Product Description

Bette Davis and Joan Crawford: two of the deadliest arch-rivals of all time. Born in the same year (though Davis swore 'Crawford is five years older than me if she's a day'), the two fought bitterly throughout their long and brilliant Hollywood careers. Joan became a star first, which always irked her rival, who suggested her success had come via the casting couch. 'It sure as hell beats the hard cold floor' was Crawford's scathing response. According to Davis, Crawford was not only a nymphomaniac but also 'vain, jealous and about as stable and trustworthy as a basket of snakes'. Crawford, in turn, accused Davis of stealing her glory and planning to destroy her. The two rivals fought over as many men as they did parts - when Bette fell in love with her co-star in DANGEROUS, Franchot Tone, Joan stepped in and married him. The women worked together only once, in the classic thriller WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?, in which their violent hatred of each other as rival sisters was no act.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #380871 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

Review
** 'Shaun Considine's story of the two divas is vastly informative and in parts hilarious' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH ** 'Fascinating and vastly entertaining ... all you want is more' TIME OUT ** 'Considine's well-researched book is an account of one of Hollywood's most extraordinary relationsips' DAILY EXPRESS

About the Author
Born in Brooklyn and raised in Ireland, Shaun Considine has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, People and Cosmopolitan.

Customer Reviews

Clash of the bitches
What happens when two great stars with overbearing personalities collide? Here it is in all its glorious, vicious, high camp detail - the life-long battle between Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. The former was the glamorous, man-grabbing box office champ, the other the greater and more natural actress. It appears their feud was based on jealousy but it was Davis who felt it the most, according to Considine's excellent book. He provides us not just with an account of the feud but with potted biographies of both women, comparing and contrasting their childhoods, Hollywood experiences, relationships with men and eventual declines. The highlight, of course, comes with his description of their experiences together on Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and the aborted Hush Hush, Sweet Charlotte. I promise, you will not be able to put this down!

ENLIGHTENING, FASCINATING, AND DEEPLY MOVING
THEY SAY TRUTH IS STRANGE THAN FICTION, AND THIS IS CERTAINLY THE CASE OF "THE DIVINE FEUD". I FIRST READ THIS IN 1994 AND WAS HOOKED BY HOW THE PAIR OF ONCE HOTTEST PROPERTIES IN HOLLYWOOD STROVE TO OUTDO EACH OTHER AT EVERY TURN, AND IN EVERY WAY IMAGINABLE. MAN STEALING, ROLE PINCHING, VIOLENT EXCHANGES ON THE SET OF "BABY JANE", AND HOW THE PAIR ENDED THEIR LIVES ON NOT SO HIGH NOTES. ITS ALL HERE. A TRULY GOOD READ EVEN IF YOU'RE ONLY A MINOR FAN, AND IF YOU ARE ALREADY A FAN AN EXCELLENT REFERENCE PIECE FOR THEIR OLD MOVIE RERUNS ON LATE NIGHT TV. BUY IT !

Fabulous read
This book is a fantastic read, I had no knowledge or interest in these two actresses before I picked up the book for something to do..and could not put down. The author sights many different points of reference and writes in witty, logical and engaging way, trying hard to be impartial as to his feelings of the legends (although in my opinion one of the actresses comes off as a slightly more likeable character). Fast paced and informative, you oculdn't make some of these true stories up! Makes you look at Hollywood in a different way.