20 Hollywood Feuds of Yesteryear That Went Beyond the Studios’ Bounds

This rivalry took shape in the mid-1930s, when Davis felt that Crawford had stolen Franchot Tone’s attention from her during the filming of Dangerous. The conflict only intensified over the years, marked by mutual jabs and comparisons of their careers. By the time they filmed What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? in 1962, this hostility had already been simmering for a long time. The 1963 Oscar season brought it back into the spotlight when Crawford positioned herself to accept Anne Bancroft’s award on stage after Davis’s loss.

De Havilland’s legal battle began because Warner Bros. kept suspending her for turning down roles and then tried to add that lost time to the duration of her contract. Her victory in court in 1944 freed her from the studio and weakened the entire contract system in California.

Davis rebelled in 1936 because Warner Bros. kept casting her in minor roles while preventing her from landing better parts. She lost her lawsuit and returned to Hollywood penniless, but her fight made her a symbol of resistance against studio control and helped push Warner Bros. to treat her with more respect in the future.

This feud began during Garland’s teenage years, when MGM executives started controlling her weight, energy levels, sleep, and appearance through medication, diets, and grueling schedules. The consequences were severe and long-lasting: addiction, physical breakdown, repeated nervous breakdowns, and her dismissal from MGM in 1950.

The conflict between Cohn and Novak escalated in 1957 when she fell in love with Sammy Davis Jr.; Columbia feared the public’s reaction to an interracial relationship. Davis was pressured to end it. Novak’s private life became the studio’s business, and her distrust of Cohn only grew when she realized how little control she actually had over her own image and choices.

This conflict erupted the moment Columbia began transforming Margarita Cansino into the star we know as Rita Hayworth. Although she had to endure a name change, painful electrolysis hair removal, hair coloring, and relentless control over her image, Hayworth became one of the studio’s biggest stars. That, however, did not stop Cohn from monitoring her every move.

The feud erupted when Hopper switched careers to become a gossip columnist in the late 1930s. She began stealing scoops from Parsons, who had reigned for years over Hollywood’s media coverage. Their rivalry divided the city into two camps, forced stars and studios to navigate two rival power centers, and turned these two women into kingmakers capable of making or breaking anyone’s career.

Hopper’s campaign against Chaplin intensified in the 1940s, centered on the paternity case involving Joan Barry, his young companions, and suspicions about his political views. Even after Chaplin had won some victories in this legal battle, the damage was done, and by 1952, he was effectively banished from the United States.

Hopper lashed out at Bergman after she left her husband, became pregnant by Roberto Rossellini, and embarrassed the columnist who had defended her against the initial rumors. The consequences were enormous: Bergman found herself at the center of a national moral scandal, was attacked in the U.S. Senate, and was forced to flee the Hollywood scene.

This feud broke out because Hearst recognized himself—and Marion Davies—in Citizen Kane. He felt that Welles had gone too far. Hearst’s newspapers refused to run advertisements, put pressure on theater owners, and tried to ensure the film went unnoticed, which undermined the commercial success of Kane.

Their conflict reached a climax during the filming of Greed in the 1920s, when the film’s budget was cut. Von Stroheim lost control of the project, his reputation as a difficult person to work with was cemented, and his career as a director never truly recovered.

Cagney’s split with Warner Bros. was caused by salary disputes, broken promises regarding his name in the credits, and the studio’s habit of suspending him. He eventually secured a better contract with the independent studio Grand National Pictures.

Martin and Lewis parted ways in 1956 after years of tension over the division of earnings, control, and the fact that the duo’s act had increasingly centered on Lewis. The split was painful, given how much they had built together. Fortunately, they reconciled in 1976.

Financial disputes, tensions over the division of earnings, and personal difficulties that arose following Costello’s illness and a family tragedy all fueled this rivalry throughout the 1940s and 1950s. When they parted ways for good, the duo that had catapulted them to national stardom had come to an end. Neither man was able to regain the same cultural influence on his own.

This feud began in 1958, when Eddie Fisher left Debbie Reynolds for Elizabeth Taylor, shortly after Mike Todd’s death. In the press, Debbie Reynolds became the jilted wife, while Elizabeth Taylor took on the role of the villain in the story; this scandal continued to haunt all three of them long after their marriage had ended.

Tensions had already been simmering before the filming of Guys and Dolls in 1955, as Sinatra wanted the lead role, which was, of course, given to Brando. The atmosphere on set eventually turned hostile, and the two men continued to harbor this animosity without ever truly reconciling.

Their feud began during the filming of A Countess from Hong Kong, when Brando clashed with Chaplin’s hyper-authoritarian directing style, as well as the way Chaplin treated people on set, including his own son. The film was a flop, Brando subsequently harshly criticized Chaplin in the press, and what should have been a prestigious collaboration ended up ruining both the project and their relationship.

This childhood rivalry only intensified when the two sisters became stars competing for roles, men, social status, and, ultimately, Oscars. Fontaine’s victory over de Havilland at the 1942 Oscars reignited the bitterness, leading to a family rift so deep that the sisters spent decades barely speaking to one another.

This feud stemmed from a difficult mother-daughter relationship that Christina later described as abusive, domineering, and humiliating. It came to light after Joan’s death in 1977, when Christina and Christopher were disinherited. The film Mommie Dearest turned this family dispute into a national debate and permanently tarnished Crawford’s reputation.

Their marriage began amid scandal, as Sinatra had left Nancy Sinatra for Gardner. Ultimately, the couple’s marriage fell apart under the weight of jealousy, infidelity, alcoholism, and two careers that were pulling them in opposite directions. The divorce, finalized in 1957, ended their legal union, but the repercussions were felt for years to come.