Bette Davis

Joan Crawford

Victor Buono

Wesley Addy

Julie Allred

Anne Barton

Marjorie Bennett

Bert Freed

Anna Lee

Maidie Norman

Dave Willock

William Aldrich

Ernest Anderson

Russ Conway

Maxine Cooper

Robert Cornthwaite

Michael Fox

Gina Gillespie

Barbara Merrill

Don Ross

James Seay

John Shay

Jon Shepodd

Peter Virgo

Bobs Watson

Debbie Burton

Murray Alper

Steve Condit

Dorothea Lord

Norman Papson

Mike Ragan

Sammy Shack

Michael St. Angel

Jack Tornek

Ralph Volkie

Robert Perry

Bill Walker

Ralph Hart

Henry Farrell

Ernest Haller

Robert Aldrich

Frank De Vol

Michael Luciano

Lukas Heller

Kenneth Hyman

Jack R. Berne

William Glasgow

Robert Gary

George Sawley

Till A. Gabbani

Tom Connors Jr.

Alex Romero

George E. Marsh

Harold E. McGhan

John Orlando

Norma Koch

Jack Solomon

Walter Blake

Thriller

Drama

Horror

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

The Associates & Aldrich Company

United States of America

English

beach

sibling relationship

based on novel or book

insanity

wheelchair

sister

aging

alcoholism

murder

hollywood

mental illness

invalid

former child star

ice cream

vaudeville

recluse

drunkenness

spinsters

old mansion

piano

sister sister relationship

hagsploitation

psycho-biddy

Cat Ellington

For this particular review, I have chosen to render my critique - in description of this timeless masterpiece - with a word from each letter of its title: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

An opus of epic proportions, the tour de force performances in this cinematic icon relay what is:


Warped. Hellish. Atrocious. Tumultuous.

Evil. Vile. Envious. Ruthless.

Hostile. Abhorrent. Perverse. Paranoid. Enraged. Nightmarish. Erroneous. Depraved.

Terrifying. Ominous.

Brutal. Apprehensive. Backstabbing. Yucky.

Jealousy. Abominable. Nefarious. Egotistical.


...And there you have it, folks. A single word from every letter of the title to describe the ice-cold spirit of the one and ONLY What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

This Robert Aldrich-directed, old era silver screen jewel is a phenomenal feature of cinematic art, and a legendary masterwork of prestige. Superb performances by the real-life archenemies, Davis and Crawford. Absolutely superb!

Way beyond worthy of its 5 of 5 stars rating.

CinemaSerf

Now then, settle down - turn off the phone, grab some Malbec and be prepared for one of the finest examples of character-driven cinema you are ever likely to encounter. Bette Davis is the former, rather petulant, child star "Baby Jane" who rather grudgingly looks after her sister - the more critically acclaimed actress "Blanche" (Joan Crawford) as their dotage approaches in their Hollywood home. "Blanche" is largely confined to a wheelchair, so is entirely dependent on her increasingly alcoholic, flaky and downright nasty sibling. Thing is, though, it's Blanche who has the money - and when she starts to discuss selling their house this riles her sister who soon has some pretty menacing thoughts about thwarting this "betrayal". Luckily for "Blanche" - their maid "Elvira" (Maidie Norman) starts to become aware of this rather menacing change in attitude, and well... Crawford and Davis are very much at the top of their games here, and somehow you can't help but wonder if they were really acting their socks off, or whether there was a serious bit of professional "loathing" going on on the set of this deftly directed Robert Aldrich classic. There is a positive sense of venom here from Davis, and her counterpart portrays the traumatised victim with great aplomb. Neither woman is afraid to ditch their more traditional glamour. Davis looks truly demented in her part as the woman with one hand on the bottle and the other on the door handle of the sanatorium - and she excels in the part. It's almost 2¼ hours long and it positively flies by. The pace is perfect, the DeVol score ebbs and flows with the frequently pithy and powerful dialogue and the photography - often tight and intimate makes this a superb example of the ultimate cinema sibling rivalry. Big screen if you can - but either way, this is just about as good as it gets.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) Scene: What's for Dinner? - Bette Davis - Joan Crawford

Dan Ireland on WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane - Behind the scenes

What Ever Happened To Baby Jane trailer - 50th Anniversary

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?( 1962)

Sister Sister, Oh So Fair! Why Is There Blood All Over Your Hair?

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A review by Cat Ellington

Written by Cat Ellington on Wed Mar 01 2017

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