavy brass bell.

She grabs it and throws it at Howard,

hitting him in the face.

He collapses on the floor.

[Ava] Bang! Right between the temple and the cheek!

[Elisabeth] They're both stunned.

This 24 year-old girl has actually knocked out,

Hollywood's biggest mogul, and wealthiest man!

[narrator] Despite a fractured cheekbone and a few broken teeth,

Hughes won't hold it against her,

and continues to court her relentlessly.

As for Ava, her Hollywood career finally takes off,

with a few roles in low budget films.

[film music

[Antoine Sire] Thanks to MGMs acting classes,

Ava Gardner is progressively going to improve as an actress,

and will start to be considered for more substantial roles.

Well the film that took her out of the shadows,

well, there's two of them.

There was one calledwhistle Stop.

[orchestral music]

which was not a big budget movie,

it had a big male star, George Raft.

[Antoine] The initial script of "Whistle Stop"

contained quite complex dialogue

and Phillip Jordan, the script writer is going to say:

"No, no, I have George Raft on one side, who's not a great actor,

and Ava Gardner on the other, who still hasn't mastered acting,

so we're going to use much simpler dialogues."

So in the film, you see them saying lines

such as Yes, no, hello, how are you.

Quite simply, because the dialogue has been adapted to these two actors,

who were visually interesting,

but not the best actors in Hollywood at that time.

[excerpt]-Hiya beautiful. -Hiya handsome.

-Gee, I missed ya! -Oh it's been so long!

[Edward] And then the picture that really moved her up,

was "The Killers" with Burt Lancaster.

In which the character plays a very...

Insecure nervous... Woman. Young woman.

and Ava connected with that character perfectly.

[dramatic music]

[excerpt]You been asking for it lately.

Hey.

-Any objections? -Yeah!

You touch me and you won't live 'til morning.

-You're not meeting them tomorrow. -Aren't I, sweetie?

[narrator] Filmgoers in 1946 are going to have the choice,

between two bombshells born the same year.

and both playing dangerous women in black fur and satin gloves.

Ava the brunette in " The Killers"

and Rita the redhead in " Gilda ."

[excerpt from Gilda]♪ Put the blame on Mame, Boys put the blame on Mame ♪

[narrator] As Rita is Mrs. Orson Welles in real life, ,

Ava becomes Hollywood's hottest single woman.

She's now divorced from Mickey,

courted somewhat in vain by Howard Hughes.

and so she's completely available for a new relationship.

She's invited to parties in the Hollywood villas.

and it's at one of these where she meets the man,

who has the whole of Hollywood singing and dancing.

His name's Artie Shaw.

He's tall, dark and handsome, just her type.

a sort of Howard Hughes in fact.

He's a clarinetist... and bandleader of a world famous big band.

And several jazz groups.

He's quite arrogant, quite attractive.

He's an ex-husband of Lana Turner,

which just shows you what a small world Hollywood is.

[Edward] Lana advised her,

not to get involved with Artie Shaw,

but it's interesting the reason she said:

"He's the most unkind man... you'll ever meet."

So of course, Ava ignored that.

[Elisabeth] She falls madly in love with him,

and Ava is someone who often makes the first move,

who often approaches men first.

Which wasn't something women did at that time.

So she invites him to have a drink with her at this party they're both attending.

And Artie Shaw, with his characteristic Ashkenazi sense of humor,

writes in his memoirs: "She asked me to have a drink with her."

[Artie]: "I should have said no. I would have been out of my mind!"

[narrator] Like many Hollywood couples,

Ava and Artie lived together before getting married in 1945.

[Edward] He did try to...

completely reinvent her.

He knew she'd had no formal education beyond high school,

so he insisted she take classes at UCLA.

He insisted she read certain kinds of books,

which she did... but he always denigrated her.

[Elisabeth] He keeps telling her that she's a dimwit,

he's forever putting her down,

so one day, just to show him,

she decides to take an IQ test,

which reveals she has an above average intelligence.

She scores 120.

[Edward] Nothing challenged Ava more than when

someone she was interested in, had expectations of her.

She wasn't intellectual,

she wasn't madly interesting.

She was interested. That was nice.

She was interested in...

in knowing about things, that were not...

not particularly... in her profession.

[Elisabeth] What's interesting about their couple,

is that they're going to become this rare thing in Hollywood,

a highbrow couple.

[Patrick] Shortly after "The Killers ,"

we're going to see once again,

that it isn't MGM that makes the best use of Ava Gardner.

Since she's going to be lent out to Universal for two films,

one called Singapore and the other One Touch of Venus .

It's probably the most lighthearted film in Ava Gardner's career.

It's not a great film, but it's a film in which Ava Gardner,

is joyful, flirtatious and upbeat.

It's a film that's somewhat in contrast to the other films of Ava Gardner's career.

[Edward] I think that movie was the basis of a lot of later movies,

a lot of contemporary movies,

about statues coming to life and robots having real feelings.

"One Touch of Venus" was a statue coming to life,

and she played it just right.

I mean I don't think...

she knew what she was doing, in the sense that:

" well I can repeat that."

but she just had a natural touch,

the way she moved properly.

After her Artie Shaw romance, which ends in divorce,

she's finally going to realize that she's a free woman.

Ava is a free woman way ahead of her time.

She completely prefigures women's liberation.

She lives outside convention,

and that isn't to the liking of her employer, MGM.

In fact she's excessively uncontrollable.

[film excerpt]What do you mean, turning me down?

Look out Stims!

I won't look out, I'm plenty mad!

Cut it out, Stims!

Big baby!

She just wants to enjoy herself.

[actor] What, what, what.

We were just going to build a campfire,

and toast some marshmallows.

Do join us darling.

[Elisabeth] She's earthy, she likes to have a good time.

She's a barfly, she likes to drink,

she's already a heavy drinker.

She likes to hang out with black people,

because they have music in their blood.

Her best friend is Lena Horn.

She loves music, swing, jazz.

She's completely atypical.

At this time, a lot of men come in and out of her life,

Howard Duff, Robert Taylor,

but the most interesting one will be the big star of the moment,

the sexiest man in Hollywood, Robert Mitchum.

[orchestral music]

They're going to co-star in a sort of gothic version,

of "Gone with the wind" called "My Forbidden Past."

[Ava character] She doesn't mean anything to you and you know it!

[Robert character] It's not her fault... and it's too late.

Is it too late darling... Is it?

And of course, off camera, they're going to have a torrid affair,

which won't at all please Robert Mitchum's lawful wife.

[narrator] The same year as "My Forbidden Past",

Ava will star in a masterpiece,

that will forever mark the history of cinema,

granting its leading actress a prominent place in the Hollywood pantheon.

Pandora and the Flying Dutchman

is probably the signature film of Ava Gardner's career,

or at least one of them.

And it's a film that's going to play a very important role,

in both her filmography and private life.

[excerpt]This is "Pandora." She was bold and beautiful.

Desired by every man who met her.

Pandora destroyed all who loved her, until she met...

the Flying Dutchman!

I'd die for you without the least hesitation.

[Ava] Of all the damn films I made,

"Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" would probably rank as one of the most obscure.

Yet it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say making it changed my life forever.

Because "Pandora" got me outside these United States for the first time,"

and introduced me to the two countries, England and Spain,

where I was to spend much of the rest of my life.

[narrator] On her return from Spain.

Ava goes club-hopping with Lana Turner.

to all the fashionable night spots.

Customers at El Morocco, Ciro's and the Mocambo

must have thought they were hallucinating,

when on certain nights,

they would see three of Hollywood's most beautiful women

Rita, Lana and Ava on the dance floor, dancing the Cha-cha and Mambo.

[Latin music]

Frank Sinatra is one of Lana's ex-lovers.

And as the two of them chat in the Beverly Hills bar,

Lana, who's older than Ava, gives her advice.

She says: "You know, Frank Sinatra saw you in the Metro canteen,

and he thinks you're very pretty."

What do you think?

And Ava replies, characteristically:

"He's vulgar, I can't stand him,

he's arrogant and I hate arrogant men.

I don't even know who he is."

She must be joking,

he's only America's biggest heartthrob crooner!

His concerts drew capacity crowds,

and young girls fainted during his performance,

and had to be evacuated.

He was the Michael Jackson of his time.

[Edward] He made a play for her almost the first time he saw her,

but Ava was always very instinctive about,

not responding to that kind of situation.

He was a very brash, you know,

self-confident, frankly at times

obnoxious young guy,

who knew he had it all,

and just felt that he was God's gift,

and in many cases he was.

[Elisabeth] One evening, Frankie invites her to dinner and she accepts.

Obviously after a period of intense courting on his part.

and that's when their story begins.

I even know what they order for dinner!

American lobster and linguini.

And the waiter at the Musso and Frank Grill,

who's still alive today.

Told me that as the evening went by,

he saw Ava's green eyes soften,

and interlock with Frankie's bright blue eyes.

The Spanish waiter said to me:

"I was shocked to see this, because I thought she was divine,

whereas I knew him, he was a hoodlum."

Nevertheless, the hoodlum and the divine Ava,

leave together in a Cadillac that night.

She takes him back to her retreat in Nichols Canyon,

and that's the beginning of their torrid romance.

The following morning, they're in trouble.

He's married to Nancy Sinatra, he has children.

He's the famous crooner,

and at the same time the nice boy-next-door.

He's with Ava the killer,

her nickname sinceThe Killers.

Ava the man-eater.

How's this story going to play out?

[Edward] Suddenly, she was labeled a home wrecker.

and some of the religious groups in the Mid-West,

were making noises,

that they were going to ban her movies.

and Sinatra was in trouble too,

because he was the boy next door, literally.

He was the young, sweet guy with a wife, and two young kids.

[Elisabeth] The press doesn't leave them alone.

Their affair makes headline news,

and it's all over the gossip magazines,

much to the dismay of their mutual employer,

Mayer of Metro Goldwyn Mayer.

[narrator] While Frank dreams of a quiet family life,

Ava, the night owl, doesn't see things that way,

and they spend their time clubbing and drinking till dawn.

[Elisabeth]One night in Las Vegas,

they end up driving through a small town in the Nevada desert.

They're both so intoxicated,

that they start shooting at shop windows.

because Frank Sinatra never goes anywhere, without his Colt 38.

Ava finds this extremely amusing and joins in with him,

which results in them both being arrested.

They're going to prefigure a model that will continue after them,

but hadn't existed up until then.

which is that of the successful celebrity couple.

Glamorous, crazy,

vulgar... boozy,

violent and unruly.

This model of couple, with this amount of fame

and don't give a damn attitude,

was unprecedented at that time,

and there's been nothing like it since.

[narrator] Nancy Sinatra finally agrees to a divorce that ruins Frank,

but Ava can now finally marry her favorite crooner,

despite his unenviable financial situation.

While Frank's career is in a slump, Ava is now a big star .

[Elisabeth] She becomes Hollywood's number one star.

She's the invincible smoldering brunette,

the femme fatale,

the vamp that everyone wants.

An extraordinary career.

[Edward] Sinatra was the one who suffered,

but times were changing,

and his career suddenly fell apart.

His records weren't selling. it had nothing to do with Ava.

The war was over, tastes were changing.

She's the one who keeps them afloat,

she's the one who brings in the money through her film roles.

She does a lot of films, not duds.

She doesn't do dud films.

but she works a lot, and this exhausts her because she's basically lazy.

But she does it so that they can have money,

to spend on wonderful trips to Cuba, Mexico, etc.

and just to have money to burn,

basically, because they're both high rollers.

So how does the macho, Italian crooner feel about this situation?

Well, he's not very happy about it.

He'd rather people didn't know.

He's sometimes even referred to as Mr. Gardner

And that's very humiliating for a macho Italian man.

So he's determined to get back on his feet again.

[Edward] She was instrumental,

in keeping his spirits up,

and telling him that he was the best singer in the world...

and that, you know, he was gonna come out of this dump.

He never forgot that.

Ava's going to do something incredible.

She's going to go out and campaign for Frank.

She's going to do the rounds of the Hollywood villas, saying:

"There must be someone who'll hire my husband.

My husband's dying to have a role inFrom Here to Eternity.

there's a brash little Italian character in it,

that'd be just perfect for my man."

But it's not an easy campaign.

Neither Zinnemann nor the producer, Harry Cohn, want Frankie.

His popularity's on the wane, they can't see him in the role.

And what's more he's too uncontrollable.

He drinks, he fights, he's violent.

Hollywood just doesn't want him.

[Edward] She was good friends with Joan Cohn who was Harry Cohn's wife.

She begged Joan Cohn to talk to her husband,

to make sure that Frank at least got a screen test.

She says to them : "I beg you, please, please take Frankie,

he'll be great in the role of Maggio."

And she's even going to go as far as to offer

to do something she hates doing.

She says to them: "If you take Frankie,

I'll make a film for you for free, next time."

[MC]The motion picture industry's night of nights.

[MC] Frank Sinatra wins another award...

[narrator] Ava's pugnacity proves her to be right,

as Frank wins an Oscar award for best supporting actor for the year 1953.

While Frank makes a big come-back,

the volatile couple gets bogged down in fits of jealousy,

that become more and more explosive.

Whenever a man looked at Ava,

he'd jump up and start punching.

He lost all control.

Whenever a woman looked at Frank,

she'd get up and leave.

She'd drive off into the night,

whether in Manhattan or Los Angeles,

she'd just disappear.

[Ava] I think the main reason my marriages failed,

is that I always loved too well, but never wisely.

I'm terribly possessive about the people I love.

I'm jealous of every minute they spend away from me.

When I couldn't get Frank on the telephone immediately,

I wanted to kill myself.

It was stupid... I suppose, but it was me.

[narrator] Ava returns to the film set for two major productions ,

"The Snows of Kilimanjaro," which earn her an Oscar nomination,

and especially "Mogambo."

Mogambo is a remake of a 1930s big box-office hit,

"China Seas ,"starring Jean Harlow.

So MGM decide to do a remake of it 20 years later,

but as Africa is more fashionable now than Asia,

they decide to set the story in Africa.

And what's interesting is that the leading male role,

which was played by Clark Gable 20 years earlier,

is still played by Clark Gable.

So you have this amazing trio formed by Clark Gable,

Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly.

[narrator] After hearing rumors of his wife's infidelities during the shoot,

he decides to go out to Africa to join her.

Their fits of jealousy become more and more frequent,

and Ava soon discovers that she's expecting her husband's baby.

It's an absolute tragedy.

She leaves for London and goes to see a doctor.

who tries to dissuade her from aborting.

[doctor] : "You're married to Frank Sinatra, you're a star,

everything is going well for you,

why not have this baby"?

But she remains firm, she doesn't want to have this baby.

she has an abortion... It's absolutely heart rending.

When Frank Sinatra finally realizes what she's done,

and comes to visit her in her hospital room,

he sees her lying there in bed,

in her little white nightgown,

looking very sick.

Not a word is exchanged between them.

He understands she hadn't wanted to have this child,

whereas he'd dreamed of having a daughter with Ava.

he would have loved to have a little Avita with Ava.

[Ava] :" As long as I live, I'll never forget waking up after the operation,

and seeing Frank sitting next to the bed with tears in his eyes.

But I think I was right. I still think I was right."

[narrator] In order to try and forget this terrible ordeal,

Ava throws herself into work.

And the director, Joseph Mankiewicz, despite MGM's reticence,

casts her in his new film "The Barefoot Contessa,"

The role of Maria Vargas be will the jewel in her crown.

as an actress and will earn her the nickname she detested,

"the World's Most Beautiful Animal."

" The Barefoot Contessa" will shock you, provoke you, excite you...

as no motion picture before ever has.

She wasn't first choice for the part.

There were two other top contenders,

one was Rita Hayworth.

And The Barefoot Contessa was supposedly,

to a degree, her story,

you know, of a gypsy girl, which is what she was.

The other top choice was

Jennifer Jones, who was desperate to play that part.

The Barefoot Contessa was, um...

one of Ava's signature films, for sure.

I mean she's breathtakingly beautiful in it.

I think she gives a very real performance.

[excerpt]... or on a millionaire's yacht.

they all worshipped the face, the fame, the figure

of the world's most beautiful animal.

Truffaut will say: "It's a film that portrays Ava."

and he'll add: "It's a portrait of a woman,

and not just any woman,

that of Hollywood's most exquisitely beautiful actress.

But, as always, she doesn't care about any of that.

She distances herself from it all.

To help calm her nerves before shooting, she drinks vodka.

She doesn't think of herself as an actress,

she thinks she can't act and will repeat this all her life.

Which amuses everyone, because it just isn't true.

She doesn't realize it, but she's excellent.

[Ava] Being a star. My name in a Cole Porter song.

My footprints in cement at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

Being elected by the American Sewing Guild,

as the girl whose measurements they'd most like to take.

And by the Elevator Operators Union,

as the girl they'd most like to be stuck,

at the top of the Empire State Building with.

[Elisabeth] The problem with "The barefoot Contessa"

is that a real-life drama's taking place behind the scenes.

And this is the breakup of Ava and Frankie's marriage.

[Antoine] The great British cinematographer, Jack Cardiff

is going to have to use all his ingenuity,

to conceal Ava's state of fatigue and depression.

She needs space. she needs to get away from the film studios,

from MGM and the contracts that are taking a toll on her.

She has just one desire. To go and live in Madrid.

After filming "The Barefoot Contessa," she moves to Madrid.

[Ava] In December of 1955, just short of my 33rd birthday,

I did something I'd been threatening to do for a long time,

something that no one really believed I'd ever manage.

No, it wasn't leaving the picture business, but it was close.

I left the United States for good and settled in Spain.

[flamenco music]

[Edward] The lifestyle of Europe, people left you alone.

It wasn't Hollywood.

Of course you had the real paparazzi in Italy,

but she wasn't living in Italy,

She was living in Spain...

and... she was very comfortable with the life-style...

Non-judgmental,

um... Come and go as she pleased... great for night life.

[Michael] She loved flamenco,

she loved Spanish dancing,

and... she was very Spanish... really.

I think she took on...

the... Personality of a Spaniard.

the Spanish senorita.

[Elisabeth] She doesn't feel at all American any more,

she's taken to wearing little red neck scarfs,

tight skirts... hoop earrings.

She's totally enchanted by Spain.

[narrator] Ernest Hemingway and Ava had already met before via film scripts.

They'll maintain a close, almost...

father and daughter friendship, their whole lives.

A common taste for late-night drinking,

flamenco and bullfighting will seal their friendship.

[Elisabeth] They spend a lot of time together in Madrid,

They go to bullfights together.

He introduces her to bullfighting,

and his matador friends.

And that's when she becomes smitten.

Luis Miguel Dominguin is

Ava Gardner's masculine ideal.

He's tall, dark, elegant, sophisticated.

He's as popular in Spain and Europe,

as she is in the United States,

and he offers her a flamboyant life.

[narrator] Her Madrid idyll comes to a sudden end.

Luis is married and Ava, hounded by the Spanish tax authorities,

has to leave the country.

She has no money left.

She doesn't want to work,

which sets her apart from her other actress friends,

who work when they run out of money.

Whereas Ava hates being forced into doing something,

she doesn't want to do.

Let's not forget that her husband,

who she's in the process of divorcing at this time,

loves her so much,

that he sends her a few thousand dollars from time to time.

[Ava]"The Night of the Iguana" started with a phone call.

It was in 1963 and I was lazing around in Spain.

I'd get up late, chat with my friends.

I'd dance the flamenco all night long.

In short, I was enjoying life and not bothering anyone,

and I wanted it to continue that way.

I had no desire to make a film.

And then the damn phone rang.

[Antonie] In the "Night of the Iguana" she plays a hotelkeeper,

who tries to recapture a sort of past love affair,

with a man who like herself, is jaded and tainted.

Played by Richard Burton.

So we have an Ava Gardner, who's quite young in fact,

playing the role of a woman making a last desperate attempt at life.

It's quite surprising to play this kind of role at her age.

[excerpt] One night, the Night of the Iguana. Since man has known woman,

there has never been such a night.

[drums thunder]

How weak is man?

What's statutory rape? I've never known what that was.

That's when a man is seduced by a girl under twenty.

[Spanish music]

Obviously Richard Burton is going to fall,

slightly in love with Ava Gardner,

but as his wife, Liz Taylor

is on the set all the time,

and never lets him out of her sight,

we'll never know if anything would have happened between Richard and Ava.

Ava behaves herself.

There's a lot of drinking,

there's Sue Lyon who's just played Lolita .

It's a high risk shoot, completely wild.

And Ava is amazing in this role.

[lush string orchestral music]

[narrator] In 1968, Ava settles in London, in Ennismore Gardens,

where she finds the peace and quiet she now seeks.

[Ava] Since that first visit on my way to "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman,"

I've always loved London.

It's a very civilized town. And the British leave you alone.

When people do recognize me, they smile and nod their heads,

which is a hell of a lot different from the treatment I've been used to.

All she wants now is to go and have a few drinks

in the pub behind Ennismore Gardens with Tennessee Williams,

and other new friends.

Such as her neighbors in the building,

two charming homosexuals,

one a pianist, the other an artist,

whom she'll drop in on unannounced,

with a cake and a bottle of champagne in her hand.

And they'd dance the flamenco together.

[Michael] As we were in the same building,

I think she became a very good friend,

Um...a better friend than the other people in the building.

And I think it was because...

um... it helped me being a painter perhaps.

Um... Peter Feuchtwanger being a musician...

and a... a pianist and a composer.

I think that made it more interesting for her,

because...at least she could talk about certain things,

or she could learn... from what you said.

[Ava] I have quite a few friends in London,

what you'd call good friends, very good friends.

And so far, I don't feel abandoned.

I'm not a public figure here. God save the English!

I even received a letter addressed simply to:

"Ava Gardner, Hyde Park, London."

And some character at the Post Office had scrawled across the envelope:

"Which bench"?

Excerpt,The Sentinel in 5A.

He's blind.

[narrator] Ava's perpetual need for money forces her,

to accept roles in the most improbable films,

for both cinema and television.

[excerpt]There is danger. "The Sentinel"!

[Ava] Why do I keep acting?

The answer I usually gave was:

"For the loot, honey, always for the loot,"

And there was more truth than poetry, in that remark.

Whenever I need money, I take a deep breath and agree to do a film.

And to be honest,

my reasons for accepting a role,

are rarely the best ones.

[narrator] Amongst the several third-rate films she appears in,

the US/Austrian production: "Permission to Kill" holds a place of honor.

[Nicole Calfan] For me, personally, the shoot was marvelous.

For her, it was a bit more complicated with the crew,

because we had two shooting schedules each day,

in case she was tired,

because she was already drinking a lot.

So in order to ensure her well-being,

and not to jeopardize the shoot,

there were two shooting schedules each day,

and they'd use one or the other,

depending on how Ava felt.

And what touched me the most,

was that we shared the same trailer on the set,

which proves that she wasn't a snob,

since she agreed to share her trailer with a young French actress.

She'd seen that I had a small cassette player,

and during make-up,

I'd play some Claude François

or Frank Sinatra songs.

and every morning I'd put on "Strangers in the Night."

And one day, not the first day, but the second day,

she said to me: "Put Frankie on, Nicole, please."

So I'd put Sinatra on every morning,

and every time she'd cry.

which meant that her make-up had to be entirely redone,

every morning because she was in tears.

And that created a wonderful bond between us:

"Put Frankie on please."

[narrator] Although she continues to work,

she remains voluntarily mysterious for the press.

and still always hates to give interviews.

[Edward] She was very understanding of the problems,

her PR people faced.

For instance, when she dealt with me,

she says I know they're going to be pestering you, honey.

Just tell them: "she's not available."

[narrator] Ava will even play a trick on a young French journalist,

and film critic who came especially to London to interview her.

A true story that director Xavier Gianoli,

will turn into a short fiction film.

[Excerpt The Interview] -[dog barking]-Yes?

Hello, Miss Vargas, hello. It's Julien Bernardini,

we spoke yesterday night.

I have an appointment with Miss Gardner.

[lady's voice] Oh yes, one moment please.

[traffic sounds]

[Ava] Yes?

Hello, it's Julien Bernardini,

I believe we have an appointment.

[Ava] Yes, I was expecting you.

[sound of gate rattling]

I'm sorry, the door doesn't open. The door is not opening.

-Hello? -[Ava] No, no, I know, but I'm listening.

[narrator] Considering her work to be of no interest,

and her private life nobody's business but her own,

Miss Gardner won't answer any of the poor interviewers questions.

He'll go back home having obtained nothing from his idol.

[Ava] A few years ago, an unexpected thing happened to me.

I had a stroke,

which left me with walking difficulties,

and an almost useless left arm.

Despite that, I soldier on.

I don't have a choice.

There's one lesson I learned very early in life,

you have to persevere.

Sometimes she was a bit down in the dumps.

And in retrospect I put that down to the fact that,

she was not well.

And then of course, the stroke did affect her,

And it couldn't have been,

the nicest thing to happen to anybody.

But she dealt with it

as... she knew best.

and I think she enjoyed those two years.

And we tried to be as nice as we could,

if she needed anything,

and... it was lovely,

to... to be close to her like that.

What's less known is that Ava locks herself away at 8pm every evening,

to wait for the phone call from the love of her life.

And it's heartrending because he's over there in New York,

he's married to another woman called Barbara,

she's blond, attractive,

the perfect all American wife.

But all he wants is to talk with Ava.

From time to time he'll say:

"I really wish we could have ended up together,"

and she'd say: "Yes sweetheart,

we could have. But you know, we were both too jealous."

At the end of her life, Ava burns Frankie's letters.

We don't know what he wrote in them.

But we can imagine they contained,

all the blues, swing and whirls of cigarette smoke,

the century had to offer.

She said to me quite a few times:

"Well, when I go, I hope I'll have my champagne... and a cigarette,

that's the way I want to... be."

Well she got her wish because the woman,

the concierge, told me:

"You know, Miss Gardner,

she got her wish alright."

On the night of a storm I believe.

Which would be, yah...

just the way she would go.

[orchestral music]

[Ava] One thing I've always known,

is that the process of growing up, growing old,

and growing toward death

has never seemed frightening.

And, you know, if I had my life to live over again,

I'd live it exactly the same way.

Maybe a few changes here and there, but nothing special.

Because the truth is, honey, I've enjoyed my life.

I've had a hell of a good time.

[music crescendo]