eve5109 Posted January 28, 2004 Share Posted January 28, 2004 Hi! I am new here & I love reading all the posts. I know that Olivia & Joan are sisters and heard that they never liked each other. Can anyone tell me why? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classicsfan1119 Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 Hi Eve,and Welcome! I've also heard that these two sisters had some kind of major differences over something, but I've never known what it was about or if it was ever resolved, so I'd be interested in the story myself. Someone around here must know the story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moviejoe79 Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 I don't really know what the reason for their differences is, but I think a lot of it is professional jealousy. I think there was a lot of competition between the two in their movie careers, and perhaps it springs from their upbringing? I don't know - but that would be my best guess. It's amazing that these two don't speak even though they're both living legends, and together are two of the last links to Hollywood's Golden Age. I've said before that TCM has to interview these two (separately, of course) before they pass on. One thing that seems similar about them is that they both like their privacy. Olivia has been in the spotlight the last couple of years, with her appearance at the Oscars and the last re-release of "Gone With the Wind," but Joan hasn't even been interviewed in years. And even though she's also an Oscar winner, she's never put in an appearance at the round up of past Oscar winners that has already been done twice by the Academy at the Oscars. It's a shame really - hopefully they both get a little more attention before they're gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eve5109 Posted January 30, 2004 Author Share Posted January 30, 2004 Thanks for the info. Does anyone know of any good books about these two women. I love them both. By the way, does anyone else have problems logging in here? Sometimes it takes me 10 tries before it logs me in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classicsfan1119 Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 I'll give you a tip about logging in that finally fixed the problems I was having. Try this: When you first enter the Forums Listing page, log in right away and don't start reading posts before you do. If you try to log in after you've entered the various forums, or at the place of a post in one, you'll probably have trouble. Anyway, this worked for me, so I hope it works for you. Let us know. ML Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minatonga Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 I read a book about the two actresses a long time ago. It is called Sisters The Story of Olivia de Haviland and Joan Fontaine by Charles Higham. I remember it was pretty good and eplained some of the sibling rivalry between the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classicsfan1119 Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 Minatonga, if you've read the book, can you tell us what that rivalry was about, when it started, if it was ever resolved, etc.? Was it something that began during their childhood and doesn't really have anything to do with being actresses, other than that they both chose acting careers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minatonga Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 I was afraid you would ask me that. It was so long ago when I read the book. All that I really remember is that Joan, on purpose, beat her sister to the alter and married Conrad Nagel and that it was often a competition between them. The gist I remember from the book had to do with jealousy. Fontaine was portrayed as the more jealous of the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 I read somewhere, I can't remember where though, that their hatred goes clear back to childhood. Supposedly, at the age of 9, Olivia wrote a mock will stating, "I bequeath to my sister Joan, the ability to attract boys, which she doesn't have at present." Then, when they were both up for the 1941 Oscar and Joan won, THAT is what destroyed their relationship and they never spoke to one another since then. Quite silly and sad if one thinks about it. To think that a piece of cheap metal (the Oscar) would mean more to a person than their own sibling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twtpark Posted February 1, 2004 Share Posted February 1, 2004 Joan's "Shy English Rose" style of acting wore thin quickly. She never recovered from "Rebecca" and "suspicion" and "this Above All". After 1950, her career was practically non-existent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bansi4 Posted February 2, 2004 Share Posted February 2, 2004 I always recall reading a story when Olivia de Havilland won one of her Oscars that Fontaine came over to congratulate her and Olivia ignored her sister by saying "I don't know why she does that when she knows I don't like it". It supposedly started the "feud" news. In any event in recent years it was noted that Fontaine has either given or loaned her sister money. Perhaps blood is thicker than water or even Oscars for that matter. Mongo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classicsfan1119 Posted February 2, 2004 Share Posted February 2, 2004 Well, whatever it was about, shame on both of them for letting it get so publicly out of hand and hurtful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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