Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (Special Edition)

Star Review

It's now hard to watch this masterclass in grand guignol without thinking fondly of French and Saunders's exceptional parody or wincing at Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave's ill-judged 1991 remake. Indeed, such is the cultural baggage the picture now carries, it's almost impossible to imagine the sense of shock that audiences in 1962 must have experienced at seeing Hollywood legends of the calibre of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford risking their legacies in such a grotesque satire on Tinseltown celebrity. These weren't two grande dames seizing a last moment in the spotlight. They were Academy award winners courageously exhibiting that they had lost none of their ability to dominate the screen and were also capable of gnawing a little scenery if required. The Oscar-nominated Davis has the showier role. Before she descends into a madness inspired by the spirit of the child star persona that had warped her expectations of life, she is mischievously malevolent towards her wheelchair-bound sister. However, Crawford also excels in the suffering manner that had become her trademark since Mildred Pierce. Her pent-up duplicity reinforces the story's cruel horror, as she had exploited her sibling's insecurity to compensate for her own error of judgement. One shouldn't overlook the contributions of Victor Bueno for his larger-than-life turn as Davis's opportunistic accompanist, or cinematographer Ernest Haller, who turned the couple's mansion into a monochrome house of madness. Then there's Robert Aldrich, who not only had the intrepidity to cast two such icons, but also the nous to exploit their natural antipathy, ensuring that their off-screen rivalry manifested itself in the loathing that gives this enduring cult classic its grim fascination.

David Parkinson on 9th June 2006
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Film Description

In a gloomy Hollywood mansion, a former child star tortures her crippled sister. A hugely entertaining exercise in overheated American gothic that exploits its legendary stars to the hilt with Davis grotesque and vindictive as Baby Jane, and Crawford as her wheelchair-bound sister.

In a gloomy Hollywood mansion, a crazy, drunken former child star plays out her fantasies and cruelly tortures her crippled sister. A hugely entertaining exercise in o... more >

In a gloomy Hollywood mansion, a crazy, drunken former child star plays out her fantasies and cruelly tortures her crippled sister. A hugely entertaining exercise in overheated American gothic that exploits its legendary stars to the hilt with Davis grotesque and vindictive as Baby Jane, contrasted with Crawford as her wheelchair bound, put-upon sister. Subtle it aint, but the overheated hysteria does achieve a kind of bizarre poetry. < less

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Availability

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DVD Extras

• New 16X9 digital transfer from the original camera negative and restored audio elements
• Audio commentary by author and film historian, Charles Busch and film historian John Epperson
• Four documentary profiles of the film and its two iconic stars: Bette and Joan: Blind Ambition (a new making-of documentary)
• All About Bette, Biographical profile hosted by Jodie Foster
• A Film Profile: Joan Crawford
• The Andy Williams Show excerpt featuring Bette Davis
• Vintage Featurette Behind the Scenes with Baby Jane
• Theatrical Trailer.

Film Details

Cast

Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono

Technical Details