Joan Crawford as Blanche
& Bette Davis as Jane
Baby Jane (Davis) and her sister Blanche (Joan Crawford) are aging, mostly forgotten stars. Blanche is crippled and Jane is insane, though that's putting it lightly. Compared to Glenn Close's boiled bunny in Fatal Attraction, Jane is mother supreme of psycho-bitches. Though the film's pace is slow compared to current standards, it still generates much suspense.
Biography for Bette Davis
Birth name
Ruth Elizabeth Davis
Date of birth
5 April 1908
Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
Date of death
6 October 1989
Nickname
The Fifth Warner Brother
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Ruth Elizabeth Davis was born April 5, 1908 in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA. She passed away from cancer October 6, 1989 in France. Her parents divorced when she was a child & she was raised, along with her sister by her mother, Ruthie. Bette demanded attention practically from birth which led to her pursuing a career in acting. After graduation from Cushing Academy she was refused admittance to Eva LeGallienne's Manhattan Civic Repertory because she was considered insincere and frivolous. She enrolled in John Murray Anderson's Dramatic School and was the star pupil. She was in the off-Broadway "The Earth Between" (1923). Her Broadway debut in 1929 was in "Broken Dishes" and she also appeared in "Solid South." Late in 1930 she was hired by Universal. When she arrived in Hollywood, the studio representative who went to meet her train left without her because he could find no one who looked like a movie star. An official at Universal complained she had "as much sex appeal as Slim Summerville" and her performance in the movie "Bad Sister" didn't impress. In 1932 she signed a seven year deal with Warner Brothers.
She became a star after her appearance in "The Man Who Played God." Warners loaned her to RKO in 1934 for "Of Human Bondage" in which she was a smash. She had a significant number of write-in votes for the Best Actress Oscar. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for "Dangerous" and "Jezebel" and fought unsuccessfully with Warner Brothers to break her contract because she felt she wasn't receiving the top roles an Oscar winning actress deserved. When she came back after the lawsuit her roles improved dramatically. The only role she didn't get that she wanted in 1939 was Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind." Warners wouldn't loan her to David O. Selznick unless he hired Errol Flynn to play Rhett Butler, which both Selznick and Davis thought was a terrible choice. It was rumored she had numerous affairs, among them George Brent and William Wyler and four unhappy marriages. She admitted her career always came first. She made many successful 40's films, but each picture was weaker than the last and by the time her Warner Brothers contract had ended in 1949 the movies were disappointing, such as the unintentionally hilarious "Beyond the Forest." She made a huge comeback in 1950 when she replaced an ill Claudette Colbert and received an Oscar nomination for her role in "All About Eve."
She worked in films through the 1950's, but her career came to a standstill and in 1961 she placed a now famous "job wanted" ad in the trade papers. She received an Oscar nomination for her role as a demented former child star in 1962's "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" which brought a new phase of stardom in both movies and television through the 60's and 70's. In 1977 she received the AFI's Lifetime Achievement Award and in 1979 she won a Best Actress Emmy for "Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter." In 1977-78 she moved from Connecticut to Los Angeles and filmed a pilot for the series "Hotel", which she called "Brothel". She refused to do the TV series and suffered a stroke during this time. Her daughter B.D. Hyman wrote a 1985 "Mommie Dearest" type book "My Mother's Keeper". She worked in the later 1980's in films and TV even though a stroke had impaired her appearance and mobility.
She wrote "This N That" during her recovery from the stroke. Her last book was "Bette Davis, The Lonely Life" issued in paperback in 1990. It included an update from 1962 to 1989. She wrote the last chapter in San Sebastian, Spain. When she passed away October 6, 1989 in France many of her fans refused to believe she was gone. HUSBANDS AND CHILDREN: Gary Merrill (1950 - 1960) (divorced) 2 adopted children, Michael & Margo (who was severely retarded). William Grant Sherry (1945 - 1950) (divorced); 1 daughter, Barbara Davis Sherry (B.D.) Arthur Farnsworth (1940 - 1943) (his death) Harmon "Ham" Nelson (1932 - 1939) TRIVIA: She was 5' 3 1/2" tall. Lucille Ball was her classmate at John Murray Anderson's Dramatic School In the 1950's she suffered osteomyelitis of the jaw and had to have part of her jaw removed. She suffered a stroke and a mastectomy in 1983. Joan Crawford and Davis had feuded for years & during the making of "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" Bette had a Coca-Cola machine installed on the set due to Joan Crawford's affiliation with Pepsi. (Joan was the widow of Pepsi's CEO.) Joan got her revenge by putting weights in her pockets when Davis had to drag Crawford across the floor during certain scenes. On her tombstone is written "She did it the hard way."
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Personal quotes
"I wouldn't piss on her if she was on fire." (in reference to Joan Crawford)
"In my view, she's one of the all-time great movie stars and actresses. I thought she was a great beauty, too. I just loved her looks. She is still quite a character, very determined and strong, and she refuses to concede an inch. I suppose that is what has kept her alive." - Lauren Bacall
"Why am I so good at playing bitches? I think it's because I'm not a bitch. Maybe that's why Miss Crawford always plays ladies." "I went back to work because someone had to pay for the groceries." "I'm the nicest goddamn dame that ever lived."
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Biography for Joan Crawford
Birth name
Lucille Fay LeSueur
Date of birth
23 March 1905
San Antonio, Texas, USA
Date of death
10 May 1977
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Joan Crawford was born, Lucille Fay LeSuer, on March 23, 1904 in San Antonio, Texas. She was the product of a broken home before she was born in that her parents were already separated before the birth. Her mother had trouble keeping husbands after having married three times. Joan was fond of dancing and had entered several dance contests. She wanted a career in show business because it was much more glamorous than the odd jobs she was working. One dance contest she won landed her in a chorus line. Before long, Joan found herself dancing in the big cities of the Mid-West and along the Atlantic coast. After almost two years dancing, Joan decided to take a chance and packed her bags and moved to Los Angeles, California and the movie colony of Hollywood. She felt movies might afford her a chance of fame and glory and she was determined to succeed. Not long after arriving in California, Joan got her first bit role as a showgirl in PRETTY LADIES in 1925. Three other films quickly followed.
Although the roles weren't much to speak of, Joan continued to toil away. Throughout 1927 and the first part of 1928, Joan was handed menial roles. That ended with the role of Diana Medford in OUR DANCING DAUGHTERS. The film was the one to get her elevated to star status. She had made the tough hurdle of making the "big time". Now she was faced with another. The "talkie" era was upon the movie colony and many stars of the era were suddenly worried about their futures. With silent pictures, it didn't matter what kind of voice you had, but with sound pictures it made a tremendous difference. While some stars saw their livelihood halted, Joan's strong voice enabled her to continue. Her first film with sound was in UNTAMED. The film was a success and Joan's career was still in top form. As she entered the 1930's, Joan became one of the top stars in the MGM stable. Films such as GRAND HOTEL (1932), SADIE MCKEE (1934), NO MORE LADIES (1935), and LOVE ON THE RUN (1936), kept movie patrons and film executives happy.
Joan was in top form. By the time the 1940's rolled around, Joan noticed she wasn't getting the plum roles which once came her way. There were new stars in town and the public wanted to see them. She left MGM and went to rival Warner Brothers Studio where she landed the role of a lifetime. In 1945, Joan landed the lead in MILDRED PIERCE, a film depicting the rise of a housewife to a successful businesswoman. The film landed Joan her first and only Oscar for Best Actress. The following year she appeared with John Garfield in the well-received HUMORESQUE. In 1947, Joan landed the role of Louis Graham in POSSESSED. Again she was nominated for a Best Actress from the Academy, but lost to Loretta Young in THE FARMER'S DAUGHTER. Joan continued to pick and choose what good roles she wanted to appear in. 1952 saw Joan nominated for a third time for her role of Myra Hudson in SUDDEN FEAR. This time the coveted Oscar went to Shirley Booth in COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA. Her career slowed down tremendously after that.
Movie after movie saw her relegated to menial roles, with the possible exception of 1962's WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE with her arch-rival, Bette Davis who she detested. By now the feud, between the two, was well-known. No one is sure exactly how it started, but one time Miss Davis said of Joan, "She's slept with every male star at MGM except Lassie." In return Joan said, "I don't hate Bette Davis even though the press wants me to. I resent her. I don't see how she built a career out of a set of mannerisms, instead of real acting ability. Take away the pop eyes, the cigarette, and those funny clipped words and what have you got? She's phony, but I guess the public really likes that". Her adopted daughter, Christina, wrote a tell-all book that did not put Joan in a flattering light called, "Mommy Dearest". Needless to say Christine was cut out of the will. Her final appearance on the silver screen was a 1970 flop called TROG. Turning to vodka, she was not seen much afterward.
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Personal quotes
"She's slept with every male star at M-G-M except Lassie." - Bette Davis
"If you want to see the girl next door, go next door"
For Actress filmographies, please see the Internet Movie Database.