Eve Harrington | Backlots

It’s back, readers!

Take a seat and get ready to see some sparring, ladies and gentlemen, because on December 22 for the third year in a row, Backlots will be hosting the Dueling Divas Blogathon! This blogathon has proven to be lots of fun in the past, and always elicits very interesting entries. I look forward to what’s to come this year!

On December 22, write about your favorite dueling divas. Your piece can be on one of those legendary offscreen duels (ex. Bette Davis and Joan Crawford) or an onscreen one (ex. Eve Harrington and Margo Channing). You can even write about an actress (or actor, we’re gender-neutral here at Backlots!) who played a dual role in a classic film if you would like–such as Olivia de Havilland in The Dark Mirror or Hayley Mills in The Parent Trap. We don’t often get many entries of this type, but it’s there if you want it!

Olivia de Havilland in THE DARK MIRROR.

You don’t have to just focus on two people. You can talk about the various duels a single actor had (good heavens, Bette Davis’ duels alone could fill a book!) or duels within a group. Last year I wrote about the divas in The Women, which was a lot of fun.

So to sum up, here are the guidelines on who to write about:

Those who had a rivalry in real life, either over a particular film role or over a personality clash, ie Bette Davis and Joan Crawford
Those who had a rivalry on the screen, ie Mildred and Veda from Mildred Pierce
Any dual role played by an actor or actress in a classic film, ie Hayley Mills in The Parent Trap.

Please do try to stay on track with the theme! Since this is an open-ended blogathon with a lot of choices, it’s easy to get carried away. But if you just refer to the guidelines above, you’ll be good to go.

Comment on this post with your diva choices and I will add you to the list. So far we have:

MOVIES, SILENTLY: Mary Pickford’s dual role in Stella Maris

SILVER SCREENINGS: Edward G. Robinson’s dual role in The Whole Town’s Talking

CHRISTY PUTNAM: June Allyson vs. Joan Collins in The Opposite Sex

LOVE IS A FIRE: Bette Davis vs. Joan Crawford

OUTSPOKEN AND FRECKLED: Josephine vs. Daphne in Some Like It Hot

STARDUST: Joan Crawford vs. Norma Shearer in The Women

ONCE UPON A SCREEN: Greta Garbo vs. Marlene Dietrich

MOVIE STAR MAKEOVER: Rita Hayworth vs. Kim Novak in Pal Joey

CRITICA RETRO: Rita Hayworth vs. Linda Darnell in Blood and Sand

SEPIA STORIES: Olive Thomas vs. Mary and Charlotte Pickford

THE HOLLYWOOD REVUE: TBA