Oscar-winning star Margaret "Maggie" Elliot (Bette Davis) is a broke actress struggling to accept her new, non-wealthy reality.

At a Hollywood party thrown by her agent, she is offered a role in a new film about a fallen star who can't face the fact that it's all over.

This new script is dedicated to washed-up actors and actresses who are obsessed by their former glory, by what they used to look like, what kind of an impression they’d make to stay on top, and how they behaved; demanding, bribing, power-hungry.

Hearing the pitch delivered right to her face, and that she'd be the perfect actress to play the role, seems to have finally helped Margaret realize the cold truth about her future.

Katherine Albert and her husband Dale Eunson reportedly based the Margaret Elliot character on Joan Crawford, whose long friendship with the couple was ending as production began.