In fact, the entire production, as taxing as it was, began and ended well. As Aldrich recalled, “Bette and Joan voluntarily came in to the studio and devoted a Sunday to rehearsing physically difficult scenes to prevent our running over schedule.” Also in the cast was a lumbering twenty-four-year-old actor named Victor Buono, who had worked in television for three years and was now cast in his first feature, as a repellent opportunist. As Aldrich recalled, Joan knew the picture was very important for Buono’s career. Hence, although she had concluded her scenes for the day and was ready to
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