A former actress now paralyzed depends on her increasingly
psychotic jealous sister, who was once a child star. HORROR
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What Ever Happened
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These days, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is more famous for the bitter rivalry between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford that has since evolved into its own miniseries. The film itself is rarely the focus of the discussion anymore, but it's a great predecessor for so much psychological horror that would come after. This film is remarkably ahead of its time. In 1962, it deals with neglect, attempted murder, shattered dreams, delusions of grandeur, and straight-up abuse. You can see hints of films like Misery and The Perfection, just to name a couple, and despite their differences, David and Crawford make for a powerful double bill.
Baby Jane Hudson (Davis) was a child star, and her plain sister Blanche (Crawford) was nobody. When they grew up, Jane's star faded away while Blanche became a beloved movie star. But an accident paralyzed Blanche from the waist down and ended her film career. Jane then begrudgingly took care of her, constantly neglecting and abusing her out of jealously and spite. Slowly, Jane's antics go from harmless but mean to abusive and dangerous. The whole time you're just waiting for someone to stop Jane and rescue Blanche, and in the end you don't know if Blanche will survive Jane's abuse. I don't know if I'd go so far as to label the film "horror." It's teetering right up against the line, though. And again, this was 1962. After the release of Psycho, the horror genre started to evolve into the no holds barred, imaginative genre it became. Films like Baby Jane are essential to that growth, and this one still holds up thanks to the great performances and unsettling tone. |