Joan Crawford been left near-penniless following Alfred Steele's death, accepted a small role in "The Best of Everything" (1959). Although she was not the star of the film, she received positive reviews. Crawford would later name the role as being one of her personal favorites. By 1961 Joan Crawford was once again her own publicity machine with a new script, "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?", sent by Robert Aldrich. Crawford starred as Blanche Hudson, an elderly, disabled former A-list movie star who lives in fear of her psychotic sister Jane, in the highly successful psychological thriller "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?"
...All the Marbles it's got to be a big star. Get Burt Reynolds and you can shoot the telephone book." Aldrich says his son suggested Peter Falk, best known for "Columbo". "I gave him the Bette Davis speech - a great hook for any actor," said Aldrich, referring to a technique he used to get Davis to star in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane". "It goes like this: 'Peter if this isn't the best script ever written for you put it in an envelope and sent it right back. But if it is the best then lets make it. I don't want you