Joan Crawford vs. Bette Davis — The Original

The feud that invented celebrity feuding. Crawford and Davis hated each other for 40+ years, starting when Crawford stole Franchot Tone from Davis in 1935. They channeled it into What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), where Davis allegedly kicked Crawford so hard in a scene that she needed stitches. Crawford retaliated by strapping weights under her dress so Davis had to drag her. The film grossed $9 million on a $980,000 budget — the equivalent of a 900% ROI powered entirely by mutual contempt. Ryan Murphy's Feud: Bette and Joan brought it to a new generation in 2017.