But this is only phase one of their plan to ensure that Joan Crawford will take home the Best Actress Oscar, if only in the most literal sense. She reaches out to the category’s frontrunners, Page and Bancroft, both of whom are starring in Broadway plays on the opposite coast. Crawford calls up Page at her apartment and passive-aggressively bullies her into staying home on Oscar night. Page explains to her live-in gentleman friend (actor Rip Torn, to whom she was married till she died) why she agreed to allow Crawford to accept the award on her behalf, should she win: “She needs it.” Besides, Page argues, Hollywood should be forced to witness what they’ve done to this woman.