Has anyone been watching “The Fued” on FX?

This show has made me take another look at Joan Crawford

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I never imagined that I would be much interested in Crawford. I have only looked at her as a femme fatal – in film and in life. I have read several strange accounts about her in “Mommie Dearest” and from a former nanny in “Tales from a Hollywood Housewife.” She was a strange and possibly abusive mother.

I also believed Crawford was the scheming, selfish woman she portrayed in “The Women” (1939). That role might not have been too hard to play for her.

Also, after being labeled box office poison and kicked to the curb by MGM, she had a “Sunset Boulevard” moment when she returned back on the set of MGM.  An aging Crawford loudly demanded to know why audiences didn’t love her anymore on an empty soundstage, according to MGM movie mermaid Esther Williams, who had witnessed the incident and wrote about it in her book.

And those crazy eyebrows that appeared in the 1950s!  Why, Joan, why?

But maybe judging her just on this stuff wasn’t exactly fair.

After last summer’s podcast series “You Must Remember This” featured “The Six Degree of Joan Crawford,” I got to know a few more details of her life.

She was certainly a good actress for the time that Hollywood allowed her to be. And that’s a theme that’s been ever present in Hollywood for women. How long are you allowed to do your craft? That age doesn’t seem to be as old for women as it is for men.

If you’ve seen “Mildred Pierce” (1945),  which is a mesmerizing film – a must see, you would know that some of Crawford’s best work was done when she realized that she could tell stories from a middle-aged woman’s perspective.

But “The Feud” is also raising these questions I have about Hollywood that I’m trying to explore in my fiction.  Why did certain stars have to remain top billing or nothing? Did that need for top billing kill people like Judy Garland.  Why were the women always trying to show each other up? Why couldn’t classic Hollywood women support each other? Did the climate and culture of Hollywood, the “do or die” mentality, create these feuds? Could it be that the small window that women can be stars in Hollywood contribute to this cut-throat culture? Could you be happy in Hollywood just as long as you weren’t the star – maybe just a character actor?

This is an interesting article from the Hollywood Reporter about Jessica Lange’s perspective on Crawford as she portrays her on “The Fued.”

If you’ve been enjoying “The Feud” definitely watch “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.” It’s extremely entertaining and quiet suspenseful. And get to know more about Bette Davis and Joan Crawford on the extremely well-researched and fascinating “You Must Remember This” podcast.

More as the series progresses.