How Old Was Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in the Movie What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Feud chronicles the making of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane and the bitter rivalry of two Hollywood Titans — Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. Just, what was the real reason Joan Crawford (played past Jessica Lange) and Bette Davis (played past Susan Sarandon) hated each other during the making of the cult classic?
The Feud Betwixt Joan Crawford and Bette Davis
Credit: Everett Drove
Hollywood is full of legends and legacies, and before there were Twitter feuds, there was Bette Davis and Joan Crawford — 2 of the most revered actresses of their time, forever remembered for non merely their onscreen gifts, only their heated off-screen tiffs.
Crawford moved to Warner Bros. in 1943—also known as Davis' territory (she had been signed to the studio since 1932 and would remain there until 1949). With both leading ladies in Warner Bros.' pocket, they began picking from the same roles.
Though the feud came to a caput whilst on the gear up of the 5-time Academy Award-nominated horror film, What Ever Happened to Babe Jane? (1962), it was no secret to the rumor factory that Crawford and Davis were far from addicted of each other.
The contention is said to take started when Davis hit a career milestone in 1933. Her picture show, Ex-Lady, was going to be the first of Davis' films on which her name would rest atop the title. Crawford, already a star when the younger Davis came onto the scene, managed to eclipse the promotional entrada for Davis in Warner Bros.' pipeline with the announcement of her impending divorce from Douglas Fairbanks Jr., her first husband. Crawford and Franchot Tone, Davis' Dangerous (1935) costar and unrequited love, then married a mere two years later. Davis admitted she had "never forgiven her for that, and never will," in 1987. Couple these incidents with Crawford's mocking of the wearing apparel Davis wore to the 1936 Academy Awards, and the olive branches she sent in the form of flowers and gifts — which Davis made sure to return — and you lot've got the perfect recipe for a cinematic Feud similar no other.
Joan Crawford
Credit: Richard Rutledge/Condé Nast via Getty Images
First dubbed "Queen of the Movies" past Life magazine, in part because she held the title of top box-office star for 3 consecutive years, Crawford was no stranger to a lavish lifestyle. When Movement Motion picture magazine sent photographers and reporters to the prepare of Dear on the Run, she showered them with "the full-glamour treatment." In fact, at that place was a time Crawford boasted a 27-room mansion, leading her to also hold the nickname, "the empress."
Crawford took advantage of her appearance when in the earth of glitz and glamor. The actress' "large blue optics, wide oral fissure, broad shoulders and slim [figure]" were then noteworthy, that even her obituary honored them. Though Crawford was at the pinnacle of her success in the 1930s, it wasn't until her role in Mildred Pierce (1945) that she garnered her first University Award for All-time Extra — for the very role Davis had previously turned downward. Though Crawford never won another Oscar, she would score two more nominations, for her roles in the films Possessed (1947) — some other role initially meant for Davis — and the 1952 thriller Sudden Fear, on which she also served equally producer.
Despite this, Crawford'due south career, which now included a slew of telly would-have-beens, was floundering by the latter half of the 1950s. When she sought out Davis to play contrary her in What Always Happened To Babe Jane? — a fictional thriller propelled by non-fiction hatred — she succeeded, and set up in motion what would be regarded as not just their common comeback, but, equally Harper'southward Bazaar puts information technology, "a public document of their real-life rivalry."
Bette Davis
Credit: John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images
Following the success of the 1938 film Jezebel, Davis rose in the ranks of Hollywood, becoming a regular on the "Quigley Poll of the Peak Ten Money Making Stars." Now regarded as a Hollywood Titan, Davis was the start woman to serve as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, although her tenure only lasted for two months. Davis was more than concerned with expressing herself than she was with pleasing everyone, having made less-than-flattering admissions in her autobiographies near past costars. Of class, Crawford took a brunt of this, inspiring at present-famous remarks, such as, "The best time I always had with Joan Crawford was when I pushed her down the stairs in [What E'er] Happened to Baby Jane?"
Davis was famous for her wide optics (fifty-fifty having inspired a Kim Carnes vocal, entitled, "Bette Davis Optics" — for which Davis thanked her), so much so that it'due south been said she was intentionally filmed with shut-ups in order to make her optics more pronounced. Davis is also said to take been able to dilate her eyes for dramatic issue.
Her role in the aforementioned Dangerous earned Davis her first Oscar win, with her turn in Jezebel resulting in her second and last win. Not including her victories, Davis earned a total of ix Academy Award nominations over the course of her career. Despite her legendary role in 1950's All Nigh Eve, the '50s were not particularly kind to Davis. She and Crawford were similar in this way, though Davis waited out this dry out spell on Broadway.
Davis died in 1989, the aforementioned year her last film was released. As of that yr, it was reported that Davis' estate was about $1 million, with nearly half going to her son, Michael Woodman Merrill, while secretarial assistant and friend, Kathryn Sermack, was also bequeathed nearly half.
Making of What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?
Credit: Everett Collection
Equally disturbing as the relationship between Jane and Blanche (Crawford) is in the film, Crawford and Davis' real-life relationship was plenty off-putting in its own right, even later they agreed to piece of work together. It'due south said that during a scene in which Jane is supposed to hurt Blanche, Davis actually kicked Crawford in the head. Though she claimed to accept "barely touched her," rumor spread that stitches were needed following the incident. One scene includes Jane pulling Blanche from her bed and dragging her torso across the room, during the filming of which, Crawford fought burn down with fire. Knowing that Davis was prone to dorsum issues, she reportedly attempted to intentionally brand herself heavier. There are multiple rumors surrounding how she managed this, with a weightlifter'southward belt or stone-filled pockets among the almost popular theories.
Feud – FX Series
Credit: Kurt Iswarienko/FX
Ryan White potato's (Glee, American Horror Story, American Crime Story) newest anthology series, Feud, begins with the story of Bette and Joan, just before Baby Jane gets underway. Academy Award winner and Emmy nominee Susan Sarandon plays Bette Davis, alongside Oscar and Emmy winner and Murphy favorite Jessica Lange, who's taking on Joan Crawford. Warner Bros. president, Jack Warner, is portrayed by Stanley Tucci. Judy Davis is playing actress-turned-gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, with Alfred Molina portraying Aldrich, and Jackie Hoffman playing housekeeper Mamacita. Catherine Zeta-Jones is playing Olivia de Havilland — who would get on to replace Crawford in what would have been the second collaboration for her and Davis, Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte. Both Kathy Bates and Sarah Paulson, also Tater regulars, feature in the prove every bit Joan Blondell and Geraldine Page, respectively. Mad Men's Kiernan Shipka plays a immature B.D. Merrill, and Dominic Burgess portrays Victor Buono, whose part in Infant Jane was the only other to be nominated for an acting Oscar.
Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford
Credit: Kurt Iswarienko/FX
Lange began working with Murphy when she signed onto American Horror Story, during a self-proclaimed "low point." Lange, whose role in Feud is coming off the heels of Louis C.K.'s web series, Horace and Pete, has called Crawford "nuts," though she fully acknowledges the incredibly difficult route the extra had to travel to become Hollywood's finest. Coming from a world in which she was "poor" and "abused," native Texan Crawford — whose real name was Lucille LeSeur — was a character, "a creation," her portrayer said. Lange explained that Crawford's mythos even fooled her when she was young and would watch her acting. "She devoted her life'south energy to creating the character of Joan Crawford," Lange said. "Always below that is Lucille LeSeur, and that became what was so fascinating to play." Lange added to EW that Crawford "used sexuality as comfort, as a bargaining tool, equally punishment," given her upbringing.
While Sarandon was hesitant to take on the role of Davis, Lange trusted Murphy and the "enthusiasm" he exhibited for the project. Of striking a remainder between the identity which Crawford put on display, and that which she tried to tamp downward, Lange appreciated the subtle nuances she got to play with. "Whether information technology was just, you know, under the surface — if information technology was just in a gesture," she said, "Or a glance, behind the optics, that character was always there."
Susan Sarandon every bit Bette Davis
Credit: Kurt Iswarienko/FX
Though Sarandon was initially cautious about Feud, her pause was a reaction to the pilot alone. Murphy's hiring policies and guarantee that women would direct half of the season ultimately swayed Sarandon. Every bit she put it in a comprehend story interview with EW, "How could yous say no to that?'
Although they share some physical similarities — both beingness on the smaller side, for one — Sarandon revealed to EW that she had been "beyond terrified" when information technology came to Davis' 18-carat voice. Accomplishing this portrayal required a vocal coach, and Sarandon prepared by engrossing herself in interviews of Davis, which she listened to for a consecutive three weeks. She recalled, "All I did was wake upwardly in the morning and start listening. Go to work, come home, and do information technology again."
As it turns out, Sarandon identifies with Davis in more than just physical appearance. Similarly to the classic star, Sarandon admitted to EW, "I never saw myself equally existence i of the cute girls. I was ever the character daughter, not the main pretty girl who got the guy. So I kind of understood that and related to that." On top of having to acquire how to master the character of Davis, both Sarandon and Crawford had to depict their characters' characters in Infant Jane. Sarandon said that the biggest challenge "was re-creating those scenes gesture to gesture and trying to get exactly the cadence of the vox to match."
Feud: Bette and Joan
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Source: https://ew.com/tv/2017/03/30/feud-joan-crawford-and-bette-davis/
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