Bette and Joan The Divine Feud by Shaun Considine Page A
Authors: Shaun Considine
Tags: Fiction
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chinchillas, perched on a little box, eating an apple, her eyes half closed. "She cut the apple into little pieces with a knife," said a reporter. "She would have bitten into it only it would have spoiled her make-up." Her black maid, Ellen, called "L-I-I-I-n" by the star, stood nearby, with a napkin and a brown paper bag in her hand, in which the core of the apple would be disposed of when her mistress was through. "The walls behind the Garbo began to move," said the writer. "She turned, startled like a deer in the forest. She noticed the walls had wheels. It pulled away. 'What ees thees?' Garbo cried. Suddenly from the other side of the walls came the sound of Bing Crosby's voice, singing 'Can we talk it over, dear?' Garbo jumped, looked around her. 'What ees thees?' she asked again. 'Miss Crawford's dressing room,' she was told."
"Nice," she said.
The door of the palace opened. Joan Crawford put her head out and called to the man who did nothing but change the Bing Crosby records on the phonograph set up for her in the sidelines. "Put the other piece on, dear," said Joan, preparing for her appearance in the lobby.
"What other piece, Joanie?" the man answered.
"You know, Ed," she said.
"What's the scene, Joanie?"
"Oh, kind of gay and bright."
Garbo, back on her box, looked from one to the other as their voices crossed, then called to her maid.
"What ees the scene, L-I-I-I-n?"
"You walk through the people in the lobby," her maid answered.
"Then it ees very sad," answered Garbo.
The director seated on the crane above the lobby asked for quiet, and instructed Garbo that she was to walk from left to right and exit through the revolving doors.
"I valk on my own?" the actress asked.
"Through a crowd of admirers," the director said. "Do you wish to rehearse?"
"No," she sighed, "I rehearsed it in New York last week."
During the thirty-five days of filming on
Grand Hotel,
as Garbo remained silent and aloof, Joan Crawford appeared more vitriolic. "She would arrive late on the set each day, rolling up in her portable dressing room, to the tune of 'I Surrender, Dear,' played as loudly as the machine could play it."
The intensity of the feud was enhanced, said the reporter, "by the fact [that] whereas Crawford's personality is acquired, that of Garbo is innate, effortless and unconscious. Crawford resents, admires and envies Garbo."
Of the 275,000 feet of film photographed for
Grand Hotel,
only ten thousand would make the final cut, and according to the Los Angeles
Herald Tribune,
five hundred feet of that, belonging to Joan Crawford, was eliminated at Garbo's request. "Fearful she might be overshadowed by the dramatics of M-G-M's vivacious dancing daughter, Garbo demanded that some of Joan's best work be cut" said the newspaper. Producer Irving Thalberg denied the report: "Not a line or an inch of Joan's work was cut."
On March 17 Thalberg, his assistant Paul Bern, and director Edmund Goulding carried six reels of film in three suitcases and boarded a plane for Monterey, California. That evening
Grand Hotel
was sneak-previewed before a regular paying audience. Filling out cards after the preview, 60 percent of the viewers wrote "wonderful," while 40 percent suggested minor changes, such as making Crawford's role bigger and Garbo less somber and remote. Thalberg agreed with the latter opinion. "There were altogether too many 'mugging close-ups,' too many 'Garbos and Barrymores,' and not enough acting. He ordered that Garbo be recalled for retakes," said
Variety.
On April 5 the trade paper reported, "Two versions of
Grand Hotel
were now in the can. The re-shot version favored Garbo; the other favored Joan Crawford." The decision as to which version of the film would be released depended on Garbo. The star's contract with M-G-M had lapsed, and "the story persists that unless Garbo re-signs, it is M-G-M's intention to let Crawford steal the
"Nice," she said.
The door of the palace opened. Joan Crawford put her head out and called to the man who did nothing but change the Bing Crosby records on the phonograph set up for her in the sidelines. "Put the other piece on, dear," said Joan, preparing for her appearance in the lobby.
"What other piece, Joanie?" the man answered.
"You know, Ed," she said.
"What's the scene, Joanie?"
"Oh, kind of gay and bright."
Garbo, back on her box, looked from one to the other as their voices crossed, then called to her maid.
"What ees the scene, L-I-I-I-n?"
"You walk through the people in the lobby," her maid answered.
"Then it ees very sad," answered Garbo.
The director seated on the crane above the lobby asked for quiet, and instructed Garbo that she was to walk from left to right and exit through the revolving doors.
"I valk on my own?" the actress asked.
"Through a crowd of admirers," the director said. "Do you wish to rehearse?"
"No," she sighed, "I rehearsed it in New York last week."
During the thirty-five days of filming on
Grand Hotel,
as Garbo remained silent and aloof, Joan Crawford appeared more vitriolic. "She would arrive late on the set each day, rolling up in her portable dressing room, to the tune of 'I Surrender, Dear,' played as loudly as the machine could play it."
The intensity of the feud was enhanced, said the reporter, "by the fact [that] whereas Crawford's personality is acquired, that of Garbo is innate, effortless and unconscious. Crawford resents, admires and envies Garbo."
Of the 275,000 feet of film photographed for
Grand Hotel,
only ten thousand would make the final cut, and according to the Los Angeles
Herald Tribune,
five hundred feet of that, belonging to Joan Crawford, was eliminated at Garbo's request. "Fearful she might be overshadowed by the dramatics of M-G-M's vivacious dancing daughter, Garbo demanded that some of Joan's best work be cut" said the newspaper. Producer Irving Thalberg denied the report: "Not a line or an inch of Joan's work was cut."
On March 17 Thalberg, his assistant Paul Bern, and director Edmund Goulding carried six reels of film in three suitcases and boarded a plane for Monterey, California. That evening
Grand Hotel
was sneak-previewed before a regular paying audience. Filling out cards after the preview, 60 percent of the viewers wrote "wonderful," while 40 percent suggested minor changes, such as making Crawford's role bigger and Garbo less somber and remote. Thalberg agreed with the latter opinion. "There were altogether too many 'mugging close-ups,' too many 'Garbos and Barrymores,' and not enough acting. He ordered that Garbo be recalled for retakes," said
Variety.
On April 5 the trade paper reported, "Two versions of
Grand Hotel
were now in the can. The re-shot version favored Garbo; the other favored Joan Crawford." The decision as to which version of the film would be released depended on Garbo. The star's contract with M-G-M had lapsed, and "the story persists that unless Garbo re-signs, it is M-G-M's intention to let Crawford steal the
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