More drawn to Bette. She is my #1. Joan is my second favorite. They are the only 2 old time Hollywood actresses I have ever been a fan of.

I've now and then flip-flopped, since Bette overall got the more interesting films and roles, and gave such "ballsy" type performances, whereas Joan much too often sort of portrayed the same victim-to-victor role, and generally variations-on-the-theme type characters, over and over. The "formula" of the "typical" Joan film could get to be somewhat "seen one, you've seen them all" seeming, after a while. So, since I'm also a lifelong Bette fan, I sometimes have come to gravitate more to her - for a while.

During recent years I've watched a huge number of Bette's early-years films, from during the first half of the 1930s, and she didn't too much have showy roles back during that part of her career, though it still was readily obvious that she was a standout and that, despite typically portraying a sweet, pleasant, wispy "pretty young thing" type, that she was an actress who never faded into the woodwork and was going places.

Joan was already a hugely popular star since during Silent films of the 1920s, and was considered the quintessential American flapper, then transitioned into early talkies films as still the same huge star, but reworked her look, and somewhat her persona, at that time. It's amazing, when you see Joan's face and overall look in Silent films, then in Pre-Codes, then onward, how significantly she reinvented how she presented herself, multiple times, throughout the years. It's like Pre-Code Joan is nearly unrecognizable as being the same woman as Silent films or flapper Joan. And later, of course, later-1930s through 1940s Joan looks like nearly a different woman than 1950s onward Joan. Then she became elegantly mature - but rather severe looking - "upsweeps" older Joan by the 1960s and 1970s.

I always found Bette to be much more fun, and more interesting, in interviews and the such, but I always felt more overall drawn to Joan's acting and persona, as well as to the humanity of her characters. Joan's sensitive portrayals always appealed to me on an emotional level, whereas Bette's brassy bravura performances have always appealed to me on an entertainment level.