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the real reason bette hated joan: joan was 2" taller..

posted 10 years ago by anticaria
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crawford: 5'5"

davis: 5'3"

there you have it.. davis' entire psychoneurosis vis a vis crawford was deeply rooted in the fact that joan was both taller and of course infinitely more attractive..

that would explain all the hideously nasty remarks davis is on record making about crawford.. the poor thing must have been crippled with that double insecurity whenever joan was around..

you can sense davis' unhinged nervous laughter in this photo for instance:

http://www.joancrawfordbest.com/62bettewarner07.htm

[by the way, isn't that bird's nest davis is wearing on her head just too precious?]

one can also sense davis' nervous unease at crawford's greater physical stature in this shot:

http://www.joancrawfordbest.com/62bj48.htm

it wasn't the fall from her 16th-floor penthouse that killed her, it was the landing

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[–] anticaria 10 years ago

i imagine the sheer thought of being a short little ugly midget next to joan must've fueled bette's myriad crawford-related nightmares..

sad but true..

it wasn't the fall from her 16th-floor penthouse that killed her, it was the landing

[–] wwedude97 10 years ago

i'm only 4 foot 11 (seriously) so you could imagine how i feel

[–] anticaria 10 years ago

well, I don't think height in and of itself was the issue.. I think what makes someone like bette so insecure is the fact that they're so vindictively competitive, leading them to display a kind of retaliatory inferiority complex vis a vis colleagues whom they might perceive to be taller, more attractive, younger, more popular, more glamorous, or more poised than they themselves are.. and, with the sole exception of the 'age' issue, joan indeed met every single one of the criteria that made bette so insecure around her: taller, more attractive, more popular, more glamorous, and more poised , etc..

you can see it in the 'baby jane' publicity pictures with joan, bette and jack warner.. i.e., joan is very self-assured and comfortable in her own skin while bette seems oddly nervous and ill at ease standing next to an uber glamorous joan, who photographed like a tall, beautiful swan on camera despite only being 5'5"....

bette displayed all the signs of the proverbial 'ugly duckling' syndrome if you will..

it wasn't the fall from her 16th-floor penthouse that killed her, it was the landing

[–] anticaria 10 years ago

monroe, like crawford, was also 5'5" yet photographed in quite statuesque fashion..

perhaps there's something about about iconic stars and that height..

anything shorter than that and you truly must avail yourself of some pretty darn impeccable posture and poise in order to appear taller on camera, something which davis, sadly, only had in very short supply.. which is why she always looks frumpy and short next to stars of such famously regal posture and bearing as crawford..

it wasn't the fall from her 16th-floor penthouse that killed her, it was the landing

[–] rascal67 9 years ago

i'm only 4 foot 11 (seriously) so you could imagine how i feel
_________
Where I grew up, we had a lovely diminutive neighbor who was Christian and would blast this song Four Feet Eleven by a singer called Evie, to lift her up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quPBRwFsljU