What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962 film) films "Parachute Jumper" and "Ex-Lady" (both 1933) and the Joan Crawford film "Sadie McKee" (1934) was used to represent the film acting of Jane and Blanche respectively. The character of Liza, Mrs. Bates' daughter, was played by Davis' real-life daughter B. D. Merrill. After Joan Crawford's daughter Christina wrote the best-selling tell-all book "Mommie Dearest", Merrill published a memoir that depicted her mother in an unfavorable light. Crawford was scheduled to appear alongside Davis on a publicity tour of "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" but cancelled at the last minute. Davis claimed that Crawford backed out because she did
Bette and Joan: The Divine Feud Bette Davis, notorious for refusing to bow to the studio bosses, were two of the biggest Hollywood stars of their time. Their rivalry exploded during their work together on the horror film "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" and became a public feud that lasted the rest of their lives. Based on interviews the author conducted with both actresses and more than a decade of research, the book shows the hard-drinking, hard-fighting, and fading stars at their best and worst. The Crawford-Davis rivalry is the inspiration for the 2017 Ryan Murphy TV series "Feud." Crawford is played by Jessica Lange