Feud: Bette and Joan Episode 7 Recap: A Second Round

This week’s episode of Feud: Bette and Joan came with a fair share of conflict between new and familiar faces, but who won out this time?

Even after the success of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, our two actresses have to keep the ball rolling somehow, right? Let’s take a look at episode 7 of Feud: Bette and Joan: “Hagsploitation.”

We open on a black-and-white trailer for an actual Joan Crawford movie, just with Jessica Lange, naturally: Strait-JacketThe year’s 1964. Director William Castle walks out and introduces our Joan … who comes in from the back all in red and with an ax, naturally. But does Miss Crawford have a smile on her face? Not until she walks up on stage and gets to pretend to murder the director behind the screen. Then women in white come out with toy axes. Joan’s not fond of the gimmicks.

When she and Mamacita make it home, she heads straight for the alcohol. George Cukor has sent her flowers on her “latest success.”

"Joan: “People are coming to see blood and gore and heads being chopped off!”"

In her rage, she throws the flowers at Mamacita, who then threatens to quit should it happen again. And Joan, in tears, turns back to the alcohol. 1964 does not look good for at least one of our stars.

But before we see Bette Davis, we see Jack Warner instead, looking at the latest box office numbers. Lady in a Cage and Strait-Jacket are both doing fine, but neither of them is Warner Bros. pictures. So he decides to summon Bob Aldrich (despite an earlier ban) because he needs to capitalize on the genre of hagsploitation.

Back at Joan’s, Hedda Hopper arrives in a black-and-white ensemble to find Joan preparing to go to Albuquerque on tour. But Hedda drops down and says she just had a heart attack. It gave her some … perspective … about her life.

"Hedda: “Am I satisfied with reams of gossip?”"

She also comes bearing a warning: there’s a rumored “stag picture” featuring a younger Joan, and she wants to know if it exists. But Joan doesn’t admit to a thing.

Bob Aldrich, meanwhile, is not having a great 1964 either. His wife finally tells him to get his act together. The next thing we see is him meeting with Jack Warner, who still really wants a hagsploitation film. What Ever Happened to Cousin Charlotteis Bob’s pick … so long as he only has one of Bette and Joan, not both of them. Warner says they’ll do it for less money, and so will Bob. And look, it’s hard to deny Jack Warner much of anything.

Bob prepares himself to make his pitch to both Joan and Bette. Neither of them thinks it’s a good idea, and both ask about the other. Bette’s clearly still angry about the Oscars experience, and Joan meanwhile makes cracks about Bette’s television career. Both women are angry about their post-Baby Jane images. And their demands? For Joan, it’s her name first and a pile of money; for Bette, it’s the chance to have creative control.

Joan visits a hotel and offers the desk manager money, because he’s her brother, Hal, and he has a copy of that rumored movie. He says he’s reminding her of how lucky she is.

"Joan: “I have never been lucky.”"

Bob and Jack have drinks, and Bob casually says that he has a contract with Darryl Zanuck of Twentieth Century Fox for Cousin Charlotte. They yell at each other for a bit, and Bob walks out with his head held high.

Bette and Joan both arrive for reading on the movie, trade barbs, and then Joan apologizes. Bette, though, says it’s time for another “united front” approach, and Joan agrees. In they go for the table read. Victor Buono’s back as well. He doesn’t get through the first line before both the women raise objections. A couple lines later, the ladies both have still more problems.

Their “united front” doesn’t last very long, though. Bette walks out, her parting shot a demand to change the title, and Joan lights a cigarette and says she’ll read Bette’s part too.

Joan visits her brother in the hospital with more money, and he basically sees through all of her act once she brags about co-starring with Bette again. Things almost escalate into a full-blown fight, only stopped by the nurses wheeling him out.

"Hal: “There is no film, Billie, you said so yourself.”"

Bob offers to take Harriet with him to Louisiana to film Charlotte, but she refuses. She just wants to split up with him.

Joan arrives back at home and Mamacita tells her that her brother’s died in surgery. She pours herself a drink and makes a phone call to cancel the check she had written for her brother. Even though Mamacita suggests quitting the film, she refuses.

Next: Burning Questions for Wynonna Earp Season 2

Filming starts in Baton Rouge for Charlotte, and Bette thinks it’s ridiculous that she’s playing the younger version of her character. (Never mind that she wanted to play the role, as said by Pauline.) She stomps out to talk to Bob, who reveals that he’s breaking up with his wife to her. She offers her support in her own way.

Joan lands in Baton Rouge, and no one comes to meet her at the gate. They arrive at the hotel, and Bette helps Joan secure a suite. Up in the room, after saying she’ll pull herself together, she gives Bob a call and hears Bette in the background.

And, her face drawn, she looks off into the distance. So much for that.

Next week’s episode will see the filming of Charlotte continue. Stay tuned for more Feud: Bette and Joan.