Bette Davis film, "Lady for a Day"), based on a story by Damon Runyon. She accepted her next role, in the Grand Guignol horror film "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" (1962), after reading the script and believing it could appeal to the same audience that had recently made Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" (1960) a success. She negotiated a deal that would pay her 10% of the worldwide gross profits in addition to her salary. The film became one of the year's biggest successes. Davis and Joan Crawford played two aging sisters, former actresses forced by circumstance to share a decaying Hollywood mansion.
Bette Davis Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. With a career spanning 60 years, she is regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films, suspense horror, and occasional comedies, although her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas. After appearing in Broadway plays, Davis moved to Hollywood in the summer of 1930. However,