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
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962 film) not want to share the stage with her. In a 1972 telephone conversation, Crawford told author Shaun Considine that after seeing the film she urged Davis to go and have a look. When she failed to hear back from her co-star, Crawford called Davis and asked her what she thought of the film. Davis replied, "You were so right, Joan. The picture is good. And I was terrific." Crawford said, "That was it. She never said anything about my performance. Not a word." Considine alleges that this incident and Davis' refusal to acknowledge her acting ability led Crawford to cancel