It’s no secret I love classic movies, so I thought I’d share another one of my all time favorites with you. This one is particularly creepy, so if you’re not in the mood to be a bit freaked out, it might not be the film for you. Bette Davis and Joan Crawford star, and rumor was that they pretty much HATED each other. That makes for interesting working conditions huh? Anyway, here’s some fun trivia to get you going. If you like the film let me know! Have a great weekend! xoxo
–Bette Davis was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in this movie. Had Davis won, it would have set a record number of wins for one actress. According to the book “Bette & Joan – The Divine Feud” by Shaun Considine, Davis and Joan Crawford had a lifelong mutual hatred, and a jealous Crawford actively campaigned against Davis winning Best Actress, even telling Anne Bancroft that if Bancroft won and was unable to accept the Award, she would be happy to accept it on her behalf. According to the book – and this may or may not be 100% true, but it makes a good anecdote – on Oscar night, Davis was standing in the wings of the theatre waiting to hear the name of the winner. When it was announced that Bancroft had indeed won for The Miracle Worker (1962), Davis felt an icy hand on her shoulder as Crawford said, “Excuse me, I have an Oscar to accept”.
–The wig Bette Davis wears throughout the film had, unbeknownst to both leads, been worn by Joan Crawford in an earlier MGM movie. Because it had been re-groomed, Crawford didn’t recognize it.
–According to Bette Davis in her book “This N’ That”, the film was originally going to be shot in color. Davis opposed this, saying that it would just make a sad story look pretty.
–Joan Crawford was an avid collector of Margaret and Walter Keane’s “sad eyes” paintings and befriended the couple and tried to incorporate their work into her films. In the film, during the interior scenes of the neighbor’s (Mrs. Bates) house, several Keene paintings can be seen displayed on the walls.
–Because she was then a member of the Pepsi-Cola board of directors, Joan Crawford managed to see that product placement shots of the soft drinks appeared in all of her later films. Although nearly imperceptible, Pepsi does show up in this one. During the last sequence, a guy runs up to the refreshment stand on the beach and tries to collect the deposit on some empty Pepsi bottles – a transaction that actually only happened in stores.
–In scenes where Jane imitates Blanche’s voice, the voice heard is actually Joan Crawford’s voice, and not Bette Davis’, as Davis could not master Crawford’s voice properly.
–It takes a while for both leads to appear on screen, with Joan Crawford appearing first while watching her character’s old picture. Bette Davis finally appears about a minute later, and by this point, it’s nearly 20 minutes into the picture.
–This film was a smash hit upon initial release, recouping its original budget in only 11 days, and eventually grossing $9 million. In adjusted 2013 dollars, this would be equivalent to $69,779,503.31.
–Exterior shots of the Hudson house were filmed at 172 S. McCadden Pl. in Los Angeles. Right next door at 180 S. McCadden Pl. is the house Judy Garland lived in during production of The Wizard of Oz (1939).
–While touring the talk show circuit to promote the movie, Bette Davis told one interviewer that when she and Joan Crawford were first suggested for the leads in this film, Warner Bros. studio head Jack L. Warner replied: “I wouldn’t give a plugged nickel for either one of those two old broads.” Recalling the story, Davis laughed at her own expense. The following day, she reportedly received a telegram from Crawford: “In future, please do not refer to me as an old broad!”
–Bette Davis had a Coca Cola machine installed on set. This was to deliberately provoke Joan Crawford, who was married to the chairman of Pepsi.
–Peter Lawford was originally set to play the part of Edwin Flagg but two days after accepting the part he withdrew due to family concerns. Lawford felt the character might reflect badly on his real life role as brother-in-law of the current President, John F. Kennedy. Victor Buono was then cast as Edwin. Bette Davis originally objected to Buono’s casting but eventually came around.
–The budget was so limited that the production wasn’t able to use the usual process screen shots for Jane’s driving scenes. Bette Davis did her own driving around Hollywood with cameraman Ernest Haller perched either in the backseat of the car or over the front fender in order to get the shots he needed. “To this day,” said Davis in 1987, “I smile when I remember the first time ‘Jane’ drove down Beverly Boulevard in an old Hudson. The expressions on the faces of people in other cars when they saw me were hysterical. Lots of mouths dropped.”
–Baby Jane picks up her altered costumes from “Western Costumes” which is, in reality, one of the largest costume houses in Hollywood.
–While Bette Davis took delight in looking dreadful for the film, the opposite was true of Joan Crawford. Even though Blanche had once been a beautiful young actress, she was now is her 50s, confined to a wheelchair, emaciated and wasting away. It was difficult for Crawford to appear unattractive, since she had always been considered one of Hollywood’s most glamorous stars. “It was a constant battle to get her not to look gorgeous,” said Davis. “She wanted her hair well dressed, her gowns beautiful and her fingernails with red nail polish. For the part of an invalid who had been cooped up in a room for twenty years, she wanted to look attractive. She was wrong.”
–According to Bette Davis, Joan Crawford refused to dispose of her falsies. “As part of her wardrobe, Miss Crawford owned three sizes of bosoms. In the famous scene in which she lay on the beach, Joan wore the largest ones. Let’s face it, when a woman lies on her back, I don’t care how well endowed she is, her bosoms do not stand straight up. And Blanche had supposedly wasted away for twenty years. The scene called for me to fall on top of her. I had the breath almost knocked out of me. It was like falling on two footballs!”
–Ingrid Bergman, Susan Hayward, Rita Hayworth, Katharine Hepburn, Jennifer Jones and Ginger Rogers were considered for Baby Jane.
–The film takes place in 1917, 1935 and 1962.
–When Joan Crawford started sending little gifts and notes to the crew to win their affection, Bette Davis sent her a note telling her to “GET OFF THE CRAP”.
–The beach scene was shot in Malibu, reportedly the same site where Robert Aldrich filmed the last scene of Kiss Me Deadly (1955).
–A freeze-frame just as the car enters the driveway in the prologue reveals the secret of who was driving the car the night Blanche was paralyzed.
All trivia courtesy of IMDB
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