Page "Joan Crawford" Paragraph 37

Crawford starred as Blanche Hudson, an old, wheelchair-bound former A-list movie star in conflict with her psychotic sister, in the highly successful psychological thriller What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?

( 1962 ).

Despite the actresses ' earlier tensions, Crawford suggested Bette Davis for the role of Jane.

The two stars maintained publicly that there was no feud between them.

However, Crawford later accused Davis of kicking her during the filming of one scene in which Jane attacks Blanche ; Crawford reportedly retaliated by wearing weights under her clothes during a scene in which Davis had to carry her.

The director, Robert Aldrich, explained that Davis and Crawford were each aware of how important the film was to their respective careers and commented, " It's proper to say that they really detested each other, but they behaved absolutely perfectly.

" After filming was completed, their public comments against each other propelled their animosity into a lifelong feud.

The film became a huge success, recouping its costs within 11 days of its nationwide release, and temporarily revived Crawford's career.

Davis was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Jane Hudson.

Crawford secretly contacted each of the other Oscar nominees in the category ( Katharine Hepburn, Geraldine Page and Anne Bancroft, all East Coast-based actresses ), to let them know that if they could not attend the ceremony, she would be happy to accept the Oscar on their behalf ; all agreed.

Both Davis and Crawford were backstage when the absent Anne Bancroft was announced as the winner, and Crawford accepted the award on her behalf.

Davis claimed for the rest of her life that Crawford campaigned against her, a charge Crawford denied.

That same year, Crawford starred as Lucy Harbin in William Castle's horror mystery Strait-Jacket ( 1964 ).