What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

Sadly Over-hyped

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Wow! "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" perfectly blends horror and thriller together in this beautiful black and white film. Bette Davis and Joan Crawford are so good at playing their characters; due to their real life hatred of one another, the hatred for the two is also seen on screen which works beautifully with the films plot.Robert Aldrich most known for directing "The Dirty Dozen" (1967), had struck gold with this film first, despite having to endure the constant Feud of Bette and Joan; it certainly couldn't have been easy.Bette Davis-having done her own make-up and wearing one of the wigs Crawford had used on a film before-looked the part perfectly, of an ageing adult with a child's mind.The twist of the film's ending is magnificent, you spend the entire movie feeling sympathetic for Blanche Hudson (Joan Crawford) and hating the evil sister Baby Jane Hudson (Bette Davis). The twist at the films climax turns the tables and leaves you feeling sympathetic for Baby Jane,as you as a viewer realise what happened to Baby Jane.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is a melodrama of the grotesque shot in stark black and white.Two ageing actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford play two has beens living in a cycle of hate and vengeance.Blanche Hudson (Joan Crawford) was a glamorous actress in the 1930s crippled in a car accident where her sister was thought to be the driver.'Baby' Jane Hudson (Bette Davis) was a major child star in the beginning of the 20th century. She was spoilt and taunted her sister Blanche who will find fame when she is older. By the 1930s Jane's career declines as she is not as talented as Blanche.In the present days (1960s) both are forgotten and living in gothic mansion. Jane is a drunk, getting madder everyday, being cruel to Blanche and dreaming of a come back on the stage. Blanche is wasting away upstairs in her bedroom, starved and living is despair, gagged and bound.Only their black maid shows concern but Jane gets rid of her, however Jane's madness leads to murder.Bette Davis went to the edge for her unhinged portrayal as Jane, even applying her own makeup. Crawford is more sedate but still manages to get under the skin of her sister when she in in her wheelchair. Both taunt each other unmercilessly because of past slights.It really is a claustrophobic chiller, another cynical film of shattered dreams of Hollywood and fame. Even the subplot about cash strapped pianist Edwin Flagg (Victor Buono) is another player who did not make it in Hollywood.

Ryan Murphy's series "Feud" in which Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon play Joan Crawford and Bette Davis at the time of Baby Jane and beyond. I got so engrossed the series that I had to see What Ever Happened To Baby Jane again. Wow! Now, it all feels slightly different, less campy more poignant. Joan Crawford as played by Jessica Lange - the best performance by an actress in many, many years - is a totally recognizable person, crazy or not. When George Cukor tries to convince Joan not to be so vindictive "you're better than this Joan" to what Crawford/Lange replies: "No George, I'm not" Fantastic! Like another user already mention, I agree What Ever Happened To Baby Jane and Feud will be feeding each other keeping each other alive for generations to come.

I'm so engrossed in the Ryan Murphy's series "Feud" that watching again "What Ever Happened To Baby Jane" was unavoidable. "Feud" works on so many levels and the performances are so spot on that I suspect What Ever Happened To Baby Jane will have another life and in this new reincarnation it will teach us something important about Hollywood, about acting, about fame and about the fragility of the human mind. All this in great part due to "Feud" Jessica Lange's performance as Joan Crawford is already, for me, in a pantheon of its own. There is not a moment in which the illusion falters and this is more true episode after episode. Susan Sarandon as Bette Davis is also superb but her character is the more educated, stronger. A Yankee. So she provokes a very different kind of emotion. To all fans of the actresses and of Baby Jane you can't afford to miss "Feud" and, please, give it a couple of episodes to adjust but once you get to the third episode "Mommie Dearest" you'll be hooked in the greatest possible way. Enjoy.