The cycle was regrettable from the very beginning. The films were dreck compared to what the ladies (including Davis) had appeared in earlier
You'd say anything to prove yourself right, anything for the sake of Crawford, even if it means trashing the last classic she ever starred in. Yes,
Baby Jane is considered a classic and it received 5 Academy Award nominations and great reviews. Crawford and the likes of Stanwyck and Bankhead went on to do B film imitations of
Baby Jane. Charlotte also received positive reviews, as did
The Nanny, which was Davis' next film, as opposed to Crawford's
I Saw What you Did. In 1968, Davis starred in
The Anniversary, a black comedy based on a hit play.The movie was a not a hit but it had a much better pedigree than what Crawford did that same year,
Berserk, a bloody slasher movie. Davis next did
Connecting Rooms with Sir Michael Redgrave, a character study on two lonely people. It flopped but it held much more dignity for Davis in contrast to
Trog, which took away all what's left of its star's dignity.
Well, that's not exactly true because there she is when Miriam arrives in the taxi.
Well, audiences don't see Crawford's face and she doesn't utter a line and she isn't shown stepping out of the car. They used that available footage with Crawford, ultimately demoted as a virtual stand-in sans any credit. You tend to make a mole hill out of that less than 10 second scene when in fact it's a slap on your favorite star's face.
The rest of the quotes you posted clearly prove that Crawford was a petty, jealous monster and a sore loser who tried to justify her treacherous behavior at the Oscars by blaming Davis for not having recognized her acting abilities. That's very funny, and childish. That's the marked difference between Davis and Crawford; one is brutally frank while the other is completely phony. Crawford perhaps expected Davis to be as phony as herself.
Davis would retaliate though she wouldn't have done so had Crawford offered any genuine apology for what she had done. But Crawford didn't and she just went on to pretend as if nothing had happened. Davis wouldn't have won this round had the cast and crew of
Charlotte not cooperated with her. As it happened, Crawford wasn't well liked on the set. Even Aldrich's daughter testified to her attitude on the set in the book you so widely rely on to make such silly posts on this board.
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shopguyperry
8 years ago
You'd say anything to prove yourself right
The pot calling the kettle black - you are guilty of the very thing of which you accuse me of.
It flopped but it held much more dignity for Davis in contrast to Trog, which took away all what's left of its star's dignity.
And Wicked Stepmother didn't take away the last of Davis' dignity? She was wasting away in front of everyone.
Well, audiences don't see Crawford's face and she doesn't utter a line and she isn't shown stepping out of the car. They used that available footage with Crawford, ultimately demoted as a virtual stand-in sans any credit. You tend to make a mole hill out of that less than 10 second scene when in fact it's a slap on your favorite star's face.
If you watch the film enough like most people do today then you'll notice. And it's a big continuity goof when it's established from the prior shot that Miriam is wearing a hat and light colored clothing.
Davis wouldn't have won this round had the cast and crew of Charlotte not cooperated with her.
Joseph Cotten and Agnes Moorehead were actually sympathetic to Joan but did not want to get drawn into the situation. Moorehead even sent flowers to Joan on two different occasions while she was in the hospital.
As it happened, Crawford wasn't well liked on the set. Even Aldrich's daughter testified to her attitude on the set in the book you so widely rely on to make such silly posts on this board.
Aldrich's daughter did not testify to anything. It was what she remembered happening, not on Charlotte but on the Baby Jane set.
Crawford would "yell and scream", said continuity girl Adelle Aldrich, "and so did Davis, but afterwards she would teach me my job. I was only eighteen years old at the time, and that was my first job, to make sure things matched in the shots. My dad had told the ladies to give me a hard time. They both would question me very hard. Davis did it with great fondness. She was a wonderful teacher, and I'll forever be indebted to her. But Crawford was quite evil about it."
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