Hollywood thrives on blood. Not always the literal kind, though there was plenty of that on the set of the 1962 psychological thriller What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?. No, the industry feeds on the kind of blood that comes from a public, jagged, and deeply personal rivalry. If you’ve seen the FX series Feud, or if you’re a fan of classic cinema, you know the story. Or at least, you think you do.
The Bette Davis Joan Crawford movie is often reduced to a series of catty anecdotes. We hear about the Coke machine Bette had installed to spite Joan (who was on the board of Pepsi). We hear about Joan putting rocks in her pockets so Bette would throw her back out during a dragging scene.
But looking back from 2026, the real story is much darker and, honestly, a lot more tragic than just two "old broads" (as Jack Warner called them) fighting over a spotlight. It was a desperate gamble for survival.
The Bette Davis Joan Crawford Movie: A Genre Was Born
By 1962, both women were considered "box office poison." Bette Davis was 54. Joan Crawford was 58. In the Hollywood of the early sixties, that might as well have been 100. The studio system that had built them up was crumbling, and the roles they used to command were going to younger, softer faces.
Robert Aldrich, the director, took a massive risk. He didn't just want to make a thriller; he wanted to capture the decaying remains of Golden Age glamour. He succeeded so well that he accidentally created an entire sub-genre: Psycho-biddy (also known as Hag Horror or Grand Dame Guignol).
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Why the Movie Still Hits Hard
Most horror movies rely on a masked killer. Baby Jane relies on a mirror. The horror isn't just that Jane (Davis) is losing her mind; it’s that she is desperately trying to cling to a version of herself that existed forty years prior. Watching Bette Davis caked in thick, white, "Kabuki-style" makeup, singing "I've Written a Letter to Daddy" while wearing a blonde wig and a child’s dress, is genuinely upsetting. It’s not just a performance; it feels like an autopsy of stardom.
What Actually Happened on Set?
People love to debate what was real and what was "publicity." Honestly? It was a bit of both.
Bette and Joan didn't start hating each other in 1962. The roots go back to the 1930s. Bette once fell for actor Franchot Tone during the filming of Dangerous. Joan ended up marrying him. That’s the kind of grudge that doesn't just evaporate because you both need a paycheck.
- The Physicality: During the scene where Jane kicks Blanche (Crawford), Bette supposedly actually connected with Joan’s head. Joan required stitches. Bette claimed it was an accident.
- The Weight: During the scene where Bette has to drag Joan across the floor, Joan—knowing Bette had a bad back—reportedly wore a heavy weight-lifter's belt or stuffed her pockets with rocks to make herself as heavy as possible.
- The Drinks: This is the famous one. Joan was the widow of the CEO of Pepsi-Cola. She used her position to promote the brand constantly. Bette, in a move of pure, concentrated pettiness, had a Coca-Cola machine installed in her dressing room and made sure the press saw it.
It’s easy to laugh at this stuff. But imagine being at the top of the world for thirty years and then having to fight like a stray dog for a $1 million budget movie that most of the town thought would be a joke.
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The 1963 Oscars: The Ultimate Betrayal
If you want to know why the Bette Davis Joan Crawford movie remains the peak of Hollywood rivalries, you have to look at the 1963 Academy Awards.
Bette was nominated for Best Actress. Joan was not.
Joan didn't just stay home and stew. She contacted every other nominee in the category (including Anne Bancroft, who was in New York at the time) and offered to accept the award on their behalf if they couldn't make it. When Bancroft won for The Miracle Worker, Joan Crawford—not Bette Davis—walked onto that stage to hold the Oscar.
Bette later said she almost dropped dead from the shock. Joan had basically won the Oscar without even being nominated. It was a masterclass in psychological warfare.
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Facts You Might Not Know
- The Budget: The movie was shot in just about 30 days on a shoestring budget of $1 million. It made over $9 million at the box office.
- The Profits: Both actresses took a pay cut for a percentage of the profits. Because the movie was a massive hit, they both walked away with more money than they’d seen in years—over $500,000 each.
- The Ending: The original script and book by Henry Farrell had a slightly different feel, but the beach scene in the film remains one of the most haunting endings in cinema history. "You mean, all this time we could have been friends?"
Actionable Insights for Cinephiles
If you're looking to dive deeper into this specific era of film, don't just stop at Baby Jane. The "Hag Horror" genre is a fascinating look at how Hollywood treats its veterans.
- Watch the "Follow-up": Check out Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte. It was supposed to reunite Bette and Joan. Joan famously dropped out (or was pushed out) and was replaced by Olivia de Havilland. You can see the echoes of the Baby Jane energy all over it.
- Read the Source: Henry Farrell’s novel is actually quite good and offers more internal monologue for Blanche that the movie couldn't quite capture.
- Look Beyond the Makeup: When you watch the movie, ignore the camp for a second. Look at the blocking. Look at how Aldrich uses the house as a character. The mansion is a prison of nostalgia.
The rivalry was real, sure. But the tragedy was that these two women, who had so much in common, were convinced by the system that there was only room for one of them at the table. They spent their lives fighting each other when they probably should have been fighting the people who told them they were "expired."
To truly understand the Bette Davis Joan Crawford movie, you have to see it as a survival story. It’s about two legends refusing to go quietly into the night, even if they had to claw each other's eyes out to stay in the light.
Next Steps for Your Movie Night:
Start with What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, then immediately follow it with Sunset Boulevard. It gives you a perfect double feature on the price of fame. After that, look for Strait-Jacket (1964) to see Joan Crawford lean fully into the horror genre she helped create.