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What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Overview:

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) was a Drama - Horror Film directed by Robert Aldrich and produced by Robert Aldrich and Kenneth Hyman.

The film was based on the novel of the same name written by Henry Farrell published in 1960.

SYNOPSIS

The collision of classic movie stars Davis and Crawford is like matter and antimatter, resulting in a dark star of a movie thriller. Wicked satire of their own diva personas underlines the performances of the two stars as sisters who were once stars, Davis a cutesy child act named Baby Jane and Crawford a drama queen. Trapped for years in their house (Davis demented by the bottle, Crawford in a wheelchair from an accident seemingly caused by Davis) with only their maid (Norman) to separate them, their mutual antagonism explodes when Davis hears of Crawford's plan to sell the house and institutionalize her. By turns astonishing and grotesque, this is great fun for classic movie fans seeing the stars wink at their early careers and for glimpses of the stars in authentic early film roles.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Academy Awards 1962 --- Ceremony Number 35 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Supporting ActorVictor BuonoNominated
Best ActressBette DavisNominated
Best CinematographyErnest HallerNominated
Best Costume DesignNorma KochWon
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What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? BlogHub Articles:

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

By Beatrice on Jul 25, 2017 From Flickers in Time

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Directed by Robert Aldrich Written by Lucas Heller from the novel by Henry Farrell 1962/USA The Associates and Aldrich Company Repeat viewing/Amazon Instant One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die It’s as if Billy Wilder took Sunset Blvd. that one ext... Read full article

Kristen Recasts the Classics: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

on May 23, 2016 From Journeys in Classic Film

Technically, American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy stole my thunder on this with the recent announcement that Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon would take on the roles of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in a television exploration of the making of Baby Jane called Feud. The early bird catches the w... Read full article

What I Learned From ROSEMARY’S BABY

By Will McKinley on May 31, 2013 From Cinematically Insane

You can learn a lot from ROSEMARY’S BABY, the 1968 film adaptation of Ira Levin’s novel, available on DVD and Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection. But here’s the most important lesson: never date an actor. If only someone had warned poor Rosemary Reilly when she got off the bus from Omah... Read full article

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

By Duke Mantee on Apr 12, 2013 From Spoilers

What, indeed. I am not a horror movie person. I did enjoy Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness, but you will not see me at a theater watching the new Evil Dead. No way. So I’ve shied away from classic horror or ‘scary’ movies as well, but that was somewhat of a mistake. The difference between modern... Read full article

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Apr 7, 2013 From 4 Star Films

This psychological thriller starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford with Victor Buono, opens with the bratty vaudeville star Baby Jane Hudson. Her sister Blanche lives in her shadow but begrudgingly agrees to watch out for her sister. Now in the 1930s Blanche is the movie star and Jane is all but ... Read full article

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What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Quotes:

No Quote for this film.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Facts
Early in the film, actor Bert Freed playing a film director can be seen wearing a necktie that's not tied in a knot, but is instead crossed over held on by a tie clasp. That was a trademark look of the movie's director Robert Aldrich, and was placed there as an inside gag.
While touring the talk show circuit to promote the movie, Bette Davis told one interviewer that when she and Joan Crawford were first suggested for the leads in this film, Warner Bros. studio head Jack L. Warner replied: "I wouldn't give a plugged nickel for either one of those two old broads." Recalling the story, Davis laughed at her own expense. The following day, she reportedly received a telegram from Crawford: "In future, please do not refer to me as an old broad!"
Cracked head of Baby Jane doll featured prominently in ad campaign was a completely different doll than that used in movie - probably because movie was filmed and released so quickly that ad staff had to devise campaign while film was still in production.
The producers originally wanted Peter Lawford to play Edwin Flagg. Bette Davis also originally objected to Victor Buono's casting but eventually came around.
In her book, "This N' That", Bette Davis said she had a lot of control over how her makeup should be done for the film. She imagined the older Jane as someone who would never wash her face, just put on another layer of makeup. When her daughter, B.D. first saw her in full "Jane" makeup, she said, "Oh, mother, this time you've gone too far".
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