What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
by Robert Aldrich
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Julie Allred, Victor Buono, Wesley AddyDirector: Robert Aldrich
DVD: 2 Sides, Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: Letterbox, 1.85:1
Running Time: 134 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1997-10-01
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Movie Review: Parakeets for lunch, rats for dinner
Summary: 4 Stars
This was a stunning movie in its day! Of course, it's a bit dated now, but I think it has well stood the test of time. Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were off-screen rivals who were not too fond of each other anyway. But, they had never worked together before! And here for the first time, these two 'silver screen giants' meet, work well together and both deliver stirring, powerful performances of two sisters whose rivalry matched the actresses' real-life squabble. Closely following Hitchcock's movie 'Psycho', this movie follows along the lines of a similar psychlogical thriller. Character anaysis of such deeply disturbed people were just not done in those days. There were good guy and there were bad guys, and that's all there was to it. Where Psycho tried to explain why Norman Bates was a nut, this movie explores the deterioration of 'Baby Jane' Hudson, played extaordinarily and chillingly well by the talented Ms. Davis. Fueled by jealousy over her sister's success, resentment over her own failed success as well as her financial dependence on her sister, and guilt over her sister's afliction...coupled with a sense of power she has because of her crippled sister's helplessness...Jane slides deeper into madness, torturing and victimizing her sister Blanche (played with expert precision by Ms. Crawford). I think Bette held out for the Baby Jane role on purpose, both so she could 'torture' Joan, but also because it was a meatier, heftier role as far as acting ability, the need to slowly descend into madness takes a keen eye and talent by an actress. And Bette did it very well indeed! As I said, this movie is a bit dated now, but it has overall stood the test of time. Davis and Crawford are both supurb in their roles. The script and pacing were both very good (but very 1962) but still excellent. I'll spare you the whole plot description, as I'm sure you've seen it in 100 other reviews. Suffice to say this was an important, shocking movie in its day. It is still a great movie to watch today...even if Bette isn't serving rats for lunch!
Summary of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
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 BrownClassics DVD Video
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