Editing Bette Davis (section)

===1961–1970: Renewed success===
[[File:Bette davis baby jane trailer.jpg|thumb|left|Davis received her final Academy Award nomination for her role as demented [[Baby Jane Hudson|"Baby Jane" Hudson]] in ''[[What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (film)|What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?]]'' (1962).]]

In 1961, Davis opened in the Broadway production ''[[The Night of the Iguana]]'' to mostly mediocre reviews, and left the production after four months due to "chronic illness". She then joined [[Glenn Ford]] and [[Hope Lange]] for the [[Frank Capra]] film ''[[Pocketful of Miracles]]'' (1961), a remake of Capra's 1933 film, ''[[Lady for a Day]]'', based on a story by [[Damon Runyon]]. Exhibitors protested her star billing as they considered it would negatively impact the box office performance and, despite the appearance of Ford, the film failed at the box office.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=May 15, 1968|page=1|last=Beaupre|first=Lee|title=Rising Skepticism On Stars}}</ref>

Her last Oscar nomination was for the [[Grand Guignol]] horror film ''[[What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (film)|What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?]]'' (1962), which also starred Joan Crawford. Crawford showed interest in the script and considered Davis for the part of the demented former child star [[Baby Jane Hudson]]. Davis believed it could appeal to the same audience that had recently made [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]'' (1960) a success. She negotiated a deal that would pay her 10 percent of the worldwide gross profits in addition to her salary, along with the conditions that she play Jane, and that Crawford was not sleeping in the same bed as the director, [[Robert Aldrich]]. The film became one of the year's big successes.<ref>Spada (1993), pp. 353–355</ref><ref name=":6" />

Davis and Crawford played two aging sisters, one a former child star (Davis) and the other an accomplished film actress (Crawford) who were forced by circumstance to share a decaying Hollywood mansion. Aldrich explained that Davis and Crawford were each aware of how important the film was to their respective careers. Regardless of their personal feelings toward one another, Davis and Crawford spoke highly of each other's acting talent. Crawford said Davis was a "fascinating actress", but they never became friends as they only worked on that one film together and had few opportunities outside that association. Davis also said Crawford was a good, professional actress. Despite the alleged "feud," Crawford heavily promoted Davis's performance. Crawford told reporter Wayne Allen, "I'll predict here and now that Miss Davis will win an Oscar for it."<ref>{{cite news |title=The State Journal-Register |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A13D09C142C972071%40GB3NEWS-152B1B244BB2CD42%402437994-1528D17B7A57164D%4012-1528D17B7A57164D%40?h=1&fname=joan&lname=crawford&fullname=&kwinc=i%27ll%20predict%20here%20and%20now%20davis&kwexc=&rgfromDate=1962&rgtoDate=1962&formDate=&formDateFlex=exact&dateType=range&processingtime=&addedFrom=&addedTo=&sid=wevgppgkgboddvmakyufehrnxmhrjgyf_wma-gateway012_1685757453063 |access-date=June 2, 2023 |issue=November 25, 1962}}</ref> 

However, on set, the two actresses constantly argued, and called Aldrich nightly to complain about one another. Davis reportedly called Crawford obscene words while she was in earshot. They also physically attacked each other: in a scene where Jane drags [[Blanche Hudson|Blanche]] (Crawford's character), Crawford made herself as heavy as possible to make the scene agonizing for Davis, who was struggling with back problems. In another scene where Jane beats Blanche, Davis hit Crawford as hard as she could. At the [[35th Academy Awards]], where Davis was nominated for her last Academy Award for Best Actress, actress [[Anne Bancroft]] won instead, for [[The Miracle Worker (1962 film)|''The Miracle Worker'']]. As Bancroft was absent from the ceremony, Crawford accepted the Oscar in her place, while Davis looked on in horror. Crawford had arranged for this to happen, persuading several actresses not to attend so she could collect their award for them to slight Davis. Davis and Crawford were later attached to star in ''[[Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte]]'' (1964), but Crawford later quit production, owing it to an illness. However, the real reason was to avoid Davis. She was replaced by [[Olivia de Havilland]], a close friend of Davis.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bonhams : The Collection of Olivia de Havilland |url=https://www.bonhams.com/auction/28371/the-collection-of-olivia-de-havilland/ |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=www.bonhams.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":3" /> Their alleged feud was eventually turned into the 2017 limited series [[Feud (TV series)|''Feud'']] by [[Ryan Murphy (writer)|Ryan Murphy]].<ref name=":3">{{cite magazine |date=February 22, 2017 |title=A Timeline of the Real Feud Between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford |url=https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a20666/feud-bette-davis-joan-crawford-timeline/ |magazine=[[Harper's Bazaar]]}}</ref>

Davis also received her only [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts|BAFTA]] nomination for this performance. Crawford did as well, but both lost to [[Patricia Neal]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bette Davis - Awards |url=https://www.bafta.org/awards/search?search=bette+davis&type= |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=Bafta |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Patricia Neel - Awards |url=https://www.bafta.org/awards/search?search=patricia+neal&type= |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=Bafta |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Joan Crawford - Awards |url=https://www.bafta.org/awards/search?search=joan+crawford&type= |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=Bafta |language=en}}</ref> Daughter Barbara (credited as B.D. Merrill) played a small role in the film, and when she and Davis visited the Cannes Film Festival to promote it, Barbara met Jeremy Hyman, an executive for [[Seven Arts Productions]]. After a short courtship, she married Hyman at the age of 16, with Davis's permission. They had two sons and were married until Hyman's death in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Urquhart-White |first=Alaina |date=2017-04-17 |title=B.D. Davis & Jeremy Hyman Are Still Married Decades After They First Met |url=https://www.bustle.com/p/bd-davis-jeremy-hyman-are-still-married-decades-after-they-first-met-51237 |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=Bustle |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Chandler |first=Charlotte |url=https://archive.org/details/girlwhowalkedhom00char/page/238 |title=The girl who walked home alone : Bette Davis, a personal biography |publisher=New York : Applause Theatre & Cinema Books |others=Internet Archive |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7432-6208-8 |pages=238–240}}</ref>

[[File:Bette Davis William Hopper Perry Mason 1963.jpg|thumb|upright|Davis and [[William Hopper]] in the ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'' episode "[[The Case of Constant Doyle]]" (1963)]]
In October 1962, it was announced that four episodes of the CBS-TV series ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'' would feature special guest stars who would cover for [[Raymond Burr]] during his convalescence from surgery. A ''Perry Mason'' fan, Davis was the first of the guest stars. "[[The Case of Constant Doyle]]" began filming on December 12, 1962,<ref name="Bette Davis NYT">{{cite news |last=Adams |first=Val |date=October 30, 1962 |title=Bette Davis Hired for 'Perry Mason' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/10/30/archives/bette-davis-hired-for-perry-mason-four-others-to-replace-burr.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=August 29, 2016 }}</ref> and aired January 31, 1963.<ref name="CTVA 6">{{cite web |url=http://ctva.biz/US/Legal/PerryMason_06_%281962-63%29.htm |title= Perry Mason, Season 6 (CBS) (1962–1963) | publisher=Classic TV Archive | access-date=August 29, 2016 }}</ref>

In 1962, Davis appeared as Celia Miller on the TV western ''[[The Virginian (TV series)|The Virginian]]'' in the episode titled "The Accomplice."

In September 1962, Davis placed an advertisement in ''Variety'' under the heading of "Situations wanted – women artists", which read: "Mother of three – 10, 11, & 15 – divorcee. American. Thirty years' experience as an actress in Motion Pictures. Mobile still, and more affable than rumor would have it. Wants steady employment in Hollywood. (Has had Broadway.)"<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Silva |first1=Wesley Mendes |last2=Martelanc |first2=Roy |date=August 19, 2006 |title=Relacionamento com investidores com uso do website corporativo: análise empírica das empresas brasileiras listadas na Bovespa* |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4025/enfoque.v25i3.3486 |journal=Enfoque: Reflexão Contábil |volume=25 |issue=3 |doi=10.4025/enfoque.v25i3.3486 |issn=1984-882X}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| title = Situations wanted-women artists
| work = Variety
| date = September 21, 1962 }}</ref> Davis said that she intended it as a joke, and she sustained her comeback over the course of several years.

''[[Dead Ringer (film)|Dead Ringer]]'' (1964) was a crime drama in which she played twin sisters. The film was an American adaptation of the Mexican film ''[[La Otra (film)|La Otra]]'', starring [[Dolores del Río]].<ref>Chandler (2006), p. 324</ref> ''[[Where Love Has Gone (film)|Where Love Has Gone]]'' (1964) was a romantic drama based on a [[Harold Robbins]] novel. Davis played the mother of [[Susan Hayward]], but filming was hampered by heated arguments between Davis and Hayward.<ref>Spada (1993), p. 376</ref>

''[[Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte]]'' (1964) was Robert Aldrich's follow-up to ''What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?''. Aldrich planned to reunite Davis and Crawford, but the latter withdrew allegedly due to illness soon after filming began. She was replaced by Olivia de Havilland. The film was a considerable success, and brought renewed attention to its veteran cast, which included [[Joseph Cotten]], [[Mary Astor]], [[Agnes Moorehead]], and [[Cecil Kellaway]].

The following year, Davis was cast as the lead in an [[Aaron Spelling]] sitcom, ''The Decorator''.<ref>{{cite book |title=Experimental television, test films, pilots, and trial series |last=Terrace |first=Vincent |year=1997 |page=135 |publisher=McFarland |access-date=August 19, 2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r8VkAAAAMAAJ|isbn=0-7864-0178-8}}</ref> A pilot episode was filmed, but was not shown, and the project was terminated. By the end of the decade, Davis had appeared in the British films ''[[The Nanny (1965 film)|The Nanny]]'' (1965), ''[[The Anniversary (1968 film)|The Anniversary]]'' (1968), and ''[[Connecting Rooms]]'' (1970), none of which were reviewed well, and her career again stalled.<ref name=":1" />