BETTE VS JOAN:HOLLYWOOD'S FAMOUS FEUD

Hollywood itself could not have scripted a better plot than the real life feud between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford

It boiled over when the ageing stars appeared in 1963's psychological thriller 'Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?'

The feud began 30 years earlier when Joan Crawford's divorce upstaged Bette Davis' milestone starring role in 'Ex-Lady'

Two years later, Bette Davis fell in love with co-star Franchot Tone – he married Joan Crawford

The decades that followed were marked by the actresses undermining and bad-mouthing each other

In 1952, Bette played a thinly-veiled depiction of Joan as a fading actress in 'The Star'

In spite of the bitter rivalry, Bette and Joan agreed to co-star in 'Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?'

Filming was fraught – Bette hit Joan for real in a scene, Joan weighted herself in one where Bette had to drag her

After the film released, Bette was nominated for an Oscar and Joan was not. More drama ensued

Joan campaigned against Bette and also arranged with other nominees to collect the Oscar on their behalf

It worked – Bette lost to Anne Bancroft who couldn't attend. Joan accepted Anne's Oscar

Bette vs Joan was documented in the series 'Feud,' starring Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange