Joan Crawford Questions

1. What do you think is the best Joan Crawford bio? I've already read The Divine Feud and looooved it!!! Is there another one that's a definitive Joan bio that is longer than 350 pages????
2. Were the films Daisy Kenyon, The Damned Don't Cry, Harriet Craig and This Woman Is Dangerous commercially successful????

1. I really like The Divine Feud, too. Unlike some Joan biographers, author Considine backs up his material with extensive source notes, and his research into the whole Hush Hush debacle is especially in-depth and insightful.

Personally, I think four must-reads for Joan fans are the Bob Thomas bio, Alexander Walker's The Ultimate Star, Conversations with Joan Crawford, and The Last Years by Carl Johnes. (None, though, are longer than 350 pages.) Thomas's book is a nice overview of her life and career, unbiased and solid. Walker's book is what made me a fan in the first place---he's a very good writer and his psychological insights into Joan seem spot-on. Plus, he had access to MGM files, so there's lots of interesting, hard-core info, along with tons of great photos. Conversations---Joan in her own no-holds-barred words; nuff said! And The Last Years is a short memoir of Joan in her latter days by an assistant who became a friend and backgammon companion; his memories are warm, but he's also honest about Joan's shortcomings. You really get a sense of her actual personality here.

2. Regarding box office: The only film of those you mentioned that I have numbers for is The Damned Don't Cry. It cost $1.233 million to make. Domestic gross was $1.54 million. Foreign gross, $671,000. (For a total of $2.211 million.) Source: The William Schaefer Ledger, Appendix 1 (1995). See this site's Box Office page for all of the numbers that I've been able to confirm. If anyone has any box office figures for the films Tina mentioned, please e-mail me and I'll add the info here and to the Box Office page.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your excellent website dedicated to the life and career of Miss Joan Crawford.

I have a couple of questions pertaining to "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?"

Firstly, what is the name of the instrumental song being played while Blanche (Joan Crawford) is typing out her letter to Mrs. Bates (Anna Lee) seeking help? The song can be heard again towards the end of the film when the sisters are on the beach.

Secondly, Bette Davis always claimed that Miss Crawford had somehow waged a campaign to prevent her (Davis) from winning the Best Actress Oscar for "Jane." Any truth to her allegations? Bette Davis could never be accused of being humble; she felt she deserved to win that Oscar, period. Towards the end of her life, Miss Davis actually stated in an interview that Miss Crawford contacted the New York members of the Academy and requested that they not vote for her (Davis). I doubt that even Joan Crawford had that much influence with the Academy of Arts and Sciences. However, it is interesting to note that Miss Crawford had agreed to accept Best Actress Oscars for the other nominees who were not present (Geraldine Page) in particular, I believe. Miss Crawford did accept of course, for Anne Bancroft for "The Miracle Worker." Bette Davis seemed to have made the most of this.

Anyway, I wish you and your "panel of experts" the best of luck answering these questions and continue the good work, Ms. Jones.

The song you're referring to is "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" It was released twice in 1962 as a single: as an instrumental by the Charmers on Terrace Records, and with the same twist tempo on MGM Records, this time with lyrics sung by Bette Davis and Debbie Burton. Frank DeVol was the composer of the tune.

The www.soundtrackfan.com website has this info from the Warners pressbook released at the time:

POP TWIST RECORDINGS - Providing you with an unusual opportunity in conjunction with a picture of sheer suspense like WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? are two recordings which should have wide appeal to disc jockeys and their audiences as well as juke box patrons and record buyers.

Two of Frank DeVol's haunting themes from the film have been recorded in Twist tempo with vocals! MGM is releasing a single featuring the voice of Bette Davis along with Debbie Burton in a Twist version of "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" On the flip side little Miss Burton sings the parodic "I've Written a Letter To Daddy," which is Miss Davis' theme throughout the picture. The Charmers have also recorded "What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?" as a Twist for Terrace Records. Play these records in your lobby and during intermission in advance of your engagement. Alert disc jockeys and record stores to their unique potential.

Want to see Bette Davis actually singing this song? Check out this YouTube link to her hilarious performance on the Andy Williams show in December 1962!

Regarding whether or not Joan campaigned against Bette: Despite Bette's claims, there's no evidence to support this. While Joan was indeed a huge publicity hound (hence her wrangling to accept the Best Actress Oscar for anyone who wasn't present), Joan was also a hard-headed and astute businesswoman who happened to own a percentage of Baby Jane. As such, she knew full well that any awards for the film, even for Davis, would boost business, and thus her own profits.

Davis continued to make her accusations throughout her life---see this 1981 YouTube interview with her on The Tonight Show:

While Bette's Baby Jane stories made for good press, they remain factually suspect. For instance, in the above clip, she claimed that after Joan accepted Bancroft's Oscar, Joan then traveled around the world with it for over a year before giving it back to Bancroft! In fact, the Oscars were held on 4/8/63 that year. And Joan delivered the statue to Bancroft on 5/7/63, during the latter's rehearsals for the play Mother Courage. That's about 11 months shy of a year!

Can you trace the history/ownership of Joan's Academy Award? Who got it when she died? Where is it now?

Joan's daughter Cathy LaLonde got the Oscar when Joan died. She sold it in 1994 at a Christie's auction for $68,500 to an anonymous bidder. (Since then, various rumors have been swirling regarding the buyer---could it be Madonna, Michael Jackson, Steven Spielberg? Bets, perhaps, on the latter!)

In researching your question, I've come across heights ranging from 5'3" to 5'4-1/2." A sampling of sources:

I recently bought a dress form and it had 2 names signed at the top. One was Joan Crawford and the other one is Aileen McMahon. Do you know who Aileen McMahon is? Maybe she was one of the characters she played.

Judy, I just double-checked the list of Joan's character names on the Films and TV pages, and it's not the name of a character Joan played. After doing a search online for "Aileen McMahon" and not finding anything, I asked the question of this site's message board. One theory (thanks, Cynthia) is that whoever wrote the name on the dress form (looks like Joan's handwriting) misspelled "Aline McMahon"'s first name. Aline was a character actress who appeared with Joan in 1935's I Live My Life. I'm not sure, though, why Joan would have to share a dress form!

Cliff, I think you might be referring to 1955's Queen Bee, where Joan's character Eva says to her cousin Jenny, "And smile a lot--make character with people!" (Thanks to Julie R. for the quote.)

Hi Sarah. I think you're thinking of the May 10, 1984, memorial ad placed in Variety, pictured here to the left.

Unfortunately, I don't have a larger or clearer photo of the ad, so I can't read all of the names of the signers. The Essential Biography reports that the names include Joan's daughters Cathy and Cynthia and their family members, the designer Valentino, Myrna Loy, MGM's Dore Freeman, Joan's goddaughter Joan Evans Weatherly and her husband Kirby, Joan biographer Alexander Walker, Cesar Romero, and Joan's secretaries Betty Barker and Florence Walsh.

It's probably true. In a 2003 Monroe bio by Matthew Smith, who had access to transcripts of taped conversations between Monroe and her psychiatrist, Marilyn is quoted from the tapes as saying RE Joan:

Oh yes, Crawford. We went to her house from a cocktail party, feeling no pain. We went to the bedroom and went down on each other. Crawford had a gigantic orgasm and shrieked like a maniac. Next time I saw her she wanted another round. I told her straight out I didn't enjoy it much, doing it with a woman. After I turned her down she became spiteful.

Monroe was named "Fastest Rising Star of 1952" by Photoplay in '53, and at the magazine's awards dinner that year, she arrived in a provocatively tight, low-cut gold dress that drew sustained whistles from the assembled guests. Joan's public "spite" exhibited itself when she told friend/reporter Bob Thomas that evening, "It was the most shocking display of bad taste I have ever seen. Look, there's nothing wrong with my tits, but I don't go around throwing them in people's faces." In an article widely published the next day, Thomas quoted Joan further:

Certainly her picture isn't doing business, and I'll tell you why. Sex plays a tremendously important part in every person's life. People are interested in it, intrigued with it. But they don't like to see it flaunted in their faces. Kids don't like her. Sex plays a growingly important part in their lives, too; and they don't like to see it exploited. And don't forget the women. They're the ones who pick out the movie entertainment for the family. They won't pick anything that won't be suitable for their husbands and children. The publicity has gone too far, and apparently Miss Monroe is making the mistake of believing her publicity... She should be told that the public likes provocative feminine personalities; but it also likes to know that underneath it all the actresses are ladies....

Before Monroe's transcript was made public, vague stories about a sexual encounter between the two had been surfacing for years in various Joan bios, most describing it as a drunken pass that Joan had made at Monroe that was rebuffed. Alleged years for this occurrence vary in the books, as does the time and location---a 1953 Sunday brunch at Joan's (Last Word), dinner at Joan's (Divine Feud), a 1948 cocktail party at Joan's (Crawford's Men). All stories involved Joan offering wardrobe advice and dresses for Monroe to try on; in some versions Marilyn disrobes, in some she doesn't. (In Marilyn's own highly sanitized version, the two met up... at church!)

Hi Kenton. Unfortunately, I don't know her exact favorite soaps. Though, according to the Bob Thomas bio: "She loved the daytime serials and often spotted promising young performers; she copied their names from the credits and sent them letters of admiration."

The Thomas bio also says that in the '70s Joan liked to watch Walter Cronkite, Bonanza, The Waltons (her favorite show), and even the Saturday morning kids' shows. Carl Johnes's bio confirms Joan's love of The Waltons and also mentions another favorite, LIttle House on the Prairie.

Hi - does anyone have any information on Joan's NY apts? Is the building where Alfred and Joan's "Pepsi" apt was still there? If so - whatever became of the apt? Also is Imperial House still around? Seems to me I read that it had been demolished.

Hi Dana. Yes, both buildings are still there. (I've been to both of them---see the Geography page of this site for photos.)

The "Pepsi apartment" is located at 2 East 70th Street at Fifth Avenue. Though I don't know who now lives in the apartment or if it's been renovated since Joan moved out in 1967.

And Imperial House, where Joan lived from '67 until her death in 1977, is at 150 East 69th Street, between Lexington and Third Avenues. Click here to see its current real estate listing. (Many people think Imperial House has been demolished because that's what the findadeath.com site incorrectly reports.)

I bought this photo of Joan Crawford at an estate sale in Los Angeles and was wondering if you know anything about it. Who the photographer may be, what movie it may be from. I love your website! Thanks for your time.

Hi Shari, and thanks for the compliment on the site. (And congrats on your beautiful new picture!) This is a screen shot from the 1933 film Dancing Lady, co-starring Joan and Clark Gable, directed by Robert Z. Leonard. The movie was released on DVD last year---it's a charmer, a perfect example of Joan in her MGM heyday; you should definitely see! This scene is particularly cute, part of a neatly edited montage: Joan's character is chasing Gable all over town, trying to get an audition for his show. Here, he's just run across the street, leaving her to get splashed by a passing vehicle...

1. I noted in two or three of Joan's letters from the early 1960's (right after Baby Jane) Joan mentioned she was going to do Lady in a Cage. Do you or anyone know what happened with this one and how it ended up Olivia did the picture? It's one of the campiest of the Psycho Biddy movies and one of my favorites.

2. Also, does anyone know when was the last time Joan went to Los Angeles?

3. And, does anyone know when she gave up her West Hollywood apartment? Did she actually come out the time she kicked La Tina out of the West Hollywood digs?

The IMDb "Trivia" section for the 1964 film Lady in a Cage claims that "Joan Crawford was reportedly offered Olivia de Havilland's role first but turned it down because she'd just played a victimized invalid in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)." No source for this info is quoted, though, and I cannot confirm it from any other sources.

(When I checked the Letters section of this site, I only found one letter that mentioned she had plans to do Lady: a July 10, 1962, letter to socialite friend Frances Spingold, in which she says Baby Jane will begin shooting on July 23 for 4 weeks, then she plans on going to New York to get the twins enrolled in school, then back to LA to begin filming of Lady.)

2. RE Joan at the West Hollywood apartment (8008 West Norton Ave.) and her last time in Los Angeles:

One way I've been able to partially track Joan's whereabouts is from the return address of her letters. In the Letters section of this site, the last letter that I saw with the West Norton return address was dated September 9, 1975. There's also a letter dated May 7, 1976, that doesn't show the return address, but does say "We in Los Angeles will see the treasures from King Tut's tomb next year..." Indicating that she was living there at that time.

According to Christina in Mommie Dearest, Joan did not personally come to LA to kick her out. Joan had offered Christina the use of the West Norton apartment in June 1970, when Christina decided to leave New York to again pursue acting in LA. About 6 weeks after she'd moved in, Christina got a call from Joan's LA secretary saying that Joan was coming out to do a show and that Christina had two days to move out. When Christina tried to reach her mother in NYC for an explanation, Joan remained incommunicado (and ended up not coming to LA for another couple of months). After Christina found a new place to live, she finally reached her mother to give her her new address and phone number: "Mother behaved as though nothing unusual had happened. The secretary told me that the locks and phone number at the apartment were changed after my departure, yet Mother acted as though everything was normal."

Apparently Joan was aware of the book. In the 2002 bio Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography, authors William Schoell and Lawrence Quirk write (pp. 257-258):

"During one teary late-night phone conversation, Joan confided to Larry Quirk that she was afraid Christina was going to write a book, a terrible book, about her after she was dead, if not before. It had gotten back to her that Christina was asking friends of Joan's for 'dirt' on her mother. For instance, she asked several people if they thought that Joan was having a lesbian relationship with a red-headed female fan who had helped her pack up her belongings when she moved from the penthouse (she wasn't). 'I just know she wants to use it all for a book or something worse,' Joan cried. Quirk assured her this was unlikely--'It's probably just simple curiosity on her part,' he said--and asked her why she thought Christina would do such a thing. 'Surely she knows, whatever your faults, that you love her and have done all that you could for her?' Quirk asked. Joan replied, 'You don't know Tina. She can be very vindictive. She throws things in my face. She says she's seen things I wouldn't want my fans to know about. She's threatened me. To get money out of me. To get me to talk to people when I know it won't do any good. You don't know what that girl is capable of. She's been out to get me ever since I made her stand on her own two feet.' Quirk passed it off as a paranoid delusion on Joan's part, never dreaming that Joan knew exactly what she was talking about."

[On this site's TV page] I notice references to non-existent TV movies such as "Beyond The Water's Edge" or a guest appearance on "The Name Of The Game." These are things that I can find no documentation on. Even Imdb.com mentions them but with no information. Any explanation?

I think both of those items are Crawford urban myths. There seems to be no documentation of either... certainly her voluminous letters would have unearthed a mention. Another show, " Woman on the Run," was to be filmed but never went forward. A lot of folks seem to think these were filmed but I am pretty sure it's wishful thinking. IMDB can have things added to it by anyone...and they have a lot of Crawford things wrong...for instance, I know for a fact she made only 1 appearance on David Frost and IMDB has her down for like 3...go figure.

I have been a LOYAL fan and defender of Joan Crawford for many years. She was my mother's favorite actress from the late 1920s up to my mother's death last year at age 93. I have most of her films on DVD and tapes, and also copies from TCM.

I am especially interested in her early films (1929 thru 1934 pre-code.) My question or questions: When will they release Letty Lynton from 1932? Also, Sally, Irene and Mary was a silent with Joan made in, I believe, 1926. Will that film be available on DVD soon along with Letty?

Joan Crawford was a "damn good actress" as quoted from TCM. Why in the world can't more critics and film historians give her the credit she deserves???? Tell me it can't be because a jealous and hateful daughter wrote a book full of lies and innuendo?????

First, regarding Letty: See this column's December '07 Letty question for details on why the film, at least for the forseeable future, will not be released on DVD. (In short, at the time of its initial release, there was a plagiarism lawsuit against the film, which MGM lost. This prevented its re-release at the theaters and is preventing its release on DVD today.)

RE Sally, Irene, and Mary: I have not heard anything about a potential DVD release for this silent film. (Background Notes: It was released nationally on 12/7/25 and co-starred Joan with Constance Bennett, Sally O'Neil, William Haines, and Douglas Gilmore.)

RE your last rhetorical question(s): Joan seems to have initially fallen out of favor with both critics and the general public in the 1950s, when new actors like Brando were perceived as being more "authentic," and actors like Joan as being "artificial" and "irrelevant." (Some of Joan's films at the time like "Goodbye My Fancy" and "Torch Song" certainly didn't help matters any.) Bosley Crowther, the influential chief critic for the New York Times in the '50s and '60s, was a one-man anti-Joan crusader; I am unable to find ONE review of his that has anything positive to say about her. (Sure, some of her '50s films are overwrought; yet it's hard to honestly say that Joan did not have her good/great moments in many, even the worst, of these films. That Crowther was constantly negative indicates an overt, rather laughable bias.) He singlehandedly set a constant anti-Joan critical tone that many other sheeplike critics picked up on and repeated. I think his influence, combined with the later distorted view of Joan in "Mommie Dearest," has indeed affected how people have responded to her onscreen.

This past extremely unfair critical assessment seems to be under revision today, thankfully. While present-day "Mommie Dearest"-fueled snarky critical comments persist among the uninformed, the tide seems to be turning as a new generation of writers (thinking independently, not lazily basing easy opinions on MD) come to the fore of leading, opinion-influencing publications. In addition, noted filmmakers like Bertolucci, Godard, Truffaut, and Scorsese (and upstarts like Guy Maddin) are on record as lauding both Joan and her films---their praise is intellectually freeing up modern-day critics to admit that Joan Crawford is indeed a very good actress!

Just as anecdotal evidence, I've only been living in New York City for 11 months, but already have seen Joan's films featured at such "respectable joints" as the Museum of Modern Art ("Flamingo Road") and the Film Forum ("Daisy Kenyon"). Not to mention the many Joan-films screened in 2007 for the campier crowd at the Chelsea Cinema ("Johnny Guitar," "The Best of Everything," "The Women," "Harriet Craig," "Strait-Jacket"). As evidenced by the diverse forums that are currently screening her films and the packed houses that are attending them, Joan's appeal as an actress obviously transcends both time, Crowther, and the 1970s distortion of her image by her disgruntled daughter.

If Joan weren't both a very good actress and a powerful screen presence, we wouldn't be here today still talking about her. Rumors and biases and camp aside, it's her WORK that stands out, and stands up, today.

Background info: Joan's daughter Christina had the role of "Joan Borman Kane" on The Secret Storm CBS soap. When Christina fell ill in the fall of 1968, Joan volunteered to take over her role during the week of October 21 through the 25th. While Joan's performance was reportedly embarrassing, the ratings that week also shot through the roof.

A Joan TV historian, Tom Clark, says today re "Secret Storm": "I know for a fact that the Secret Storm master tape was erased to be reused."

I have a few questions and tho they may not be fully answered it's nice to know i can share them with other fans and see their thoughts.

1. Myth or fact? I've read in the biography by Bob Thomas saying that Crawford turned down appearing in Yankee Doodle Dandy with James Cagney. She said she was too old, and to give it to Joan Leslie. Is that really true? She wasn't at Warners yet and i know she was friends with Cagney but it just does not seem she would have been offered that part.

2. While on that topic of roles she might have been offered, turned down or wanted. I often wonder why she wasn't included as a guest star in the first That's Entertainment! 1974. Not offered? Turned down? She was still active, seems sad that she wasn't a part of it since she is so identified with that studio.

3. There is a picture taken of MGM Stars and Boss, from 1943; in some captions it mentions stars that were absent, most obvious Judy Garland, Lana Turner and of course Joan Crawford. Any info on why she wasn't present at that once-in-a-lifetime moment? I don't think she had left the studio yet or maybe knew she would soon and didn't want to be a part of it?

1. The 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' Joan Crawford casting is more than likely a big, old myth. She was not at Warners yet, and MGM was not too keen on loaning out their top stars (with the exception of replacing the late Carole Lombard in Columbia 's 'They All Kissed the Bride'), although Joan, at that point, had drifted into glorified B pictures as MGM was pushing her off the lot. Also, Joan would have been forced to accept second billing, and play second fiddle to James Cagney--why would any superstar commit to that?

2. Joan was more than likely not asked to make 'That's Entertainment' because she was not considered as 'good' as Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. Both considered her 'Torch Song' the worst musical ever made and often made cracks about Joan's clunky dancing (though Kelly often copied little bits and pieces from Joan's 'Dancing Lady' and Fred Astaire owes his entire career to that film.) Since you mentioned �That�s Entertainment� I just want to say that it is undoubtedly the worst form of self-promotion and cockiness that I�ve ever viewed. Basically, it�s Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire telling each other how good Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire were, and they replay their own dancing clips in all three versions. Show something else and other people for a change (like Joan's tap dancing in 'Dance, Fools, Dance). Not only that, but they totally dismissed the early talking musicals as, �Not very good, but had some originality.� While those might not be the best, one certainly cannot dismiss the early MGM musicals (or the Busby Berkeley musicals at Warner Brothers) like �That�s Entertainment� chooses to do. Both Kelly and Asatire copied much from those early films, especially Joan�s �Dancing Lady� (look at what became of the final song, �Singin� in the Rain�, from �The Hollywood Revue of 1929': Kelly stole the song and never really gave any credit to the original). Getting back to your question, I honestly think it�s a good thing that Joan didn�t appear in that. Besides, they totally cut her signing out of the clip where she and Astaire dance. If one saw only that clip, they would have thought Fred Astaire was the real star, when he was just a bit player. Norma Shearer threatened to file a lawsuit against MGM for that film, because they did the same to her, but leaving only brief shots of her watching Clark Gable perform 'Puttin' on the Ritz' from 1939's 'Idiot's Delight'. (She wanted her reaction shots deleted entirely, insisting they made her appear as if she was only a bit player, but the studio refused, insisting that the film had already been duplicated for theatrical release.)

3. Joan was more than likely not present for that picture because she was already planning on ditching the studio. Why get attached with photos when she planned on leaving anyway? Not sure about Judy and Lana, though I think Judy was already having problems as early as 1943 which might have affected her that day, but she did appear in other stock photographs (one is the cover of �The MGM Stock Company�, and Judy is on that).

But, alas, she was turning down everything at this point in her life. This is documented in Charles Castle's book I believe.

I noticed that the site doesn't have an encyclopedia entry for it, so I'm left with a few questions---and I hope you will be kind enough to answer them. From what I gather, Joan was originally cast as 'Josephita Guerrero', but was replaced by Ren�e Ador�e in the role. What's the story on Joan being replaced? And most importantly: Was Joan's version ever completed? I ask this because the IMDb makes it seem as if Joan's version was completed and both versions were released, but I figured Joan just shot a few scenes, was replaced, and that was that. I'm so confused! LOL!

As far as I know, Joan was just initially slated to star in the 1929 film, then replaced by Adoree, as you mentioned. Despite what the IMDb reports, I'm not aware of a "Joan version" of the film ever being released. (For publicity pictures of Joan as "Josephine Guerrero" shot by Ruth Harriet Louise, see this site's 1928 photo page.)

I'm pretty sure filming for 'Tide of Empire' started right after 'Our Dancing Daughters'. 'Daughters' was an unexpected smash hit as was her 'Dream of Love' and 'Our Modern Maidens', all of which shot Joan up to immediate stardom. 'Tide of Empire' was to be yet another mediocre film, a role any starlet on the MGM lot could play. When 'Daughters' made Joan an overnight sensation, she was too big of a star to play basically some low-class, B-movie, and therefore was replaced by a starlet more capable of working in such a dud which would go unnoticed.

1. The Warner Years

Barbara Stanwyck was said to be a close friend of Joan. Shaun Considine said in "The Divine Feud" that both stars socialized during the 30's and were in frequent contact over the next decades. But I never ever found something about the mid 40's, when Joan signed with Warner's and joined Stanwyck, who just returned to the studio on the basis of a non-exclusive contract. Stanwyck wanted to play Mildred Pierce and Joan got the part. But did the two stars share some time together in those years? Was everything just hearts and flowers between them? Or was there any competition between Joan and Missy like the "feud" Crawford had with Davis over the title "Queen of the lot"?

2. Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte

When Joan sent the production of 'Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte' into a limbo, she was not afraid of being replaced by another actress. Considine quotes Your Own Joan as follows:

"They approached Loretta Young and Barbara Stanwyck. Both are friends of mine and wouldn't dream of taking a part away from me."

Stanwyck always vehemently denied she was ever offered the part (see her interview with John Kobal in "People Will Talk"). According to Stanwyck, Aldrich wanted her to give a short cameo but Mary Astor took over in the end.

Was Joan just misquoted by Considine or was she too ill to get the things right?

Stanwyck and Joan were friends dating back to the 1920s, when Stanwyck and silent-star husband Frank Faye lived next door to Joan. At that time, Stanwyck would literally climb over the fence between their homes to escape Faye's abuse. (

The two were perhaps more than just friends: Stanwyck's press agent Helen Ferguson is quoted as saying "There is no doubt in my mind that Joan and Barbara were intimate on more than one occasion."

In the '30s, Stanwyck and husband Robert Taylor were frequently photographed out at clubs with Joan and husband Franchot Tone.

After Joan's Oscar win for "Mildred," Stanwyck sent a nice note. And the two were frequently photographed together in the '50s.

The two carried on a correspondence and continued to see each other through the 1970s. (See the Letters section of this site for specific letters from Joan to Stanwyck--12/22/62, 8/21/65, 3/7/74. See also the Shirley Eder entry of this site's Encyclopedia for detailed info on Joan and Stanwyck's interactions in the 1970s. Said reporter Eder: "It's a strange friendship, but nevertheless it's real.")

RE Hush and Stanwyck: Joan says they offered Stanwyck her part, Stanwyck mentions only that she was offered a cameo. If I had to pick one account, probably Joan was being dramatic, after hearing that Stanwyck was contacted. My favorite account of an actress contacted to replace Joan in this movie remains Vivien Leigh's : "No, thank you. I can just about stand looking at Joan Crawford's face at six o'clock in the morning, but not Bette Davis."

My question is-What ever happened to Joan's footage from Hush...Hush,Sweet Charlotte? This is kind of like the Holy Grail for me; as good as the movie is, I always think how much better it might be if Joan hadn't bowed out of it. With all the director's cut dvd's that are being released, who knows, maybe the discarded footage could be included just for comparison. Thanks again for your awesome work online-I check it out at least once a day!

Considering how valuable the footage would be, my guess is, and this is merely a guess, that the footage was destroyed.

Actual filming started on June 1st, but Joan Crawford's scenes weren't shot until June 3rd and her filming ended (due to her own insistence on being `sick') on June 12th after being abandoned by cast and crew in her trailer (ouch!). There probably wasn't much filmed anyway, and it's more than likely the footage ended up on the cutting room floor [because such footage might have hurt the film].

In all Davis/Crawford documentaries, the rare photographs from 'Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte' are shown, but no footage. The reason for that is because it was more than likely destroyed for financial purposes. Had the film survived, no doubt that Fox would have included it on the DVD because today, and a bit ironically, sales would have shot through the roof because of campy fans who wanted to see the last pairing of filmdom's reigning Queen Bees.