What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? | Bette Davis, Joan Crawford

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? | Bette Davis, Joan Crawford | Bette Davis Lover

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What Ever Happened...

	What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Bette Davis, Joan Crawford Warner Home Video, 2000 average customer review:based on 172 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A cultish horror favorite, 1962's What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? will make you think twice before hungrily unveiling a covered plate of food. Bette Davis stars as Jane Hudson, a onetime child actress and singer. As an elderly woman, she wishes to revive her vaudevillian career, but she has become a grotesque caricature of her former self. Over the years as her star faded, the star of her older sister Blanche (Joan Crawford) rose, outshining the career of the has-been Baby Jane. Jane was relegated to minor roles, which she only won when Blanche demanded that she be awarded them. The film opens years after a calamitous car accident leaves Blanche in a wheelchair, with no one to care for her except the increasingly insane and sadistic Jane and their servant, Norman. Trying to punish Blanche for her years of success, Jane tortures the housebound woman, slowly trying to starve her to death, all the while attempting to recapture the fame of her youth. This dark drama also stars Victor Buono as the hefty pianist who answers Jane's ad for an accompanist, hoping to milk some money off the demented old woman. Both Buono and Davis were nominated for Oscars for their roles in this suspenseful and somewhat sick thriller that exploited well the real-life antagonism between Davis and Crawford, while at the same time rejuvenated both their careers. --Jenny Brown

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Clash Of The Movie Titans: The Famed Hudson Sisters

Robert Aldrich's 1962 Movie Masterpiece, "What ever Happened to Baby Jane?" is one of my all time favorite films and one of the visionary staples of my youth. I have long admired the "larger than life" glamour and cinematic greatness of Movie Legends Bette Davis b. Ruth Elizabeth Davis, (1908-1989) and Joan Crawford b. Lucille Faye LeSueur, (1904-1977) and this superbly acted, well-crafted film justifies and further cements that appreciation.
In short, the film is about an embittered, neurotic has-been vaudevillian child-star and actress, and the psychological reign of terror that she exerts over her crippled 1930's Movie-Queen sister. It's about intense and unhealthy sibling rivalry, family dysfunction, jealously, guilt, neurosis, substance abuse and the "dark side" of Hollywood Fame.
This film is visually stunning! Shot in glorious black and white, the film opens with a day in the life (circa 1917) of child star Baby Jane Hudson, a beautiful little girl with an Angelic singing voice and loads of charisma. Not only is Jane Hudson the "star headliner" of the Vaudevillian Circuit, but she's the breadwinner of her family as well, which consists of her brow-beaten, care-worn mother, her sychophant milquetoast of a father, and her sister Blanche, a dour, freckled faced child with pigtails and large, soulful eyes.
In these opening sequences, the viewer can see how early family dynamics contributed to the development of the sisters, their adversarial relationship with one another, and the origin of the dysfunction that facilitated the conditions for the horror to come.
The year is 1935, the girls are now beautiful young women, and Blanche Hudson is one of the most successful stars in movies, by comparison, Jane's star has faded, and she is now relegated to minor roles in "B-movies". Jane's wild, self-destructive lifestyle, fueled by her burgeoning alcoholism, is beginning to render her unreliable and unemployable by the studio system.
Although Blanche is now the "favored" sister, a tragic turn of events occur that serves to alter her life's course and that of her sister Jane, as well. The montage of events filmed by Director Aldrich to depict "the accident" is a touch of genius. I mean everything from the stylish luxury car of the time, the costumes, and the music come together to imprint an indeliable impression on the mind of the viewer. There's a shot of an elegantly bejewled shoe on a dainty foot releasing the clutch, a graceful manicured hand shifting the gears of the car, and the rev of the engine and the crash of the car into the gates after almost running over a woman resplendently gowned in evening wear. A woman screams, then there are sobs in the night, cut to a shot of the car's exhaust, then the life-sized Baby Jane Doll lying on the pavement, her beauty marred by the immense fracture in her head, in a symbolic presentiment of the events to come, revealing the dark chasm of future madness within. Viewing this scene as a child always terrified me, especially with the enigmatic question, the words seeming to eerily come directly out of that doll's head, accompanied by Frank DeVol's thunderous, bombastic score: "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?"
And that's just the beginning of the film!

This film revived the careers of both Davis and Crawford, who were considered "past their prime" as it was politely said in the vernacular of the day. In fact, this film was a box office success in its initial release, and Davis received her fifth Academy Award nomination for her disturbingly dynamic portrayal of the yowling, grotesque and murderous Baby Jane. This groundbreaking film (along with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) also helped to give birth to a new genre of film, the psychological thriller. This film boasts a fine cast and includes such luminaries of the day as Marjorie Bennett, Anna Lee, Julie Allred, character actress Maidie Norman, in a scene-stealing turn as the fiesty "cleaning lady" Elvira Stitt, and it also launched the career of Victor Buono.
I can't say enough about how well this movie was made. Aldrich directs in a style that's very visual, in the tradition of directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, John Carpenter, Steven Speilberg and later, James Cameron. The cinematography for this film is excellent and is highly compatible with DeVol's dramatic, atmospheric and haunting score. I love this movie, and it's difficult to envision anyone else other than Bette Davis and Joan Crawford playing the Famed Hudson Sisters. I read the Novel by Henry Farrell when I was in High School, and I can earnestly say that the screenplay was very faithful to the source material. This DVD also contains two featurettes, one about Bette Davis and hosted by Jodie Foster, the other about Joan Crawford, and a "Anatomy of a Scene" featurette consisting of "on location" footage filmed in 1962.

The Aldrich Company and Associates Presents: A Robert Aldrich Film. "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" Starring: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Introducing Victor Buono, Marjorie Bennett, Anna Lee, with Debbie Burton as the singing voice of Baby Jane, and Maidie Norman as Elvira.
Cinematography by Ernest Haller
Music By Frank DeVol
1962 Aldrich Company and Associates
Grade: A+

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Bette Davis Lover

The actress's name speak for it self. This is a classic, one to be cherished for years to come.

DVD Arrival

This item arrived in a timely fashion; it was once a favorite of my and I was happy to receive it.

Makes a great gift

My friend really likes this movie. Espeically when Betty Davis is being the ultimate b*tch.

MASOCHISM VS SADISM

MASOCHISM VS SADISM

FINALLY A PAIRING OF BETTE DAVIS AND JOAN CRAWFORD. IT TOOK OVER 30 YEARS! DAVIS GOT THE NOMINATION, BUT CRAWFORD MADE THE ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE ACADEMY AWARDS THAT THE AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS GOES TO ANNE BANCROFT FOR HER PERFORMANCE IN THE MIRACLE WORKER! BETTE NEVER FORGAVE JOAN FOR THIS, AND MADE LIFE SO MISERABLE FOR JOAN DURING THE FILMING OF THEIR NEXT EFFORT, HUSH, HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE THAT JOAN HAD TO LEAVE THE SET! BETTE EVEN WENT SO FAR AS HAVING EVERYONE ON THE SET DRINK COCA-COLA INSTEAD OF PEPSI JUST TO SPITE TO SPITE JOAN, AS JOAN WAS STILL ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AT PEPSI-COLA. FORTUNATELY, OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND WAS EXCEPTIONAL IN HER PERFORMANCE IN THIS FOLLOW-UP FILM TO BABY JANE.

A REAL DISAPPOINTMENT IS THE OVERLAY COMMENTARY THAT ACCOMPANIES THE FILM. GENERALLY, THIS IS DONE WITH INDIVIDUALS WHO EITHER WERE INVOLVED IN THE MAKING OF THE PICTURE, OR A FILM HISTORIAN. UNFORTUNATELY, THE TWO MEN PROVIDING THE COMMENTARY ON THIS DVD, SEEM TO ACTUALLY KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE FILM, ADMITTING THAT IT HAD BEEN YEARS SINCE THEY HAD SEEN IT. THE COMMENTS ARE SUPERFICIAL, AND OFTENTIMES THEY ADMIT TO NOT KNOWING MUCH ABOUT THE FILM, OTHER THAN THEIR OWN REMEMBRANCES FROM A VIEWING SEVERAL YEARS EARLIER. A DEFINITE DISAPPOINTMENT, AS WITH FILM HISTORIANS OR INDIVIDUALS WHO REALLY ADD ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE FILM, THIS IS NOT THE CASE HERE. YOU CAN BY-PASS THE COMMENTARY ON THIS ONE, AND JUST READ ANY ADDITIONAL HISTORY FROM THE FILM BOOKS. IT WILL BE MUCH MORE INTERESTING THAN WHAT IS PRESENTED ON THIS COMMENTARY. THIS IS THE WORST COMMENTARY I HAVE EVER HEARD USED FOR THE ADDITIONAL MATERIAL ADDED TO DVD'S THESE DAYS. I WAS SURPRISED THIS COMMENTARY WAS APPROVED. IT SEEMS TO BE A LAST MINUTE EFFORT, WITH VERY LITTLE PREPARATION (IF ANY) IN WHAT IS SAID REGARDING THE FILM.

ONE OF THE STARS IN THE FILM IS ACTUALLY SEEING SCENES OF THE LOS ANGELES HANCOCK PARK AREA AND LARCHMONT VILLAGE, AS WELL AS THE ORIGINAL WESTERN COSTUME BUILDING CIRCA 1962. MUCH HAS NOT CHANGED, BUT THE FEELING OF LIFE IN LOS ANGELES IS WELL REMEMBERED IN THIS FILM PRIOR TO THE ONSLAUGHT OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AND THE SUBSEQUENT DOWNHILL TREND IN SOME OF WHAT HAD BEEN LOS ANGELES MOST BEAUTIFUL AREAS, ESPECIALLY THE MACARTHUR PARK AREA AND THE MIRACLE MILE ON WILSHIRE BOULEVARD INCLUDING THE BULLOCKS WILSHIRE DEPARTMENT STORE BUILDING, WHICH IS NOW A COLLEGE.

MACARTHUR PARK IS NOW CRIME RIDDEN AND NO LONGER HABITABLE. AT THE TIME OF THIS FILM THIS PARK HAD BEEN ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PARKS OF ANY CITY IN THE WORLD. THE FAMOUS AMBASSADOR HOTEL, HOME OF THE FAMOUS COCOANUT GROVE, ALSO IN THIS AREA WAS JUST RECENTLY TORN DOWN FOR PRIMARILY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TO HAVE A SCHOOL. GOOD THAT THIS FILM PRESERVES HOW BEAUTIFUL LOS ANGELES ONCE WAS PRIOR TO THE CURRENT DOWNHILL TREND, ESPECIALLY IN THE WILSHIRE. MIRACLE MILE DISTRICT.

ANOTHER STAR NOT GENERALLY MENTIONED IS THE CLASSIC LINCOLN CONTINENTAL CONVERTIBLE BETTE DAVIS DRIVES DURING THE FILM.
WHAT ELSE CAN ONE SAY? THIS IS ONE OF THE GREAT CLASSIC FILMS OF LATER HOLLYWOOD, WITH TWO OF THE GREATEST WOMEN STARS EVER TO COME OUT THIS CITY'S LONG AND IMPRESSIVE ROSTER OF ACTORS AND ACTRESSES. PROBABLY THE BEST THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN!
VIEWS OF LOS ANGELES WHICH NOW ARE NO LONGER THERE TO BE SEEN, AS WELL AS THE COMFORTABLE NATURE OF THE CITY IS SADLY LONG GONE. THE FILM DOES PRESERVE THIS WONDERFUL PERIOD OF TIME IN LOS ANGELES THAT NO LONGER EXISTS.

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