They always say that jealousy is the green-eyed monster. When it locks its eyes on you and takes control it can cause you to do all sorts of awful things, making you turn your back on the ones you love and doing anything to get what you want. Jealousy is a monster, and what’s worse; it can turn you into one too. This is the central theme of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is a classic 1962 psychological horror film produced and directed by Robert Alrdrich. The film follows the lives of two Hollywood stars, one successful, one not, both of them sisters.
Once-successful child star Baby Jane Hudson (Bette Davis) finds her success unable to follow her into adulthood, whereas her quiet older sister Blanche (Joan Crawford) is now one of the most successful actresses in the business, Jane is absolutely overcome with jealousy. The result is a feud between the two sisters, one that leaves Blanche paralysed from the waist down and trapped in her Hollywood mansion at the mercy of her younger sister, who seems to be the one who paralysed her.
The majority of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is set in 1962. Both of the Hudson sisters have aged and have not worked for many years (although Blanche is still very well-regarded in the public eye). They have survived on Blanche’s immense wealth from films and investments and their relationship has deteriorated to the point of flat-out abuse from Jane towards her older sister.
Poor Blanche spends every day trapped upstairs in her bedroom, at the complete mercy of her younger sister. Whilst the women do have a housekeeper, Jane is the one who does the majority of the caring for Blanche – something she is not very pleased with at all. Consumed with jealousy and resentment about her situation, Jane constantly antagonizes her sister. In the beginning her actions range from hiding Blanche’s fan mail to feeding her a dead rat, however Jane’s madness quickly escalates, along with the torment she inflicts on her sister.
Eventually it reaches the point where Blanche is tied up in her bed and starving to death, all part of Jane’s plan to rid herself of her sister and keep out of the psychiatric institution to which Blanche is intending on sending her once she has sold the house. Whilst all of this is happening Jane is also desperately trying to revive her old vaudeville act (despite it no longer being a popular form of entertainment and nobody at all even remembering her) with help from a pianist she hired through a newspaper advertisement.
Do you know what makes this film so scary? The fact that it is something that could happen so easily, right under our noses. Indeed, the events of the What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? do take place under the neighbour’s noses, with poor Blanche being both strung up and strung out by her sadistic sister without them even realising that something weird is going on in the house next door.
Jane is terrifying, but she is also so very tragic. Bette Davis skillfully balances the tightrope walk between making Jane someone we despise but also someone we feel sympathy for. She does such a good job of this that she’s not so much balancing on that tightrope as she is dancing on it. Jane is scary because she seems real, with real wants and fears that we can all understand and relate to, but also because she is so outlandish. Her garish makeup, for example, serves a dual purpose: to shock us but also to remind us of what she has lost and is desperately trying to regain.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? does a great job of generating suspense. There are a number of tense scenes, but one of the most intense is when Blanche is desperately trying to get the attention of her next-door neighbour through the upstairs window. The shots of Blanche trying and failing to be noticed are juxtaposed with shots of Jane going to and returning from the newspaper office, and we are on the edge of our seats the entire time worrying that Jane will return and discover what Blanche is doing, knowing that something awful will result if she does. The whole sequence also benefits from creative sound design, as a different score plays for either sister.
Another anxiety-inducing sequence involves Jane having a manic episode, talking and singing to a highly-realistic doll made in her likeness. Davis’ singing here is like a caterwaul, and the scariest part is that she doesn’t even realise this – she still thinks she’s the inimitable Baby Jane Hudson, beloved by all of America.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is made well, with an engaging story and a timeless message, but what really makes it a classic is the performances from its two leads, Davis and Crawford. The bitter feud that had raged between them for many years prior helped fuel the marketing for the picture, but it also spilled over into the production of it as well. In the scene where Jane has to drag Blanche across the room, Crawford deliberately made herself as heavy as possible (it’s unknown exactly how but some reports claim either rocks or a weightlifter’s belt) and ruined takes on purpose so Davis would hurt her back having to drag her so many times. Davis gave as good as she got, however, deliberately hitting Crawford in the head during a scene and also installing a Coca Cola machine in Crawford’s dressing room to spite her when the latter was on the Pepsi Board of Directors.
It must be said that although Crawford gives an excellent and incredibly sympathetic performance as Blanche, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane is Davis’ film through-and-through. She is absolutely spectacular in her role, stealing every scene she’s in and helping to spawn a whole new horror archetype: the psycho-biddy. Davis’ commitment to the role is absolute; I mentioned Jane’s unflattering makeup before, but another important thing to note is that Davis created this look for herself. She was unafraid to look “ugly” when she needed to, and this commitment can be seen in all aspects of her performance in the film. It’s no wonder she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
I’ve spent most of this review espousing the film’s many positive qualities, but like anything, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? has flaws. The motivations of the pianist character, Edwin Flagg (Victor Buono) are confusing, and the characterisation of his mother (Marjorie Bennett) is just strange. I found it hard to take any scenes they had together seriously. Thankfully they don’t have too many scenes in the film, and even more thankfully their impact on it is minimally negative.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is one of those films that everybody knows about because of pop-culture references (it’s status as a classic is cemented now that there’s a Simpsons parody of it) but not everyone has actually seen. I wholeheartedly recommend it even if you aren’t a fan of the horror genre, as it is a compelling story bolstered by even more compelling performances. It’s definitely worth the watch.
BEST BITS
- Attention to details, like using footage used from films of Davis and Crawford to represent their acting careers.
- The costuming. Blanche wears more matronly clothing whereas Jane wears costumes reminiscent of the ones she used to perform in.
- In every scene Davis is in there might as well be no other actors because nobody is paying any attention to anyone but her.
WORST BITS
- The beginning is a bit too slow.
- Edwin Flagg and his mother are hard to work out. Is he a con-man or not?
FINAL RATING: 8/10
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