The FX series Feud dramatizes the enmity between screen legends Joan Crawford (Jessica Lange) and Bette Davis (Susan Sarandon), which peaked during and after filming Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), the successful thriller in which they played movie-star sisters.
Davis' dislike of Crawford began before they met. Davis (1908-89) arrived in Tinseltown in 1930 after modest Broadway success. Universal gave her a six-month contract. But its head, Carl Laemmle, derided her lack of sex appeal.
Crawford (1906, although she claimed 1908-77) was already among Hollywood's biggest stars. In 1930, she was America's most popular actress, married to filmdom royalty, handsome Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. The former Broadway chorus girl had been under contract to MGM since 1925, became a star in 1928, and easily made the transition from silents to talkies.
MGM was Hollywood's biggest studio, famous for its glamorous beauties. Women copied Crawford's clothes, hair, make-up. Resentful, Davis defensively claimed she was an actress, not a "glamour puss," refusing to compete in an arena in which she couldn't win. Warners, known for its more realistic films, signed her.
In 1934, RKO borrowed Davis to play Mildred, the vicious cockney waitress who torments Leslie Howard in gay author W. Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage. Despite sensational reviews, she didn't get an Oscar nomination, sparking a tremendous outcry. For the only time in Academy history, write-in votes were allowed. Davis lost to Claudette Colbert in It Happened One Night, but was on her way. She won her first Oscar for 1935's Dangerous, co-starring handsome Franchot Tone, scion of a wealthy New York family and a founder of Manhattan's prestigious Group Theatre. Massachusetts-born Davis, who claimed an upper-class pedigree, fell in love with him. To her dismay, he was infatuated with the recently divorced Crawford, with whom he had made several pictures. Journalist Adela Rogers St. John recalled introducing a gracious Crawford to Davis on the set of Dangerous . Davis appeared indifferent. Crawford soon married Tone. Years later, Davis admitted she had been hurt and jealous. Her resentment grew.
By the late 1930s, Davis' career was soaring. She won a second Oscar for 1938's Jezebel, while Crawford's was slipping. She divorced Tone in 1939, and in 1943, after 18 years, left MGM for Warners, where Davis reigned. That year, they appeared as themselves (without any scenes together) in Hollywood Canteen, a film about stars raising the morale of WWII servicemen. Crawford was off-screen for two years. She attempted to befriend Davis, who was distant.
Davis had first refusal on all A-scripts at Warners, and likely passed on Mildred Pierce, which wasn't right for her. But the adaptation of James M. Cain's novel was perfect for Crawford, who grabbed the part of a housewife-turned-businesswoman plagued with a monstrous daughter. It was a blockbuster, earning her 1945's Best Actress Oscar. Her resurgence coincided with Davis' decline. Crawford was now Queen of the Lot.
Davis' last film at Warners was 1949's disastrous camp classic Beyond the Forest, which she made because she'd heard Crawford wanted to play Rosa Moline, "a 12 o'clock gal in a 9 o'clock town." Replacing an ailing Colbert in 20th Century Fox's great All About Eve (1950) resulted in a brief renaissance for Davis. In 1952, she was The Star, playing a Crawford-like has-been, garnering her ninth Oscar nomination. She worked less frequently throughout the decade, primarily in character parts like Ernest Borgnine's shrewish wife in The Catered Affair (1956), and as Alec Guinness' mother in The Scapegoat (1959).
Crawford's output in the 1950s was greater; she continued playing romantic leads. She left Warners in 1952 and had a hit with Sudden Fear at RKO, earning a third Best Actress Oscar nomination. Her other 50s films failed to create much excitement, although some are now highly regarded, notably Harriet Craig (1950) and Johnny Guitar (1954).
In 1961, Davis was on Broadway, miscast and miserable in Tennessee Williams' The Night of the Iguana. Co-star Margaret Leighton eclipsed her at each performance. Crawford visited Davis in her dressing room, gave her a copy of Henry Farrell's novel Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, suggesting it would make a good vehicle for them. She also sent copies to Alfred Hitchcock and Robert Aldrich. The latter agreed to direct, and his company, along with Seven Arts Pictures, produced the movie for about $980,000. Shooting took six weeks. Warners distributed it.
Davis took $50,000 up-front against 5% of the gross. A more confident Crawford shrewdly got $25,000 against 10% of the gross. She made no fuss about billing, since Davis was playing the title role. Their pairing generated extraordinary publicity. Despite mixed reviews, Jane was a success, grossing $9 million worldwide.
Davis earned her 10th Best Actress Oscar nomination, but Crawford was overlooked. Davis openly gloated. At the Oscar ceremony, a radiant Crawford accepted the Best Actress prize for Anne Bancroft in The Miracle Worker. Her photograph, holding the statuette, was on front pages around the world. Davis was furious.
Aldrich and Fox wanted to re-team them in Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte, but Davis refused until told that without Crawford, the budget would be cut in half. Crawford agreed, but insisted on first billing. During filming in Louisiana, Davis constantly belittled her. Fearing she would be upstaged again, she checked into a Hollywood hospital, claiming exhaustion. Aldrich reluctantly replaced her with Olivia de Havilland. The film didn't do as well as Jane.
Crawford worked until 1972, making few public appearances in her final years. Davis, despite a stroke and cancer, worked until 1989. Crawford finished 10th in the American Film Institute's ranking of the 20th century's greatest female legends. Davis was second. Privately, both recalled each other harshly. Davis also did so publicly. When pressed, Crawford reminded reporters that "in Jane, Blanche [her character] was a much bigger star."