Best Actress 1952, Part 3: Joan Crawford and Bette Davis 

It is chilling how Natalie Wood makes remarks about being thrown into the ocean, while Wagner stands next to her.

I think Crawford should have gotten more credit as an actress with good material she can create a lot of depth in her character.

After Bette Davis' daughter wrote a book about Bette, Bette's attitude toward Joan changed. Bette made it a point to say how professional Joan was, always on time/early, and she always knew her lines. There was a scene Bette watched Joan film where Joan is in a Taxi and rides up this long driveway to the front of the house, gets out, looks at the house and reacts. Bette couldn't believe Joan did it in one take. How did she do it? Bette was stunned.' Bette also said that Joan had a terrible childhood and was self-made woman, and she worked hard to get where she did and Bette said he would never take that away from Joan. So, Bette found a respect for Joan, even an admiration of sorts, although they were two very different actresses with different styles. One thing they both did, was know not just the other actors, but they knew the film crews as well and could hang out and play cards with them. There wasn't so much a rivalry as there were hurt feelings perhaps. One reason could be that Bette Davis fell in love with actor Franchot Tone while making a movie together, but Franchot Tone fell in love with Joan and married Joan. Bette was heartbroken. So, it was more Bette hated Joan. Joan brought Baby Jane to Bette Davis, Joan admired Bette as an actress and wanted to work with her and made it happen.

19:22 what a touching line delivery. Joan's ability to convey so much emotion with just a look is second to none.

Easily amongst the best 2 greatest actresses to ever grace the screen. Both command attention regardless of film.

This essay is AMAZING! I taught a class on Bette Davis at Facets - am a huge fan. I've studied Joan as if I taught a class on her! And I was riveted with every word - I love these ladies but I am TRANSFIXED with FRITZ - his knowledge and delivery is captivating.

I Love them Both. Crawford..was often luminous in her films' close-ups---like photographing Thought. She could be transfixing.

Agree with this - Joan was far better in Sudden Fear than Bette was in Star.

I did enjoy parts of The Star, but it kind of felt like it ends where it should be beginning. I was bracing myself for a huge climax on the first watch and it never came. Sudden Fear, meanwhile, might be one of the best films in Crawford's career ranking somewhere in the Top 5-10 and it remains suspenseful and thrilling even on a re-watch. If Shirley Booth was out of the equation and it was just between Bette and Joan for the Oscar I'd vote Sudden Fear no contest.

Thanks for yet another wildly entertaining and informative video. By coincidence l watched Sudden Fear last night and was struck again by the way Crawford carried the film and overcame the dodgier plot points by dent of her sheer star power. While l find Bette Davis superb in so many of her films it is shocking how poor The Star is in every respect. What an incredible comedown only a couple of years after the magnificent All About Eve. I'm so glad Bette and Joan were able to score their later triumph with What Ever Happened to Baby Jane - two brilliant performances, BOTH of which deserved Academy Award nominations.

I adore Bette Davis. She was such a great actress.

I truly enjoy how you analyze all performances on your videos. I find them very interesting⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really, really agree with the assessments of Joan and Bette's films by the video and commenters views as well: Bette Davis did great films but The Star wasn't one of them, on the other hand, Joan's roles in Queen Bee and Sudden Fear had a lot of psychology involved with the characters and Joan understood the roles splendidly and gave knockout performances. But as one commenter on The Star said: the movie ended where it should have begun, spot on description !!

I have to say that Sudden Fear is one of my favourite films, it may not be perfect but Joan Crawford is wonderful in it and as you said, there is great chemistry between Joan and Jack Palance. I still feel that Joan Crawford is underrated as an actress. You are so right, directors like William Wyler did know how to reign in Bette’s performance when necessary. I love your research that suggested Bette based Margaret Lawrence on Joan Crawford and the irony that Joan outclassed Bette in their nominated films that year. Joan was of course an ultimate star but that didn’t mean that she didn’t take being actress seriously. Of course Bette was a supreme talent and one of her best performances in the 1950s was in The Catered Affair where she plays the wife of a taxi driver ( Ernest Borgnine) who is determined to give their daughter (Debbie Reynolds) a big, expensive wedding even though she just wants a simple one. In this film Bette Davis BECOMES a taxi driver’s wife, it’s a fine performance and it is also a delightful and entertaining film.

One of the BEST in depth reviews of Crawford and Davis' 1952 nominations. The ONLY time they were against eachother for an Oscar. In my book, CRAWFORD gave a better performance. In fact I thought she was better than Shirley Booth that not only was the favorite, but the actual winner that year. Bette's performance in "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane" should have garnered her the Oscar. It was amazing !

With the magnificent performances Joan Crawford has given the public all over the World for many years during her life and for years to come, we have a delightful Actress to enjoy for all our lives.

If Joan had won over Bette that year, Bette would have ripped out every seat in the theatre.

‘’The Star’’ had its problems - mainly casting Sterling Hayden and an abrupt, weak ending - but it’s fun watching Bette portray someone nearing a nervous breakdown, hiding from reality and even engaging in kleptomania. Not her best, but worth a watch - even if only for the Cadillac she impulsively buys.

This is brilliant. I’ve rewatched this at least three times so far. Keep it up 🔥💯🎉

Very astute observation of Bette Davis' performance in The Star!

Awesome Video 💯 GOD Bless You Fritz👍🏼

Again you gave us a splendid review! Don't ever stop doing this. You are a master in it!

Bette Davis was undoubtedly one of the greatest actresses of all times. Jezebel, All About Eve and The Dark Victory are some of her finest movies. We can’t think any other actress doing those roles. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane is remembered only for the lead role played by Bette. Her feud with Joan Crawford and missing Oscar for that role are other reasons for popularity of Baby Jane.

Joan and Bette: Aries women. Bette is my favorite,though. I connect to Bette......lol...I just love her. April Aries...LOL...

my god do i love your channel

I love Joan

Do you think you could do something on Glenda Jackson and her Oscar wins? I've always thought she was fascinating and something of an Oscar anomaly.

All hail the Queen, Joan Crawford!

Great job!

The Star is a turkey and Bette was soooo bad in it. Sudden Fear is a classic and Miss Crawford delivered a fierce Oscar worthy performance. Love them both and I feel Bette had more rang as an actress. But, Bette was a trained stage actress whereas Miss Crawford was not a professionally trained actress and pretty much trained herself on set and studied very hard. IMO Miss Crawford had more presence on the silver screen. "Humoresque" is a great example. The close ups of Crawford give you chills. She's so stunning and again delivered an Oscar worthy performance.

This is a great review of both films and their respective stars. I couldn't agree with you more- Bette's performance was poor considering what she is capable of. Joan shone in Sudden Fear- her best performance from her 1950s period!

Great assessment of these two performances. SUDDEN FEAR is one of Crawford’s best while THE STAR is one of Davis’s worst.

Great video Fritz! Your views about Joan's and Bette's performances in those films are on point! I can't wait to see what you feel about Julie Harris and Shirley Booth!

Although they did not win, I felt that Joan's performance was stronger than Bette. Bette's performance in The Star felt like a parody of All About Eve.

Excellent video essay Fritz. Now I need to re-watch Sudden Fear. Think I'll give The Star a miss...

Wow, he really missed the nuance of Miss Davis' performance in The Star. She KNEW she was playing Bette Davis in the film and she ran with it. Never forget she was a Star, a fading star to be sure, and throughout her career and even after she NEVER saw herself as anything but a STAR. She did not see herself as a 'fading star' even when the whole world did, and she took roles after EVE that played on her reputation as a Star. Her turn in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, could have been Miss Davis playing a grown up Shirley Temple--that's the way the book reads--but she could not do that. She was playing Bette Davis as SHE saw herself IF she had been a child star. In Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte Miss Davis does not play Charlotte, but rather Jezebel as a faded Southern Lady who had nothing in her past but tragic events. As if Jezebel had lost her lover to the Civil War and could not accept it, always waiting for him to come and get her--like in the Tanya Tucker hit song, Delta Dawn, or Miss Havisham in Dicken's novel Great Expectations.

Concerning as to whether the Joan Evans story is true; it definitely is. There is a short interview on you tube where Joan Evans discuss' it. She and her husband were married for over sixty years, I think.

Jack Palance is so hard and angular, he makes Joan look soft and feminine. Great pic! Excellent performances by the three leads.

Crawford deserved the Oscar for Sudden Fear. The finest performance by an actress in Hollywood history in my opinion.

Loved these two women ❤

I can't imagine anyone but you writes the program, but do you also handle the clips? Curious, how long on average you spend putting together a video...like this one for example. Very nice job on the clips and edits here. I once saw Bette Davis when she was going around with an hour montage from her films, then a Q & A. I think by that point she was sour on life or just couldn't wait to get her hands on a strong whiskey once the damned show was over. Imagine bristling because people in the audience (many in her age range, and it is not like we did not have to buy tickets) would talk to her in the familiar and start their question or statement using her first name...Bette (rather than Miss Davis). How many hours had some of those people spent with her at the movies and how many tickets had they bought over decades? You could see the sourness on her face. How small can you be?

Bette deserved at least 4 Academy Awards but The Star is not one of them. I liked Joan Crawford in Sudden Fear but would have been even more pleased with Humoresque or Possessed being her second Oscar.

Unfortunately this edition is not up to Fritz's usual standards. The excessive criticism of "The Star" is way overdone and unwarranted. After all, the performance WAS nominated for an Oscar and praised by many critics. Fritz is off his game here.

Although Bette And Joan were great actresses Bette was the better actress. I dont think Joan could have played Mildred Rogers in Of Human Bondage Or Regina in The Little Foxes.

This guy needs to look at Franchot Tone Bette Davis an Joan Crawford in 1937 and how this feud began with the movie Dangerous!! I'm not going to give the answer let the narrator use his own Faculties if he has them!!

Tha Star is proof positive that Bette Davis had become entirely too confortable allowing her own hype, cliched mannerisms and scenery-chewing self-parody to do the heavy lifting for her on camera, and, predictably enough, it shows. The fact that lazy characterization received a Best Actress Oscar nod is quite simply baffling. Again, 100% hype, 0 substance.

Bette and Joan were never up for an Oscar at the same time. Bette was nominated for Baby Jane, Joan was not. Joan offered to accept the award on behalf of whoever won and wasn't to be there. Anne Bancroft won for The Miracle Worker and was on Broadway at the time and unable to attend, so Joan accepted the Oscar on her behalf. There was no feud between Joan and Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn liked Joan because Joan adopted children and Marilyn had been in an orphanage. Marilyn made a scene coming into a restaurant where Joan was eating, Jerry Lewis got up on a table and howled like a wolf at her, and Joan made a snide comment about it, then first thing in the morning Joan sent Marilyn a bouquet of flowers with a note that read: "Marilyn, I still love you. Joan" Where are you getting all of your twisted "facts" - you seem to be in the area but then miss the mark. Now, someone will watch this and think these stories are true when you are flubbing them.

Great video. Barbara Stanwyck should've been nominated for Clash by Night instead of Bette for the awful The Star. But what a great side by side comparison at 2:40 with Joan a total stunner at 57 and Bette at a blah at 55.

Joan shouldve won that oscar what she did in that movie has been studied by many actresses ... i didnt like bette acting in the star she didnt put all her acting choops and who ever won that oscar her performance isnt memorable

Your point of Bette Davis in the star is exactly why I felt bette wouldn’t get the title as the best actress from the golden age of Hollywood era as it goes largely to Katharine Hepburn mainly bc after the 1940s Bette kept picking horrible movies with notable expectations (all about eve, whatever happened to baby Jane, the nanny) while turning down great roles/movies (a streetcar named desire, the African queen, who’s afraid of Virgina wolf, come back little Sheba) and not making a consistent return to theatre similar tallulah Bankhead she got stuck in being a caricature of her persona and past iconic roles

Fritz. I thoroughly love your channel, these videos, and your well researched ,intelligent analysis of a subject that you age clearly passionate as well as knowledgeable, however I think it’s RICH that you say this performance of Bette Davis is entertaining, but lazy- played on one note with the stylized , sleepwalking performance lacking any characterization, brimming with ego and camp…. Considering you worship K Hepburn who literally did EXACTLY THIS in every film from 1968 until OUTBLLL death….. i suppose we all have blind spots when t comes to our personal DIVA worship..lol😊 🥂

I disagree with you Fritz. The character is almost a parady, she cant stop being a star. . Shes become a caracature. How else could Davis play it but over the top? There ARE women like this in hwood-- like Joan Crawford!!! Bette deserved her is iscar nomination!

I actually tried to sit through "The Star" once. I found parts of it interesting, but overall, abysmal. It is an overblown embarrassment to Davis, lacking all and any subtlety and probably the worst film of her career.

No nonsense woman even OVER FIFTY

Sterling Hayden is there as a hunk, a body. A shorter guy would've matched better w Bette.

Joan was Better than Bette and the Winner Shirley booth

The Star is a mostly terrible film. Davis had a few nice moments but its the beginning of the skid.

@ 17:34... the narrator's hyper-analysis of these 2 fine actresses respective performances in '52, in conjunction w/ his haughty personality & most irritating stacatto, heavily accented voice...makes watching this video 2 its end @ 40:09 UNtenable! MUCH rather watch the actual films, 'The Star' & 'Sudden Fear' &, as an adult, draw my OWN conclusions...!

Bette's hair and makeup is dreadful in Star. I'm surprised she was nominated. A cheap film similar to a TV movie of a later date.