Rating: NR
Genre:
Thriller
Release Date: 05/30/2006
SubTitles: English/French/Espanol
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: DD1
Run Time: 133 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Not For Children
Distributor/Studio: Warner Home Video
As a child,
"Baby Jane" Hudson was the toast of vaudeville. As an adult, however,
Baby Jane was overshadowed by her more talented sister,
Blanche, who became a top movie star. Then, one night in the early '30s, came the accident, which crippled
Blanche for life and which was blamed on a drunken, jealous
Jane. Flash-forward to 1962:
Jane (
Bette Davis), decked out in garish chalk-white makeup, still lives with the invalid
Blanche (
Joan Crawford) in their decaying L.A. mansion. When
Jane isn't tormenting the helpless
Blanche by serving her dead rats for breakfast, she is plotting and planning her showbiz comeback. Convinced that her days are numbered if she remains in the house with her addlepated sister,
Blanche desperately tries to get away, but all avenues of escape are cut off by the deranged
Jane.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? sparked a trend toward casting venerable Hollywood female stars in such grotesque Grand Guignol
melodramas as
Lady in a Cage (1964) and
Hush...Hush Sweet Charlotte (1965). In addition to revitalizing the careers of
Davis and
Crawford, whose real-life mutual animosity came through loud and clear, the film made a star of sorts of 24-year-old character actor
Victor Buono, cast as a porcine mama's-boy
musical composer.
Lukas Heller's screenplay was based on the novel by
Henry Farrell.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
