The REAL Troublemaker

The billing had a lot to do with Miss Davis getting more jealous, but it was the $200,000 that got Bette to do the film. Crawford tried to associate with the cast but after being pushed away by the cast and crew as Bette turned them against her and so began to "hide away" off set and did things alone. She couldn’t take the bullying, which it was, of everyone involved and so infamously took ill and refused to come back to work. By no means did she "get what she deserved" but was just forced out of a film role in which she had done nothing wrong but been the victim of Robert Aldrich, Bette Davis, and the cast of crew. And in the case of the trunks, it up to Miss Crawford to what she brings with her. Understand I am a HUGE admirer of both women, but in this case it was definitely Crawford who was the victim.

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I like Bette but she did fight with everyone: Miriam Hopkins, Susan Hayward, and of all people saintly Lillian Gish. Bette Davis mocked Errol Flynn whose pictures while different from Bette's were as important to the success of WB as were Bette's. Errol Flynn's Adventures of Robin Hood is the finest film of that era I have ever seen Bette Davis had 10 years left on her contract when she stormed out of WB and Jack Warner was lucky that Bette broked her contract.

Bette Davis did fight with everyone: Miriam Hopkins, Susan Hayward,Joan Crawford, and of all people Lillian Gish. Bette Davis mocked Errol Flynn whose pictures while different from Bette's were as important to the success of WB as were Bette's. Flynn's Adventures of Robin Hood is the finest film of that era I have ever seen. Paul Muni, James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart were immense stars at Warners but Bette and her slavish fans seem to think only Bette was a star at Warner Bros.

The feud with Hopkins seems to be of Bette's direct cause. She slept with Anatole Litvak then married to Hopkins. Bette also seduced Franchot Tone when Tone was married to Joan Crawford.

Bette Davis left WB she had one great role All About Eve, and then as she said she had "10 black years" until "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" came along. Bette convinced herself she would be the winner of that years Oscar and blamed Joan Crawford when she lost the Award. Did Bette ever congratulate Anne Bancroft?

Bette Davis had 10 years left on her contract when she stormed out of WB losing out among other film roles she surely would be considered for "A Streetcar Named Desire"

This whole situation on Hush Hush was really Bette’s fault to begin although Joan did not do herself a service by accepting for Bancroft. Davis might have been more amenable to working with Crawford a second time if she had not done that.

According to Bette and Joan: The Divine Feud Crawford and Aldrich had seen Baby Jane complete except for part of the credits, and one short scene with Jane as a young girl, which was being redubbed. Bette had missed that screening so Joan sent her flowers and champagne and told her how wonderful she had been. After some urging, Bette went to a screening and then later after not hearing anything from her Crawford phoned Davis and asked her what she thought of the film to which Davis replied: “You were so right, Joan. The picture was good. And I was terrific.”

To author Shaun Considine years later, Crawford said: “That was it. She never said anything about my performance. Not a word.”

Considine writes: Not once in her entire career, it seemed, had the great actress Bette Davis ever acknowledged that her rival Joan Crawford had any talent.

He then alleges that this last denial of approval led Crawford to cancel the Baby Jane publicity tour with Davis, and to upstage her at the Oscars.


Crawford explained this to Lawrence Quirk when he was visiting the set of Hush Hush and this is according to the 2002 Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography by Lawrence J. Quirk and William Schoell:

“There is just no dealing with that woman.” The author writes: Joan confided in Quirk that she knew Davis was angry because of the Oscar business, but added:

“She [Davis] acted like Baby Jane was a one-woman show after they nominated her. What was I supposed to do, let her hog all the glory, act like I hadn't even been in the movie? She got the nomination. I didn't begrudge her that, but it would have been nice if she'd been a little gracious in interviews and given me a little credit. I would have done it for her.”

But of course Robert Aldrich didn’t help matters either. Actually he did nothing. He pretty much was a coward during Hush Hush and let Bette (whom he obviously favored) run Crawford into the ground until she could take no more.

The author’s words: Aldrich later said that he was disappointed that Joan hadn’t finished the picture despite the added tension her presence had created.

He also admitted that most of the tension was actually caused by Davis, not Joan.