Whatever Happend to Baby Jane? Bette of Course....

[Brent-Aucoin]

This is a great clip from the Andy Williams show, 1962.
Bette singing the title...Whatever Happed to Baby Jane?
This was put out on a 45RPM.....if you have it....sell it. You will have mucho spending change...
Brent

 

[SactoTeddyBear]

Re: Bette Davis:

Passed-Away some time ago, but I don't remember for sure when. I'm fairly sure that someone here might have some more info on her.

She was good with Joan Crawford in the old B&W Movies together, although as far as I knew, they couldn't otherwise be near each other. I heard on some Biography that they Hated each other.

Bette Davis was also real good in all of her other Movies and I especially like her in "All About Eve" and there is one where she played the Queen, but I forget the name of that Movie, maybe someone can help me with the Title?

Peace, Blessings, Prayers and Happy New Year to everyone on the AW.ORG Club Site, Steve
SactoTeddyBear...

 

[abcomatic]

Bette Davis

My favorite movie she starred in was "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte. A very famous quote from that movie was: You're nothin' but a vile, sorry, little B_ _ _ h!"
For those of you who like Buick's - the 1964 Electra 225 6 window hardtop was wonderful. Gary

 

[sudsmaster]

Bette put me off roast parakeets for life...

 

[launderess]

So Many Qualities So Often! So You've Mentioned So Often

Bette Davis was Yankee spirit in person!

She played queen Elizabeth I, and what a job she did.

Loved her in most everything, especially her early work (Tale of Human Bondage) where she was just a total amoral bitch. *LOL*

Dark Voyager was great, as was Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte (I don't care where you go strait to, just long as you go; and take them and that with you)! *LOL*

Bette Davis is rumored to have not liked Joan Crawford because (amoung other things), the later's bisexuality, of which the former refused all advances.

Of course there is "All About Eve" where one gets major lessions in how to be an absolute bitch, yet in the end lovable.

Like Joan Crawford, and many other actresses and actors from the "Studio System" era, the 1960's and onwards weren't kind years. Miss. Davis and others had to take work where they could find it, and that usually meant television or the occasional film role, which could be quite small. A huge come down for "STARS" of the former era, before many of those now commanding top billing and money were even born.

 

[launderess]

Jane, You Wouldn't Treat Me Like This If I Wasn't In

All together now!

*LOL*

 

[rexaircollector]

But you are!

It must be said!

 

[luxflairguy]

DID YOU KNOW???

Did you know that the USPS is issuing a Bette Davis stamp soon? It should be all the rage! Luxflairguy in Seattle

 

[bendix5]

Bette Davis passed in the late 80's I heard her 100th birthday stamp will be released in May. It looks to have a picture from All About Eve. Both her and Joan Crawford were wonderful actresses. Now Voyager is a great Davis movie and Mildred Pierce was one of Joans. This was Joans come back picture Dano

 

[rickr]

I have always loved Bette Davis. She is my favourite actress of all time.

 

[ironrite]

Light up a cigarette and grab a glass!

In the late-1970s Ms. Davis did a one women show and she came to Phoenix Arizona. About an hour of her films and then one hour of her Q & A with the audience. Not knowing anything about seating in a theater, I got row BB, 2nd row from the stage. This would have been the orchestra pit, but they had chairs there. She was spectacular! Cigarette and glass of "water" in hand, she put on a fantastic show.

Joan Crawford had already passed away by then. One of the questions was the supposed feud between them. She was very matter of fact that they both worked at different studios and socially their paths didn't really cross. The feud was made up for publicity when they filmed What Ever Happened to Baby Jane. She didn't say anything bad or unkind at that time about her.

Then someone asked her about working with Josh Logan. If I recall the comment she said she usualy doesn't air her dirty laundry in public, but she would make an exception. She then went off on working with him and that it wasn't a pleasant experience. It didn't appear to be an act.

In later years she did have other things to say about Crawford, but then she seem rather kind to her.

 

[Brent-Aucoin]

Davis really hated Crawford! Crawford was scared of Davis.
After Baby Jane, they were to make "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte," with Crawford playing the rich cousin Miriam. They actually filmed for a few weeks, and Ms. Crawford became "ill" and had to go into the hospital. She then refused to do the picture, and was replaced by Olivia de Havilland for the part. Later Crawford admitted that if she would have stayed with the part, Davis would have caused her a nervous breakdown.
I always wonder what happened to the film that was shot with Davis & Crawford for Charlotte. I would love to see it. I am sure it was destroyed.

Here is a tidbit from the net:
Ms. Crawford was originally slated to play Miriam, but became seriously ill shortly before filming started. Davis, who disliked Crawford intensely, suggested that the role of Miriam be filled by her best friend, De Havilland. On the first day of shooting, Davis and DeHavilland pulled a "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead" routine by toasting one another with Coca-Cola--a catty observation of the fact that Joan Crawford's husband was an executive with the Pepsi Cola company!

 

[laundromat]

This & That

Anyone (like myself) who loves Betty,needs to read her autobiagraphy titled"This and That".In the back is a letter from her hatefull daughter sent to her not long before the book was published.I read it cover to cover the evening before I had my brain surgery on Apri 26th ,1989.That date rings a bell? Yup, that was the day Lucille Ball died!The entire hospital was in shock,disbelief and saddened.There wasn't a dry eye in the house!You would have thought the president had been asassinated the way the media covered her death.Anyway,"This and That" is a great book to read.It shows the true "Yankee Spirit" coming out.I loved her in both "Hush,Hush Sweet Charlotte" and "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?"Her ability to be the true character in both was so realistic and genuine that a lot of viewers thought that she was portraing herself.I seriously doubt that.Betty was a generous,free spirited individual who loved life to the max.The last time I saw her was on David Letterman just before her death but just after her first stroke.She didn't miss a beat!Don't all of us only wish there were more stars like her and Lucy!Unfortunately,they're few and far between.

 

[danemodsandy]

SactoTeddyBear:

:She was good with Joan Crawford in the old B&W Movies together..."

Sacto:

Bette and Joan only completed one movie together- Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte was supposed to re-team them, and Joan did do a few days of shooting on that film. Bette created an atmosphere of tension and unfriendliness on the set of Charlotte, causing Joan to become very upset and become "ill" (Joan said it was a respiratory infection; others were less charitable, terming it a nervous reaction to Bette's campaign against Joan, or even the result of too much Pepsi and 100-proof Smirnoff). Joan found out that she was being taken off the picture a few days later.

Joan was able to get a doctor to sign off on her "respiratory infection", which both forced the producers' insurance to pay to replace Joan with Olivia de Havilland, and maintained Joan's insurability for future projects.

 

[rolls_rapide]

I think that Andy Williams clip of Bette Davis singing was included on the Region 2 DVD of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?". There was also an ancient black & white BBCtv interview with Joan Crawford included.

 

[launderess]

Joan Crawford Had A Bigger Feud

With Norma Shearer, which made their filming of "The Women" very tricky indeed. Heard things almost got VERY nasty at times on the set.

L.

 

[launderess]

Speaking of Missed Film Roles

Miss. Davis really wanted to play Scarlett O'Hara, but as she had already did "Jezebel" and won an Oscar, it was not to happen.

Personally think Miss Julie could whip Scarlett any day of the week in the Southern Belle stakes. *LOL*

L.

 

[pturo]

I heard the one that was the worst on the set was Tallulah Bankhead, a stage actress who hated Hollywood anyway. My friends mother worked at MGM and Paramount as a seamstress and costume fitter's assistant way back when. The actresses were to report to fitting, where the materials and equipment to do the job were. Only the few and royal got wardrobe to come to them, and that is only if things were running really behind on a remote set, or in off location.
This woman storms in the door of wardrobe, in a raggedy models coat and a babuska, with no makeup looking about 75 years old with bags under the eyes and says "Where the fuck is the toilet? My friends mother thought it was a new cleaning woman and said " Over there, and we have lots of appointments, so make it fast!"
It was Tallulah, who came out after having a pee and said to Diane's boss,head of costuming who arrived shortly after, " I don't know whether to have this woman fired for her insolence, or promoted for her efficency, but that was the shortest pee I ever took." HOLLYWOOD TRUE STORY.
She tells me to this day that Tallulah was the most rampant lesbian on the lot, hitting on everyone. When asked if her husband was gay, she retorted " I don't know, he never tried to suck my d**k!
I think she was a pistol, we could use her around today!
There was something about those 40's broads, they were Female, Female impersonators long before drag queens, but they were in drag for the movies.

 

[rp2813]

Dark Voyager

Nice melding of two movies into one, "Dark Victory" and "Now Voyager." I believe it was "Now Voyager" that contained the famous lighting of two cigarettes scene.

Re: the Shearer vs Crawford issue while filming "The Women," that may have served to infuse more realism into their characters' relationship on screen. Now that I think about it, Davis probably would have done a fantastic job with the role of Crystal, except I doubt a Davis version of Crystal would work in regard to not being able to hang onto George Haines. I worked in a movie memorabilia shop in Hollywood for a while and the proprietor knew where Shearer lived, tried to engage her but she never came out of seclusion for anybody.

Phil, interesting Bankhead story! I worked at MGM in Culver City in the 70's and formed some opinions about some of the actors I came across there. At the time, "Chips" was being filmed there and Eric Estrada was #1 pretty boy on the lot, and Stymie from "Our Gang" was a bike messenger. A few other bad TV shows were filming there at the time. I remember "Logan's Run" had some kind of futuristic vehicle which upon close inspection turned out to be a '65 Chevy underneath! Best thing about the commissary there was that you could get a beer with your lunch and nobody could care less. I still have a fuschia plant that I started from a cutting I took from outside the "Garland" building, which I believe was across from wardrobe where your mom worked. It probably wasn't known as the "Garland" building when your Mom worked there . . .

I wonder if Bankhead and Dietrich ever hooked up, and if so, who would have worn the pants in that relationship!

Personally, I don't think there's been a Davis movie ever made that's not worth watching.

Ralph