“BETTE vs MIRIAM: WHEN STARS COLLIDED” - 3/30/2026 (133)

What would Hollywood be without a good, old fashioned rivalry. It’s well documented that BETTE DAVIS and JOAN CRAWFORD were not exactly besties. But did you know that Davis had another rivalry that was even uglier and more intense? That’s right, the rivalry between Davis and her co-star in The Old Maid (1939) and Old Acquaintance (1943) was one for the ages. Completely different in upbringing, temperament, and acting styles, these two grand dames of the silver screen kept the gossip columnists’ tongues wagging with their petty, mean-spirited one-upmanship. And while Davis ended up the victor in the long run, as she had a longer and more successful career, Hopkins could give as good as she could take. This week, we explore the long-standing feud between these two great divas. 

SHOW NOTES: 

Sources:

Miriam Hopkins: Life and Films of a Hollywood Rebel (2018), by Allan R. Ellenberger;

The Lonely Life, An Autobiography (1962), by Bette Davis;

This’n That, An Autobiography (1987), by Bette Davis with Michael Herskowitz;

“Whatever I Did, I Did: The Obstinate Life of Bette Davis,” November 6, 2020, by Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair;

Wikipedia.com;

TCM.com;

IBDB.com;

IMDBPro.com;

Oscars.org;

Movies Mentioned:

The Old Maid (1939), starring Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, George Brent, & Jane Bryan;

Jezebel (1938), starring Bette Davis, Henry Fonda,. George Brent, & fay Bainter;

Dark Victory (1939), starring Bette Davis, George Brent, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ronald Reagan, & Humphrey Bogart;

All This, and Heaven Too (1940), starring Bette Davis, Charles Boyer, Barbara O’Neil, Jeffrey Lynn, & Virginia Weidler;

The Private Life of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), starring Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Alan Hale, & Vincent Price;

We Are Not Alone (1939), starring Paul Muni & Jane Bryan;

Virginia City (1940), starring Errol Flynn & Miriam Hopkins;

The Little Foxes (1941), starring Bette Davis, Teresa Wright, Herbert Marshall, Patricia Collinge, & Dan Duryea;

The Old Acquaintance (1943), starring Bette Davis & Miriam Hopkins;

The Heiress (1949), starring Olivia de Havilland, Montgomery Clift, Ralph Richardson, & Miriam Hopkins;

The Children’s Hour (1961), starring Shirley MacLaine, Audrey Hepburn, James Garner, Miriam Hopkins, Fay Bainter, Karin Balkin, & Veronica Cartwright;

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