0:00:02 > 0:00:10This programme contains very strong language
0:01:21 > 0:01:24CHATTER
0:01:24 > 0:01:27There was never a rivalry like theirs.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31For nearly half a century, they hated each other,
0:01:31 > 0:01:33and we loved them for it.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37You know, Joan's real name was Lucille LeSueur.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40The poor thing, she was raised in utter squalor.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42I mean, literally.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44Scrubbed toilets before coming to Hollywood.
0:01:45 > 0:01:51At the peak of the Depression - that's when I first started out -
0:01:51 > 0:01:55she was the woman every man wanted, and every woman wanted to be.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57Many think of her
0:01:57 > 0:02:00as the greatest star of all time.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03Now, my dear friend Bette...
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Well, she, quite frankly,
0:02:06 > 0:02:10was the greatest actress Hollywood had ever known.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14During the war, she played all the best roles,
0:02:14 > 0:02:16and she played them with a...
0:02:16 > 0:02:18I don't know how to say this,
0:02:18 > 0:02:20but with a ballsy intensity
0:02:20 > 0:02:24that none of us, actor or actress, would have dared.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28You know, they only made one film together.
0:02:28 > 0:02:34And how that happened and what happened afterwards, well...
0:02:34 > 0:02:38Well, that was a story and a feud
0:02:38 > 0:02:41of Biblical proportions.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43What was behind their feud?
0:02:43 > 0:02:46Why did they hate each other so much?
0:02:46 > 0:02:49Feuds are never about hate.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52Feuds are about pain.
0:02:56 > 0:02:57They're about pain.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00Please welcome to the stage, tonight's winner,
0:03:00 > 0:03:02Miss Marilyn Monroe!
0:03:13 > 0:03:14I've got great tits, too,
0:03:14 > 0:03:16but I don't throw them in everyone's face.
0:03:16 > 0:03:17All right, darling.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21Gee.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Gosh, I just sure didn't expect this.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27You know, I always said that, if I was the star,
0:03:27 > 0:03:30it was because the people made me a star, and...
0:03:30 > 0:03:32You know, when I was a girl,
0:03:32 > 0:03:35I used to look out into the Hollywood sky and think,
0:03:35 > 0:03:38"Gosh, I just want to be a movie star," you know?
0:03:39 > 0:03:43And now I'm part of you. So thank you so much.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46Gosh, I should try to thank some people, huh?
0:03:46 > 0:03:48I'm just so bad at remembering names.
0:03:54 > 0:03:55Hedda Hopper for Joan.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Miss Crawford is occupied.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00She's had enough time to sleep it off.
0:04:00 > 0:04:01Announce me.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09Is there anything we can do about these lines?
0:04:09 > 0:04:12I'm afraid I'm gonna be served for Thanksgiving dinner.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14The best you can do for this? High collars.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16Turtleneck for turkey neck.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18Christ, Nonah, can't you give me some hope?
0:04:18 > 0:04:19Ugh. You know how it is.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21Men age, they get character.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23Women age, they get lost.
0:04:23 > 0:04:24KNOCK ON DOOR What?
0:04:24 > 0:04:26I'm sorry, Miss Joan.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28Hedda Hopper's downstairs.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30Oh, Jesus.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38Hedda.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42You know I never receive unscheduled guests - not even my children.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44But here you are.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49Well, you ran out of the Globes last night before I could get a quote.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51Did I?
0:04:51 > 0:04:53Mamacita? Coffee.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58Well, it was a marvellous event.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00I do so appreciate the foreign press.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02They've been so very kind to me.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05I didn't come here for the boilerplate, Joan.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09From what I hear, you stumbled out of there in a drunken fit.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11- I'm gonna go back inside. - Baby...
0:05:11 > 0:05:14Well, you know how those award dinners can be.
0:05:16 > 0:05:17Stop it!
0:05:17 > 0:05:20I must've eaten something that disagreed with me.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Crow?
0:05:22 > 0:05:24Had to have been pretty galling,
0:05:24 > 0:05:28watching the foreign press fawn all over Monroe like that.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32Hedda, you know when I'm out in public events like that,
0:05:32 > 0:05:33I only drink Pepsi-Cola.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36I am the brand ambassador.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40I don't know why you keep plugging that shitty sugar water.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43Word is, since Al died, the board isn't paying your bills any more,
0:05:43 > 0:05:46and you're having to sell your custom Billy Haines furniture
0:05:46 > 0:05:49piece by piece just to keep the lights on.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51You wouldn't print those lies.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53Got to print something.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56All right.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58Then print this.
0:06:00 > 0:06:06Joan Crawford, after mourning the passing of her husband,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09her beloved Alfred Steele,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12is ready to get back to work.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14Oh, come on, Joan.
0:06:14 > 0:06:15Give me a quote.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18You know my readers would be fascinated
0:06:18 > 0:06:22with hearing the thoughts of yesterday's It Girl about today's.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28There can only be room for one It Girl.
0:06:28 > 0:06:29Is that right?
0:06:29 > 0:06:32Well, men built the pedestal, darling, not me.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35There's only room for one goddess at a time.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Well, men may have built the pedestal,
0:06:37 > 0:06:40but it's the women who keep chipping away at it
0:06:40 > 0:06:42until it comes tumbling down.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44So what's it gonna be, honey?
0:06:44 > 0:06:47A quote on Monroe, or am I gonna have to write about
0:06:47 > 0:06:51how a valet saw you stumble into a Cadillac?
0:07:01 > 0:07:02All right.
0:07:06 > 0:07:07Good.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12I think that Marilyn Monroe
0:07:12 > 0:07:16and the vulgarity of her clothing and pictures
0:07:16 > 0:07:19is ruining this great industry that I love.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23People don't want to see stars like Monroe in pictures.
0:07:23 > 0:07:28They want their stars to be wholesome, with good morals.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31Like me.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34That's not the only difference between you and her.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36She's getting roles.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41What's this about?
0:07:41 > 0:07:42This, my friend,
0:07:42 > 0:07:46is the Academy Award for Best Actress I won in 1945
0:07:46 > 0:07:48for Mildred Pierce.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50And I would like another one.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53And do you know what I need, Marty, to make that happen?
0:07:54 > 0:07:56A great script.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00I want to work now that Al's dead.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02I want to work, Marty.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04I need to work.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06I sent you a great script four months ago, Joan.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09- You did it, and you were wonderful in it.- No. It was a pilot.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13I had to do my own make-up, and it wasn't even picked up to series.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18Joan, how about this. Let me read everything that's out there,
0:08:18 > 0:08:19send over the highlights.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23You go through the pile and find something that excites you.
0:08:32 > 0:08:33Joanie!
0:08:33 > 0:08:36I can't play Elvis's grandmother.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39I won't do it. Maybe you better send me some other scripts.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42That's all I have, Joan. That's all they're making.
0:08:42 > 0:08:47Marty, I am an actress. I want to act.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49I'm at the top of my game right now.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51Then you need to find a project yourself,
0:08:51 > 0:08:52cos the roles just aren't out there.
0:09:04 > 0:09:05May I help you?
0:09:05 > 0:09:07I need books.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10Was there a particular title you were interested in?
0:09:10 > 0:09:12Anything with ladies on the cover.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28Oh, Mamacita. Good.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31That's all they had. I could try Encino next,
0:09:31 > 0:09:33unless you found something you like.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37Everything written for women seem to fall into just three categories.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40- Ingenues, mothers, or gorgons. - So what does that leave you?
0:09:43 > 0:09:45We'll find something.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50No, no, Mamacita, nothing Sapphic.
0:09:51 > 0:09:52I ran into the gardeners outside.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55They want to know when they'll get paid. We owe them two months.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57What did you tell them?
0:09:57 > 0:09:59That it was an honour to prune Miss Crawford's bush
0:09:59 > 0:10:00and to shut up.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12These are lean times, Mamacita, but we'll get through them.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20This one is about a baby.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22Which pile - "mothers"?
0:10:40 > 0:10:42And action!
0:10:44 > 0:10:45CRUNCH
0:10:45 > 0:10:48- Cut! Cut!- Plywood. You get the plywood in there...
0:10:48 > 0:10:49- Plywood.- Plywood.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51Dad, you're needed in the control centre, pronto.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53Plywood. Plywood!
0:10:53 > 0:10:56If I make another sandal saga, put a bullet in my head.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Eva Braun's on the horn.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04I told her you're busy, but she keeps calling back.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09Gretchen, my love.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11How's my little strudel?
0:11:11 > 0:11:15What? No, no, you can't come down here today.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18Why? Because my kids are working on the set, that's why.
0:11:18 > 0:11:19What if word got back to my wife?
0:11:21 > 0:11:22Yeah.
0:11:24 > 0:11:25I'll call you back.
0:11:25 > 0:11:26Christ.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28She wants to be in the movie now.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30Well, that's because she knows the only time
0:11:30 > 0:11:31you really pay attention to a woman
0:11:31 > 0:11:33is when she's in front of your camera.
0:11:36 > 0:11:41This movie we're making, Pauline? It is a piece of crap.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Hey, what about that espionage script?
0:11:43 > 0:11:44Oh, no, stinko.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46I know who did it on page three.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49But...this one...
0:11:49 > 0:11:51This one has potential.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55Horror/thriller, two broads, former movie stars.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57A cripple and her crazy sister
0:11:57 > 0:11:59battling it out in their Hollywood home.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01A horror picture?
0:12:01 > 0:12:03Hitch just did it with Psycho.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05Still raking it in.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08But even better, Baby Jane has one set.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10It's a very small cast. You can have final cut.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12You can produce this yourself.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15Face it, Bob, Ben-Hur has already been done.
0:12:15 > 0:12:16Where'd you get this?
0:12:16 > 0:12:18Oh, it came by messenger, special delivery.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Along with this.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27BOTTLES CLINKING
0:12:38 > 0:12:40Miss Crawford?
0:12:41 > 0:12:42Yes?
0:12:44 > 0:12:46Special delivery.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03# The falling leaves
0:13:03 > 0:13:07- # Drift by the window... # - She's expecting you.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10# The autumn leaves
0:13:10 > 0:13:13# Of red and gold... #
0:13:13 > 0:13:15She's expecting you on the patio.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18# I see your lips
0:13:18 > 0:13:22# The summer kisses
0:13:22 > 0:13:27# The sun-burned hands I used to hold... #
0:13:27 > 0:13:29Joanie.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31Bob.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33- Tea? - If we're gonna talk business,
0:13:33 > 0:13:34I'm gonna need a real drink.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37Sally, dear, will you go in the house
0:13:37 > 0:13:39and see if Mamacita needs any help?
0:13:41 > 0:13:42One of your fans?
0:13:42 > 0:13:45Well, if they're going to hang around all day,
0:13:45 > 0:13:47I'm going to put them to work.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56So, are we gonna make this picture?
0:14:00 > 0:14:02If you can satisfy my demands.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05- Can anybody, Joanie? - We did pretty well the last time.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08- Autumn Leaves made millions. - It would have made a million more
0:14:08 > 0:14:10if you'd gotten off your goddamn high horse
0:14:10 > 0:14:12- and let me mess you up a little. - It would have made 2 million more
0:14:12 > 0:14:15if you'd gotten me Brando. Now, you listen to me on this picture.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18I'll get you the perfect co-star.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20Who do you have in mind?
0:14:20 > 0:14:25# ..Autumn leaves start to fall. #
0:14:35 > 0:14:37I didn't know the patrona had turned to a widow,
0:14:37 > 0:14:40a sort of bright widow spider.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53Cocktails, anybody?
0:14:56 > 0:14:58No, thank you, Mrs Faulk. I don't believe we'll have any.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00They don't serve cocktails
0:15:00 > 0:15:02between the fish and the entree, Maxine, honey.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04Mercilessly accurate, Mr Shannon.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06But when I asked you for one,
0:15:06 > 0:15:08you offered it to me without a sign of reluctance.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11Aren't you making a large point out of a small matter?
0:15:11 > 0:15:12Just the opposite, honey.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15I'm making a small point out of a very large matter.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19Where'd you learn how to light a match in the wind?
0:15:19 > 0:15:22Oh, I've learned lots of useful little things along the way.
0:15:22 > 0:15:23I only wish I'd learned some big ones.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27- Such as what? - How to help you, Mr Shannon.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29- Now I know why I've come here. - So you can meet someone
0:15:29 > 0:15:31who knows how to light a match in the wind?
0:15:31 > 0:15:32APPLAUSE
0:16:04 > 0:16:06- KNOCK ON DOOR - What?!
0:16:06 > 0:16:08There's a lady here to see you.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10Who is it?
0:16:10 > 0:16:12Joan Crawford.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15You're fucking kidding me.
0:16:16 > 0:16:17Bette.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20Lucille, what the hell brings you to the theatre?
0:16:20 > 0:16:21Well, you, of course.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23Oh, you were wonderful tonight.
0:16:23 > 0:16:24You lit up the stage.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27I can't believe you didn't get better reviews.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29New York critics - they don't like us Hollywood people
0:16:29 > 0:16:31coming in, taking over their town.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33I say screw 'em.
0:16:33 > 0:16:34Make it quick, Lucille,
0:16:34 > 0:16:38I've got a car waiting to take me to the country.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Guess what, Bette?
0:16:40 > 0:16:44I have finally found the perfect project for the two of us.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46It's always been my dream to work with you.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48Do you remember how I begged Jack Warner
0:16:48 > 0:16:50to put us together in Ethan Frome?
0:16:50 > 0:16:53- With Mr Gary Cooper. - You do remember.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55You wanted to play the pretty young servant girl,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58and I was to play the old hag of a wife. Forget it.
0:16:58 > 0:16:59But this is different.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03These are the parts of a lifetime.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06No, thanks, Lucille. I've got plenty of better offers.
0:17:06 > 0:17:07Bullshit.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10I know what kind of offers you've been getting.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12Exactly none, because the same is true for me.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15They're not making women's pictures any more.
0:17:15 > 0:17:16Not the kind we used to make.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19It's all cyclical. They'll come back in fashion.
0:17:19 > 0:17:20But we won't.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23If something's going to happen, we have to make it happen.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27No-one's looking to cast women our age.
0:17:27 > 0:17:28But together?
0:17:29 > 0:17:32They wouldn't dare say no.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37We need each other, Bette.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42So what the hell happened to her anyway, Baby Jane?
0:17:42 > 0:17:44Read it. Find out.
0:17:45 > 0:17:51Oh, I'm offering you the title role.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54The lead?
0:17:56 > 0:17:58You can call it that.
0:18:11 > 0:18:17# In the evening
0:18:17 > 0:18:23# In the evening, people When the sun goes down
0:18:25 > 0:18:28# Don't your heart feel mighty empty... #
0:18:28 > 0:18:30Thank you.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34BD! # ..when your baby's not around?
0:19:14 > 0:19:18# If I could holler
0:19:18 > 0:19:22# Just like a mountain jack
0:19:22 > 0:19:26# Then I would go way up on the mountain
0:19:26 > 0:19:28# And call my baby back
0:19:28 > 0:19:43# In the e...vening
0:19:43 > 0:19:44# In the evening
0:19:44 > 0:19:48# When the sun goes down... # PHONE RINGS
0:19:48 > 0:19:52- Did you fuck Joan Crawford? - No, I did not fuck her.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54Not that I didn't have ample opportunity.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56We all know what special relationship
0:19:56 > 0:19:57Joan has with her directors.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00Oh, come on, Bette. William Wyler?
0:20:00 > 0:20:02Oh, I see someone has been a good little boy
0:20:02 > 0:20:05- and done all his homework. - Bette, listen, here's the deal.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08Crawford's name on the marquee gets us distribution.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10I need her to get the picture made,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12but I need you to make the picture great.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14Keep talking.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16Bette, I've made my share of steaming piles of shit,
0:20:16 > 0:20:18but every now and again I get a chance to work with
0:20:18 > 0:20:20an artist like you. Someone who isn't afraid to leap off a cliff.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23Most people are terrified to go anywhere near the edge.
0:20:23 > 0:20:24Now, that gets me excited.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27I'm a kid again. Everything's possible.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29Bette, I promise you this is gonna be
0:20:29 > 0:20:31the greatest horror movie ever made.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35And Baby Jane's the greatest part you'll play since Margo Channing.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38All right, answer this question, and don't lie.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40Why this picture?
0:20:42 > 0:20:43Honestly?
0:20:44 > 0:20:46I'm not being offered anything else.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51You're too big for Broadway, Bette.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54Come back to Hollywood, where you belong.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00I'll get back to you, Bob.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20It's a socko script, Bob, just socko.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22We ran the numbers and it looks doable, very doable.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24- Fantastic. - We feel like Crawford and Davis
0:21:24 > 0:21:27may be a little long in the tooth. Why don't we go a little younger?
0:21:27 > 0:21:29How about Hepburn in the Blanche role?
0:21:29 > 0:21:31Well, Katharine Hepburn's the same age as Davis.
0:21:31 > 0:21:32I think she's a year older.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35Audrey Hepburn, and Doris Day as Baby Jane.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37Are you kidding?
0:21:37 > 0:21:39- We love Davis and Crawford for this. - Oh, that's terrific.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42The sexy neighbour girl, have you thought about that?
0:21:42 > 0:21:44- Not really. It's a small part. - Yeah. Let's beef that up.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47In fact, we want to tell the story from her point of view.
0:21:47 > 0:21:48Like Hitchcock did with Rear Window.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50It's not a story about a sexy neighbour girl.
0:21:50 > 0:21:51I want to make it about her.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53We've been looking for something for Natalie Wood.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57- It's not gonna work here, Bob.- No, I won't take no for an answer, Ed.
0:21:57 > 0:21:58These two women are legends.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00They've got millions of fans across the globe
0:22:00 > 0:22:02who would pay good money just for the chance
0:22:02 > 0:22:04- to see them together on screen. - I agree,
0:22:04 > 0:22:07but it's not Davis and Crawford we don't want - it's you, Bob.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09They're just not willing to get into bed with you.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11Not after Sodom. No offence.
0:22:11 > 0:22:12Bromo.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20Would you fuck 'em?
0:22:20 > 0:22:22I don't know.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24It's a very simple question, Bobby.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Would you give either of those broads a toss in the hay?
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Would you fuck 'em?
0:22:29 > 0:22:31- Yes.- What?
0:22:31 > 0:22:32Bullshit.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37It's a no, Bobby.
0:22:37 > 0:22:38Sorry.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41So every other studio passed on this project, huh?
0:22:41 > 0:22:42And you come to me as the last resort?
0:22:42 > 0:22:44I find that disrespectful.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47No. Not last, Jack...inevitable.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50It's kismet that we make the movie here.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53Warner Brothers is the studio where both Davis and Crawford worked
0:22:53 > 0:22:56when they were still under contract. It'll be like a homecoming.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58You know, I can see the headlines.
0:22:58 > 0:22:59They're still big stars.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01Big has-beens, you mean.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03All right, that's good. That's enough, that's good.
0:23:03 > 0:23:04And big pains in my ass.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07Both those women made my life a living hell when they worked for me,
0:23:07 > 0:23:10because they thought that I worked for them.
0:23:10 > 0:23:11SLAP
0:23:12 > 0:23:15More perks, more perks, more perks.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19And always questioning the material that I wanted them to do, always.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21- Oh, come on, Jack. - No. It's true.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23And you know what the worst part is?
0:23:23 > 0:23:24The ingratitude.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27I created goddesses, Bobby.
0:23:27 > 0:23:28I created goddesses.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31I was Zeus and they were a couple of Aphrodites.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33But you know what happens to Aphrodite
0:23:33 > 0:23:36when her tits start to sag and her pictures start losing money?
0:23:36 > 0:23:39Or Venus, who should just look pretty and keep her mouth shut,
0:23:39 > 0:23:41and she starts having an opinion about everything -
0:23:41 > 0:23:44you know what happens to her? Zeus picks up a lightning bolt
0:23:44 > 0:23:47and he hurls it right at her head and he splits it open.
0:23:47 > 0:23:48That's what happens.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52I need a lunch thing.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55And my clothing.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58You've got a pretty short goddamn memory, Bobby.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00What does that mean?
0:24:00 > 0:24:03That bitch Davis sued me in 1936 to get out of her contract.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05She literally sued me.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Bobby, I was so upset about that
0:24:07 > 0:24:09that I got an ulcer and haemorrhoids from it.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11I still have them. I'll show them to you.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16And you know what else? I won that suit, I won it.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18And she was ordered to come back to work for me...
0:24:18 > 0:24:21She just wanted better parts, Jack. A say in her own destiny.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23Yeah, OK, fine.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25But because of her selfishness and her bullheadedness,
0:24:25 > 0:24:28the entire studio contract system came crashing down!
0:24:28 > 0:24:31The whole thing, because of her!
0:24:31 > 0:24:33She's the one who put the crack in the levee,
0:24:33 > 0:24:35and you want me to work with her again?
0:24:35 > 0:24:37Are you fucking crazy?!
0:24:37 > 0:24:39Never! Never again.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41Never. That...cunt!
0:24:49 > 0:24:52Her unemployment is my long-simmering revenge.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02You're gonna make my picture, Jack.
0:25:03 > 0:25:04I'm sorry?
0:25:05 > 0:25:07You need it.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09Television is kicking your ass.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12- Oh...- And the movies you're making, they're all bombs.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14- Crowded Sky? Bomb.- Bad title.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17Fever in the Blood, you couldn't even give tickets away.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20And you know why? You got no stars.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22I got stars.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25I got a great script that I wrote myself, a script I believe in.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27And I've got a genre
0:25:27 > 0:25:30television isn't doing, Jack - horror.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37Hmm.
0:25:40 > 0:25:41No.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43We got most of our financing from Seven Arts.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46- Yeah.- I just need you to release the picture in your theatres.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49- You'll be the single largest profit participant.- Yeah.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57I'll pay you first.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10Miss Davis, how do you feel about Baby Jane Hudson?
0:26:10 > 0:26:12We hear she's pretty mean.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15She's full of venom and doesn't mince words.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17We have nothing in common.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19Which is wonderful for me, Jimmy.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21Usually, I play the bitch,
0:26:21 > 0:26:25but this time, I can sit back and watch Bette do it.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30I told you - together, they're an event.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37I can't believe I let you talk me into this.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40How about signing some contracts, ladies?
0:26:42 > 0:26:44Who do you think's gonna grab the chair on the left?
0:26:44 > 0:26:47- What do you mean?- Whoever gets there first gets top billing
0:26:47 > 0:26:49right underneath the caption in tomorrow's paper.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52Why, thank you, Lucille.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01How about one with the two of you signing your contracts?
0:27:06 > 0:27:08Oh, man, that's great.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28And one more.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Get the car, Mamacita.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Joan, you didn't sign the contract.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41You know, I expected more from you, Bob, I truly did,
0:27:41 > 0:27:42though why I don't know.
0:27:42 > 0:27:44Starting with my no-good father,
0:27:44 > 0:27:46who ran off with a stripper from Galveston,
0:27:46 > 0:27:50to Louis B Mayer, I have been lied to and cheated on
0:27:50 > 0:27:52by men my entire life.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54I don't know why you should be any different.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56What are you talking about, Joan?
0:27:59 > 0:28:05She's getting 600 more dollars a week in expenses than I am.
0:28:05 > 0:28:10Now, I cannot go into this project feeling resentment for my co-star.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12Not after it was my idea
0:28:12 > 0:28:14to throw this party in the first place.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18I bet you never treated Kirk Douglas like this,
0:28:18 > 0:28:19did you, on The Last Sunset?
0:28:19 > 0:28:22It's an oversight, Joan. I'll take care of it.
0:28:22 > 0:28:23I promise.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31You understand, don't you, Bob?
0:28:33 > 0:28:35It's not about the money.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39It's about trust.
0:28:39 > 0:28:40Of course.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52I want 1,500.
0:29:00 > 0:29:05The 1950s and early '60s were tough times for all us mature gals.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08The studio system was dying out big-time,
0:29:08 > 0:29:10and the only women who were getting hired were...
0:29:10 > 0:29:13Well, they had big chests and small brains.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16Say, is this documentary gonna be about all of us or just Joanie?
0:29:16 > 0:29:18Is it like That's Entertainment?
0:29:18 > 0:29:19Um, I'm not sure.
0:29:19 > 0:29:23Well, honey, I'm sure both people who see it are gonna love it.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25Can somebody get this girl a drink here?
0:29:25 > 0:29:28Thanks, honey. Well, what were we talking about?
0:29:28 > 0:29:30How tough it was for women in the '50s.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32Right. But not for Joan.
0:29:32 > 0:29:33Wow.
0:29:33 > 0:29:35She was really something.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39She barrelled through that decade like a freight train.
0:29:40 > 0:29:41Thanks.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44Hmm.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49Who cares if her co-stars were getting younger and younger?
0:29:49 > 0:29:51She was still Joan.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53Still ambitious as hell.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57And making hits till she got the best offer of her career.
0:29:58 > 0:30:02A proposal from a widower, Al Steele, CEO of Pepsi-Cola,
0:30:02 > 0:30:05and one of the wealthiest men in the country.
0:30:05 > 0:30:08With all that money, after 40 years of working her ass off
0:30:08 > 0:30:10and sweating over every goddamn dime,
0:30:10 > 0:30:13she could finally exhale and live the high life.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15Al, you may kiss the bride.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17Come to Momma.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19Oh, yeah!
0:30:19 > 0:30:20Bette...
0:30:20 > 0:30:22well, she was a different story.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25After All About Eve, she was on top of the world.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28And she thought she'd be swamped by offers,
0:30:28 > 0:30:31but her biggest comeback turned into her biggest let-down.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35So Bette decided to throw herself into the one role
0:30:35 > 0:30:37she'd never gotten right - wife and mother.
0:30:37 > 0:30:42She married her All About Eve co-star, Gary Merrill.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45Bette was, to say the least...
0:30:46 > 0:30:48..miscast.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14Hello, wife.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20Make yourself useful for once.
0:31:20 > 0:31:24So I've been reading about you and Crawford.
0:31:24 > 0:31:25Start shooting next week?
0:31:25 > 0:31:28Day five, I get to kick her right in the head.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30I can't wait.
0:31:30 > 0:31:34So what brings you crawling back to Hollywood?
0:31:34 > 0:31:37Another guest shot on Wagon Train?
0:31:37 > 0:31:38Twilight Zone, actually.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40Oh. Well, that should be easy for you.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43Our whole marriage was a Twilight Zone.
0:31:43 > 0:31:47You went to bed with Margo Channing and you woke up with me.
0:31:47 > 0:31:49So why did we stop living together again?
0:31:50 > 0:31:53You wanted me to starch your shirts and greet you at the door
0:31:53 > 0:31:55with a martini in hand and ask,
0:31:55 > 0:31:57- "How did your day at work go, darling?"- Mmm.
0:31:57 > 0:31:58I'm the one that needed a wife.
0:32:00 > 0:32:02I brought you something.
0:32:02 > 0:32:03You've wanted it for a long time.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12Here it is.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14It's all there.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19I gave you everything - houses, kids, bank accounts,
0:32:19 > 0:32:21- even the broken china. - You goddamned prick!
0:32:21 > 0:32:23Oh, admit it. You don't want me,
0:32:23 > 0:32:25but you can't stand the idea of me being with anybody else.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28- Who would have you, you broken-down has-been?- You viper.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30- You drunk. - Takes one to know one.
0:32:33 > 0:32:37THEY LAUGH
0:32:49 > 0:32:51You know why they really broke up?
0:32:51 > 0:32:53Well, it wasn't his performance in bed.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55It was his performance on stage.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57God, was Gary a stiff.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00Just when Bette realised her marriage was about to close,
0:33:00 > 0:33:03she took it on the road.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06"Let the lights of Broadway spangle and splatter...
0:33:06 > 0:33:09"and the taxis hustle the crowds away when the show is over.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12"Let the lights of Broadway spangle. The girls wash off the paint
0:33:12 > 0:33:14"and go for their midnight sandwiches.
0:33:14 > 0:33:16"Let 'em dream in the morning sun, late in the morning,
0:33:16 > 0:33:18"long after the morning papers,
0:33:18 > 0:33:20"and dream as long as they want to in June somewhere..."
0:33:20 > 0:33:22You know, she fired him from the tour.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25Her own husband. And replaced him the very next day
0:33:25 > 0:33:27with Barry Sullivan.
0:33:31 > 0:33:36# I love all
0:33:39 > 0:33:44# The many charms about you
0:33:46 > 0:33:53# Oh-oh-oh, oh, oh
0:33:53 > 0:34:01# I want my arms about you
0:34:04 > 0:34:08# Naughty, naughty baby
0:34:08 > 0:34:10# Come to Mama
0:34:10 > 0:34:15# Come to Mama, do... #
0:34:15 > 0:34:17When Bette had to choose,
0:34:17 > 0:34:21she always picked the professional over the private.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25She actually claimed she coined the term "Oscar".
0:34:25 > 0:34:26Can you believe that?
0:34:26 > 0:34:30Back when she nabbed the award for Dangerous in '35,
0:34:30 > 0:34:33she told the press that its posterior reminded her
0:34:33 > 0:34:35of her first husband's ass.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38His middle name was Oscar. No-one ever called him that.
0:34:38 > 0:34:40It was just more of her bullshit.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43His name was Harmon. Everyone called him Ham.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47Joanie, do you have to keep doing that?
0:34:47 > 0:34:49What? It keeps my elbows supple.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52I wasn't talking about that. Do you realise from the time
0:34:52 > 0:34:55we got in the car tonight, all through dinner, and now,
0:34:55 > 0:34:58- all you've done is complain about Bette Davis?- Oh, that is not true.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01It is. And I'll be honest, I don't understand it.
0:35:01 > 0:35:02You two have so much in common.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05More than any two other people on the planet.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07Why can't you just get along?
0:35:07 > 0:35:09Oh, don't you think I've tried?
0:35:09 > 0:35:12Back when she won that Oscar, I was the first person
0:35:12 > 0:35:15to send a congratulatory note and a bouquet.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18And you know that I never heard back.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20Not a word. Radio silence.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24And this after she tried to screw my boyfriend.
0:35:24 > 0:35:26Franchot was her co-star in that picture, you know.
0:35:26 > 0:35:28Yes, you mentioned it at dinner.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33She knew he was mine. That's why she tried to take him away.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36But he rejected her advances, of course.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38Told me everything.
0:35:38 > 0:35:42So then I married him, out of spite.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46Do you realise that Bette Davis is responsible
0:35:46 > 0:35:49for one of my failed marriages?
0:35:49 > 0:35:51Personally responsible.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54And yet you still wanted her to do this picture with you.
0:35:54 > 0:35:56I think it's because you two survived all that
0:35:56 > 0:35:58and you realise that you really should be friends.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00Friends?
0:36:00 > 0:36:03You think it's friendship I want from her?
0:36:03 > 0:36:04Is that what you think?
0:36:04 > 0:36:05You're wrong. It's respect.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08It's the only thing I have ever wanted from her.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11Or any of them, for that matter.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13And it's the one thing I've never gotten.
0:36:14 > 0:36:19It took me until Mildred Pierce to be taken seriously as an actress.
0:36:19 > 0:36:20And when I won my Oscar,
0:36:20 > 0:36:25do you think I received any congratulatory notes or bouquets?
0:36:25 > 0:36:26No.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28Mmm.
0:36:28 > 0:36:29But I did.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31From men.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34Men whose admiration I already had,
0:36:34 > 0:36:36and whose respect I never craved.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39But not the women.
0:36:40 > 0:36:42None of the bitches in this town.
0:36:42 > 0:36:47Least of all Queen Bitch, who always thought she was better than me,
0:36:47 > 0:36:50more talented than me.
0:36:52 > 0:36:54You admire her.
0:36:58 > 0:37:02I admire her talent...
0:37:03 > 0:37:05..and her craft.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08And I will have her respect.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12Even if I have to kill both of us to get it.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38ALARM RINGS
0:38:04 > 0:38:05Keep practising.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07Could be faster.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21Billy. Billy.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24Billy, how is that new baby?
0:38:26 > 0:38:30Fred! Oh, looks like you've lost some weight.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32Pablo. Mother not so good.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35Pablo, how is your mother, dear?
0:38:37 > 0:38:38Dave.
0:38:38 > 0:38:40Miss Crawford.
0:38:40 > 0:38:44How lovely to see you again after all these years.
0:38:53 > 0:38:54It's small.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00And dirty.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06OK, Mamacita, let's go to work.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19Christ, she's at it again.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22Sucking up to the goddamn crew so she gets better lighting and props.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25Maybe she's just being nice, Mother.
0:40:09 > 0:40:11Before noon, Lucille?
0:40:12 > 0:40:15Got enough for two?
0:40:31 > 0:40:33To us.
0:40:33 > 0:40:35Together at last.
0:40:35 > 0:40:36At last.
0:40:44 > 0:40:45Nervous?
0:40:47 > 0:40:48Terrified.
0:40:48 > 0:40:50I haven't done a film in...
0:40:50 > 0:40:51Three years, Joan.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53You haven't worked in three years.
0:41:00 > 0:41:05You know, when I drove on the lot this morning,
0:41:05 > 0:41:11saw the crew bustling about, sets being built, the smell of sawdust...
0:41:11 > 0:41:15It's magic what we do, isn't it?
0:41:15 > 0:41:19All right, let's cut through the bullshit.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22I don't like you, you don't like me.
0:41:22 > 0:41:23But we need this picture to work.
0:41:23 > 0:41:28Both of us. All I ask is that you do your best work. Try.
0:41:28 > 0:41:32Because when you're good, Joan, goddamn it, you're good.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39Do you really think so?
0:41:39 > 0:41:41Oh, Christ, you're not going to cry.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43Yes, I really think so.
0:41:43 > 0:41:46I've always thought so.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51Oh, one last thing.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54Lose the shoulder pads.
0:41:55 > 0:41:57I beg your pardon?
0:41:57 > 0:41:59And cut back on the lipstick.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02You're playing a recluse who hasn't seen the sun for 20 years,
0:42:02 > 0:42:03for Christ's sake.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18You have a perfect face for the movies, Miss Crawford.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20There are no bad angles.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22Thank you, Jimmy.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27(Look, just give me a chance to talk to her.)
0:42:27 > 0:42:30(We can work this out...)
0:42:30 > 0:42:32Are you talking about me?
0:42:32 > 0:42:34No.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36Yeah. I'm just offering some ideas.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38Don't tell me how to play my character
0:42:38 > 0:42:40before I've even shot a scene.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43I have done a lot of hard work and preparation,
0:42:43 > 0:42:45and you are just trying to throw me.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47I'm trying to help you.
0:42:47 > 0:42:49You want me to look bad, but I won't do it.
0:42:49 > 0:42:53My fans show up to a Joan Crawford picture
0:42:53 > 0:42:56expecting to see Joan Crawford.
0:42:56 > 0:42:57This is not a Joan Crawford picture.
0:43:00 > 0:43:06Mr Aldrich, will you please escort Miss Davis back to her dressing room
0:43:06 > 0:43:08so she can work on her character?
0:43:08 > 0:43:12Or shall I get out of this wheelchair and walk off the set?
0:43:12 > 0:43:14I'll handle it. Bette, please.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16Did you see her?
0:43:16 > 0:43:19She's ridiculous, Bob. She's got falsies on under there.
0:43:19 > 0:43:22Bette, it's the first day, OK?
0:43:22 > 0:43:25May I remind you I took out a second mortgage on my house
0:43:25 > 0:43:27to make this picture? So don't look at me as if I don't care.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30I've got to handle her very carefully. She's nervous.
0:43:30 > 0:43:32And we got a lot of work to do today.
0:43:32 > 0:43:34We haven't even decided on your look yet,
0:43:34 > 0:43:36and your first scene is straight up after lunch.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38I've got to get that right.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41Fine. Handle it.
0:43:50 > 0:43:52Scene 11, take one.
0:44:02 > 0:44:04Joan?
0:44:05 > 0:44:07Joan, now, in this scene,
0:44:07 > 0:44:10Blanche is looking at one of her early pictures on TV.
0:44:10 > 0:44:12There's your mark right there.
0:44:16 > 0:44:18OK.
0:44:18 > 0:44:19Ready?
0:44:19 > 0:44:20Yeah.
0:44:22 > 0:44:23Camera's rolling.
0:44:28 > 0:44:29And action.
0:44:34 > 0:44:35'Everything.
0:44:35 > 0:44:37'We were gonna be married.
0:44:39 > 0:44:41'This girl, Dolly Merrick.
0:44:44 > 0:44:46'Oh, Jack, please try to understand.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48'I married you because I was...'
0:44:48 > 0:44:51We should've held that shot a little longer.
0:44:51 > 0:44:55I told him that when we were rehearsing, also when we shot it.
0:44:55 > 0:44:57But he wouldn't listen.
0:44:59 > 0:45:01'I can't think of anything else.'
0:45:02 > 0:45:05Still...
0:45:05 > 0:45:07it's a pretty good picture.
0:45:12 > 0:45:14Cut.
0:45:16 > 0:45:18That's great work, Joan.
0:45:19 > 0:45:21- Yeah?- Oh, yeah.
0:45:24 > 0:45:25Let's do another one, Bob.
0:45:25 > 0:45:27Right away.
0:45:28 > 0:45:30I'm just getting warmed up.
0:45:36 > 0:45:38These are wrong. I want her to look demented.
0:45:41 > 0:45:43This one.
0:45:43 > 0:45:45Wigs.
0:45:45 > 0:45:46Funny fact for you, Bette.
0:45:46 > 0:45:51Joan wore this one in some early 1930s MGM melodrama.
0:45:51 > 0:45:55And from the looks of it, it hasn't been touched since.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11Clara Bow beauty mark.
0:46:16 > 0:46:20- Mm.- My God, Mother, is that how you really want to look?
0:46:23 > 0:46:24Just wait.
0:46:27 > 0:46:32Now, I just think there are too many words in this section, Bob.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34God, I miss the silent pictures.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49Christ! She can't be serious.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17Hello, Daddy.
0:47:33 > 0:47:36APPLAUSE
0:47:44 > 0:47:45All right, all right!
0:47:45 > 0:47:47Everybody back to work! Back to work.
0:48:05 > 0:48:06Action.
0:48:06 > 0:48:10Blanche, you aren't ever gonna sell this house.
0:48:10 > 0:48:14And you aren't ever gonna leave it...either.
0:48:18 > 0:48:20And...action.
0:48:21 > 0:48:23Blanche,
0:48:23 > 0:48:26you aren't ever gonna sell this house.
0:48:26 > 0:48:28And you aren't ever gonna leave it.
0:48:28 > 0:48:32Bob, isn't that lighting unnecessarily harsh?
0:48:32 > 0:48:36Oh, we haven't balanced the footage yet, Joan. Don't worry.
0:48:36 > 0:48:37Don't worry about it.
0:48:37 > 0:48:39Blanche,
0:48:39 > 0:48:42you aren't ever gonna sell this house.
0:48:42 > 0:48:46And you aren't ever gonna leave it...
0:48:46 > 0:48:48either.
0:48:48 > 0:48:50Cut.
0:49:11 > 0:49:12And action.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40# Hey, little girl
0:49:40 > 0:49:43# Comb your hair, fix your make-up
0:49:43 > 0:49:47# Soon he will open the door
0:49:47 > 0:49:53# Don't think because there's a ring on your finger
0:49:53 > 0:49:58# You needn't try any more... #
0:49:58 > 0:50:01DOORBELL RINGS
0:50:03 > 0:50:06Welcome to the house that fear built.
0:50:06 > 0:50:07Come on in.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14- Just the two of us? - The three of us.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17Oh, didn't I specify that in my invitation?
0:50:17 > 0:50:20I suppose you expected one of my legendary dinner parties.
0:50:20 > 0:50:25No, Gloria and Jimmy Stewart and the Fondas are on Wednesday.
0:50:25 > 0:50:27Tonight it's just us gals.
0:50:27 > 0:50:29Sit down, please. The sofa's comfy.
0:50:40 > 0:50:43Can I get you ladies something to drink?
0:50:43 > 0:50:45Scotch.
0:50:45 > 0:50:47Just a glass.
0:50:47 > 0:50:49I take it that's not Pepsi-Cola.
0:50:49 > 0:50:51Vodka. 100 proof.
0:50:51 > 0:50:53I say if you're going to drink, drink something you like.
0:50:53 > 0:50:54I'll be right back.
0:50:54 > 0:50:56Dining room's through there.
0:50:56 > 0:50:58I hope you gals have brought your appetites.
0:51:01 > 0:51:02It's an ambush.
0:51:02 > 0:51:04She's out for blood.
0:51:04 > 0:51:05You gonna give it to her?
0:51:05 > 0:51:07Are you?
0:51:09 > 0:51:11Fish Jell-O.
0:51:11 > 0:51:13- Goody. - No, it's aspic, darling.
0:51:13 > 0:51:15It's all the rage.
0:51:15 > 0:51:19I thought it'd be the perfect dish for our little tete-a-trois.
0:51:19 > 0:51:23Something substantial, but transparent.
0:51:25 > 0:51:26All right, ladies.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29You know what I need, and you know what the fans want.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32So feel free to let 'er rip.
0:51:40 > 0:51:42So, who gets top billing?
0:51:42 > 0:51:46Oh, Bette, of course. I mean, she plays the title role.
0:51:46 > 0:51:47It only makes sense.
0:51:47 > 0:51:50Both roles are tremendously important.
0:51:50 > 0:51:55You know, Hedda, I have been wanting to work with Bette since 1944,
0:51:55 > 0:51:58when I first went to Warner Brothers.
0:51:58 > 0:52:02And when I found What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?,
0:52:02 > 0:52:04I sent it to Bob Aldrich and told him
0:52:04 > 0:52:10in no uncertain terms that this was for Bette and me only.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12I was thrilled. Think of it,
0:52:12 > 0:52:17Joan Crawford was a big star when I arrived fresh off the boat.
0:52:17 > 0:52:20Such a lovely thing to say.
0:52:20 > 0:52:22Fascinating.
0:52:28 > 0:52:30Ah.
0:52:30 > 0:52:33Oh, how lovely.
0:52:33 > 0:52:37- What are you serving for dessert? - We're skipping dessert.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40I'm already getting diabetes.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45Dateline: Los Angeles.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49Stars of the night sky tend to keep to fixed orbits
0:52:49 > 0:52:51and never interfere with one another.
0:52:51 > 0:52:54Things sometimes operate that way in Hollywood, too.
0:52:54 > 0:52:58Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, stars of equal magnitude
0:52:58 > 0:53:02who ruled in motion pictures during the fabulous '30s,
0:53:02 > 0:53:04never got to know one another.
0:53:04 > 0:53:07Now, in the Indian summer of their careers,
0:53:07 > 0:53:09they're about to.