Joan Or Bette: Who Was The Biggest Bitch?

Definitely Bette!

Joan's enormous neediness made her seek out new friends constantly and insured her generosity towards her colleagues, even to younger female stars in her films like Ann Blyth, Diane Baker and Betsy Palmer. Apparently, her film crews all loved her and she knew each one on them by name (especially the men!).

Bette was naturally a loner and suspicious of everyone. A mean drunk! Just ask Celeste Holm.

Nevertheless, I would rather watch Bette interviewed over Joan. Bette was smarter and funnier and far more honest than Joan.

"Why am I so good at playing bitches? Because I'm not a bitch. That's why Joan Crawford always plays ladies." -- Bette Davis

If Joan didn't like you, she'd be fake-nice to your face, but talk trash about you once you left the room. Then she'd pick up the phone and get her minions to make your life a living hell.

If Bette didn't like you, she'd tell you. And, she'd make your life a living hell herself.

Definitely Bette. She was born a bitch and liked it that way. Joan became a bitch as she fought for career survival and was overcome by her neuroses. There are stories of Joan's kindness to people but I've never come across any of Bette. Frank Langella tells a story of seeing Bette in her last years telling her secretary to "Get the car". He says that the way she said it he would not have been surprised if she'd added "...or I'll KILL you!"

By many accounts, Celeste can be a nasty piece of work herself.

Now, now, girls...you're both big bitches.

[quote]Just ask Celeste Holm.

Why would anyone ask that legendary bitch about ANY of her costars? You don't seem to be up on your Celeste lore, dear.

[quote]Joan Or Bette: Who Was The Biggest Bitch?

BIGGER, not biggest, you dumb twat.

R8 learn to speak English and then maybe you could correct someone. You simply failed with your blunder. He didn't make a mistake, you are the twat! Go and hide under a table, uneducated boorish fuck. I hate your kind. You correct others without knowing the right answer yourself!

R8 Thank you! Today's lesson is on comparatives and superlatives.

If Joan hadn't adopted those kids she never would have been perceived to be a monster. She had impeccable manners and was a consummate professional.

I think Christina was a spoiled brat and Christopher had emotional problems (the other two don't recollect bad things about their mother). This all happened when Joan's star was fading and the stress was too much for her- she often snapped.

R8: Dumb twat? Really? Would you say that to the OP's face? It sounds as if you are the biggest bitch of them all.

Christina is actually a homophobe too.

IMO, CRAWFORD was the bigger. She had a real mean streak in her.

Bette all the way

Use a poll, dummy.

"Joan became a bitch as she fought for career survival and was overcome by her neuroses."

Neuroses? More like psychosis...and 100 proof VODKA.

Crawford was a horrible person.

I would sure as hell want me an old school New England style Yankee bitch like Miss Bette Davis as a friend over Joan Crawford most any day of the week.

Where's the "Oh, dear" grammar cunt to remind us that it should be "Who was the bigger bitch"?

I'll vote for Bette. I think she had NPD. Maybe they both did but I think Joan was more damaged from her ghastly childhood than Bette was - so 'maybe' for Joan, it was just hopeless for her to be well balanced from the start -- from what little I know of Bette, she was just a spoiled brat from the get go who abused her sister (maybe mother as well?) Anyhow, sounds more like personality disordered from childhood to me (a la Trump) and I'll give Joan a break in thinking that her bizarre rough childhood just screwed her over too much and it wasn't necessary a PD, or at least it's a more understandable case, a la Marilyn Monroe. Maybe the latter two are borderline - but Bette was likely pure bitch from childhood (imo) - wired in the brain or pampered into it.

Many reasons I prefer Bette's bitchiness over Joan's. Bette wasn't fake at all. Joan was so desperate to please, she was fake to everyone, and bitchy behind their backs - except her chirrens.

r20 Actually, that's my job. I'm sorry I let you down.

I feel that Bette was more of a bitch than Joan. Joan was the one who first pitched 'Whatever Happened to Baby Jane' to Bette, and the role reinvigorated Bette's career. In return, when they were set to start filming 'Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte', Bette made Joan so miserable with her antics (having a Coke machine installed on the set, for example), that Joan threw in the towel, which was uncharacteristic of her.

I thought it was interesting that Joan remained friendly with two of her ex-husbands (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr and Franchot Tone), and Tone even entrusted her to be his Executor.