What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (film)
"What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" is a 1962 psychological thriller directed by Robert Aldrich, featuring iconic performances by Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. The film revolves around two estranged sisters, Jane and Blanche Hudson, who live in a dilapidated Hollywood mansion. Jane, a former child star consumed by jealousy and alcoholism, resents Blanche, whose successful film career has overshadowed her own. This resentment intensifies when Jane learns that Blanche plans to sell the mansion and have her institutionalized. In a fit of rage, Jane imprisons her wheelchair-bound sister, leading to a series of increasingly violent and tragic events.
Initially dismissed by critics as melodrama, the film has since gained a reputation as a significant work within the gothic horror genre, highlighting themes of aging, fame, and the psychological complexities of sibling rivalry. Its success revitalized the careers of both lead actresses and inspired similar films in the genre. Notably, Aldrich's direction relies on suspense and emotional tension rather than overt violence, utilizing unique camera angles and character development to engage viewers. "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" remains an essential piece of cinematic history, celebrated for its innovative storytelling and the haunting performances of its stars.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (film)
Released 1962
Director Robert Aldrich
A stylish gothic horror film with comic overtones. It introduced the Hollywood Grand Guignol tradition wherein aging actresses play psychotic women who shock and horrify audiences with their gruesome and macabre actions.
Key Figures
Robert Aldrich (1918-1983), film director
The Work
In What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, two jealous sisters Jane Hudson (Bette Davis) and Blanche Hudson (Joan Crawford) live as recluses in a decaying Hollywood mansion. The alcoholic Jane alternates between feelings of rage, because Jane’s early fame as a vaudeville child star was eclipsed by Blanche’s greater fame in the films, and guilt, because Jane believes she drunkenly crippled Blanche in a car accident years before, ending Blanche’s career, and because Jane is now financially dependent on Blanche. When Jane learns that Blanche plans to sell the mansion and commit her to an asylum, Jane’s hatred explodes into violent action. She imprisons Blanche, who uses a wheelchair, in her bedroom, brutalizing her and finally binding and gagging her. Lost in drink and fantasy, Jane plans to revive her Baby Jane act of long ago. She orders costumes and hires pianist Edwin Flagg (Victor Buono), who feigns enthusiasm for Jane’s ludicrous performance. When the weekly cleaning lady finds the tortured Blanche, Jane silences her by killing her with a hammer. During another rehearsal, pianist Flagg accidentally discovers the near-to-death Blanche. Horrified, he flees the house, and Jane becomes terrified that he will return with the police. During the early hours, Jane takes the emaciated Blanche to the beach at Malibu, intent on burying her. At dawn, Jane learns from the feeble Blanche that the long-ago accident crippling Blanche was not really caused by Jane but engineered by Blanche herself in a jealous rage.
A crowd gathers to watch the now completely insane Jane cavort on the beach and go through her grotesque Baby Jane routine as two policemen arrest her for murder.
Impact
Although many critics in 1962 dismissed the black-and-white film as trashy melodrama, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? became a box-office bonanza, reactivating the careers of both Davis and Crawford. Subsequently, the film has undergone critical reevaluation and is now considered a trendsetter and a superb example of the gothic horror genre. Known in the motion-picture industry as the “menopausal murder story,” the film cagily uses aging actresses to play psychotic monsters who kill and commit grotesque acts. Because of the film’s financial success, similar ones followed, including Die, Die My Darling (1965) and What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? (1969). It exemplifies the well-crafted gothic horror film, depicting decadent Hollywood and the price of fame and its fleeting rewards. Director Robert Aldrich creates an emotional roller coaster that builds with ever-growing force; he relies not on graphic blood and gore but on a dark rush of images and a strong power of suggestion to create suspense, which is heightened by his use of memorable camera angles and carefully delineated characters. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is also revered for its nostalgic impact because it uses two veteran actresses (deadly rivals in real life) to play the hate-drenched pair and draws on clips from their early films.
Additional Information
For information on the filming of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, see The Films and Career of Robert Aldrich (1986) by Edwin T. Arnold and Eugene L. Miller.