This show was nothing like I thought it would be, for when I originally read that Ryan Murphy would be making a mini-series built around the legendary feud between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford that raged during the making of WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE, I figured this would be a camp fest where Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange would claw at each other while doing bad imitations of these icons. Before the first episode was half over, I realized my complete error, as FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN is heartbreaking story of manipulation, ageism, ingratitude, and most of all, the terrible fear of being cast aside and being unwanted and unneeded. It's the story of two formidable women who had built a career in the public spotlight and desperately wanted to hold on to it.
The story opens in the early 60's, when both Davis and Crawford's stars had begun to dim after careers that stretched back to the silent era; Murphy makes it plain that a cruel Hollywood no longer had any use for these women because they were on the wrong side of 50. But I would point out that the melodramas which both women had excelled in and made big box office had gone completely out of style by this time; simply put, no one was making Bette Davis and Joan Crawford movies anymore. Still, it was a time before easy plastic surgery and Botox, and the camera was not kind. It is Crawford, desperate for a hit, who finds a property suited to both her and Davis, takes it to director Robert Aldrich, who sells studio head Jack Warner on the project. These two women, who have been distant and chilly rivals for decades are now working together, and everyone, including Warner and gossip columnist, Hedda Hopper, can't wait for the sparks to fly, mainly because conflict sells newspapers and movie tickets. The two wary Hollywood legends are easily goaded and happy to comply, as perceived slights and resented favoritism by director Aldrich quickly leads to hurled insults, biting put downs and slammed doors as each one attempts to steal BABY JANE from the other. This feud continues as the movie proves to be a smash hit, through the 1963 Academy Awards where Davis was up for Best Actress and the snubbed Crawford schemed to steal the limelight from her, culminating on the set of HUSH HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE, the follow up to BABY JANE, that re-teamed Crawford and Davis, where all out war broke out, a donnybrook that permanently damaged Crawford's career when she faked an illness in an effort to outmaneuver her rival and was fired from the movie.
Murphy and his creators work hard to make FEUD a story of how badly Hollywood treats women, including legends, and how it easily disrespects and uses them; sometimes he pounds this theme too hard as each episode has to have someone make a pointed comment on how badly the movie industry treats the fairer sex. He is so intent on proving his point that sometimes he won't get out of the way and just let the story tell itself. And he desperately wants these two formidable women to be friends, so much so, that he concocts a sequence in the finale where a dying Crawford imagines a reconciliation of sorts with Davis. The truth is, some people are born to be enemies; that hate is a powerful motivator and it is doubtful that Davis and Crawford would ever have been friends under any circumstances.
The acting is truly exceptional starting with the two leads: Sarandon has Davis's clipped Yankee cadence down perfect without ever slipping into caricature, while Jessica Lange, who had the harder job, single handed she rescues the legacy of Joan Crawford from the long shadow of MOMMIE DEAREST. There is an amazing supporting cast bringing to life some famous names from Kennedy era Hollywood, starting with Alfred Molina as the great director Robert Aldrich, a man revered by movie buffs today; Stanley Tucci is the cunning Jack Warner; Judy Davis is Hedda Hopper the gossip columnist who was nobody's friend in the end. There are appearances by Catherine Zeta-Jones as Olivia De Haviland; Kathy Bates is Joan Blondell, friends to both stars who knew the score. Sarah Paulsen is Geraldine Page; Dominic Burgess is Victor Buono and all hail Jackie Hoffman as Mamacita, Joan Crawford's long suffering housekeeper and companion. And there is a cameo by John Waters as producer William Castle.
What is also amazing the incredibly accurate recreations of real life events, including Davis's singing an awful novelty tune on the Andy Williams show to promote BABY JANE; the trailer for Crawford's STRAIT JACKET; and an uncanny recreation of the monkey man mask for Crawford's co-star in TROG, a British horror film that was her last movie. They even recreate one of those awful Dean Martin show roasts that Davis debased herself by taking part in during the 70's. All the eight episodes are a wealth of back story for movie buffs and some truly outstandingly staged and acted scenes; the highlight has to be "And the Winner Is " where Crawford takes over the Green Room at the Oscars. Also in "Abandoned," where Davis and Crawford admit to each other that all of their success was never enough; equally unforgettable is Crawford's night time drunken stagger around the set of TROG as Jim Morrison's The End plays on the soundtrack.
At the end of the first episode, we hear Brenda Lee's "I Want to be Wanted" playing in the background, it seems to perfectly sum up Davis and Crawford's motivation, these lonely women whose careers were their validation; the same could be said of Bob Aldrich, and Jack Warner, and Pauline, Aldrich's female assistant who so badly wanted be a director in her own right. All of these people whose livelihoods depended on being wanted by the American public. It makes for a great story.
The story opens in the early 60's, when both Davis and Crawford's stars had begun to dim after careers that stretched back to the silent era; Murphy makes it plain that a cruel Hollywood no longer had any use for these women because they were on the wrong side of 50. But I would point out that the melodramas which both women had excelled in and made big box office had gone completely out of style by this time; simply put, no one was making Bette Davis and Joan Crawford movies anymore. Still, it was a time before easy plastic surgery and Botox, and the camera was not kind. It is Crawford, desperate for a hit, who finds a property suited to both her and Davis, takes it to director Robert Aldrich, who sells studio head Jack Warner on the project. These two women, who have been distant and chilly rivals for decades are now working together, and everyone, including Warner and gossip columnist, Hedda Hopper, can't wait for the sparks to fly, mainly because conflict sells newspapers and movie tickets. The two wary Hollywood legends are easily goaded and happy to comply, as perceived slights and resented favoritism by director Aldrich quickly leads to hurled insults, biting put downs and slammed doors as each one attempts to steal BABY JANE from the other. This feud continues as the movie proves to be a smash hit, through the 1963 Academy Awards where Davis was up for Best Actress and the snubbed Crawford schemed to steal the limelight from her, culminating on the set of HUSH HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE, the follow up to BABY JANE, that re-teamed Crawford and Davis, where all out war broke out, a donnybrook that permanently damaged Crawford's career when she faked an illness in an effort to outmaneuver her rival and was fired from the movie.
Murphy and his creators work hard to make FEUD a story of how badly Hollywood treats women, including legends, and how it easily disrespects and uses them; sometimes he pounds this theme too hard as each episode has to have someone make a pointed comment on how badly the movie industry treats the fairer sex. He is so intent on proving his point that sometimes he won't get out of the way and just let the story tell itself. And he desperately wants these two formidable women to be friends, so much so, that he concocts a sequence in the finale where a dying Crawford imagines a reconciliation of sorts with Davis. The truth is, some people are born to be enemies; that hate is a powerful motivator and it is doubtful that Davis and Crawford would ever have been friends under any circumstances.
The acting is truly exceptional starting with the two leads: Sarandon has Davis's clipped Yankee cadence down perfect without ever slipping into caricature, while Jessica Lange, who had the harder job, single handed she rescues the legacy of Joan Crawford from the long shadow of MOMMIE DEAREST. There is an amazing supporting cast bringing to life some famous names from Kennedy era Hollywood, starting with Alfred Molina as the great director Robert Aldrich, a man revered by movie buffs today; Stanley Tucci is the cunning Jack Warner; Judy Davis is Hedda Hopper the gossip columnist who was nobody's friend in the end. There are appearances by Catherine Zeta-Jones as Olivia De Haviland; Kathy Bates is Joan Blondell, friends to both stars who knew the score. Sarah Paulsen is Geraldine Page; Dominic Burgess is Victor Buono and all hail Jackie Hoffman as Mamacita, Joan Crawford's long suffering housekeeper and companion. And there is a cameo by John Waters as producer William Castle.
What is also amazing the incredibly accurate recreations of real life events, including Davis's singing an awful novelty tune on the Andy Williams show to promote BABY JANE; the trailer for Crawford's STRAIT JACKET; and an uncanny recreation of the monkey man mask for Crawford's co-star in TROG, a British horror film that was her last movie. They even recreate one of those awful Dean Martin show roasts that Davis debased herself by taking part in during the 70's. All the eight episodes are a wealth of back story for movie buffs and some truly outstandingly staged and acted scenes; the highlight has to be "And the Winner Is " where Crawford takes over the Green Room at the Oscars. Also in "Abandoned," where Davis and Crawford admit to each other that all of their success was never enough; equally unforgettable is Crawford's night time drunken stagger around the set of TROG as Jim Morrison's The End plays on the soundtrack.
At the end of the first episode, we hear Brenda Lee's "I Want to be Wanted" playing in the background, it seems to perfectly sum up Davis and Crawford's motivation, these lonely women whose careers were their validation; the same could be said of Bob Aldrich, and Jack Warner, and Pauline, Aldrich's female assistant who so badly wanted be a director in her own right. All of these people whose livelihoods depended on being wanted by the American public. It makes for a great story.