What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

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What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Released Oct 31, 1962

2h 12m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

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53 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Jane Hudson (Bette Davis) is an aging child star left to care for her wheelchair-bound sister Blanche (Joan Crawford), also a former child actress. Stuck living together in a mansion in old Hollywood, Blanche plots to get even with Jane for the car crash that left her crippled years earlier. But Jane is desperate to keep Blanche imprisoned as she plans a new rise to fame, and tries to hide Blanche's existence from doctors, visitors and neighbors while she devises a way to get rid of her sister.

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Critics Consensus

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? combines powerhouse acting, rich atmosphere, and absorbing melodrama in service of a taut thriller with thought-provoking subtext.

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James Powers

The Hollywood Reporter

A lurid melodrama of hate, revenge and murder, a high-class horror film, in the Hitchcock vein, with virtuoso performances from Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, and moments both searing and poignant.

Mar 5, 2017

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Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

What so often gets lost about 'Baby Jane' is that it's a real thriller, dark, suspenseful, and intense.

Mar 3, 2017

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Andrew Schenker

Little White Lies

There are plenty of thrills and no shortage of suspense in this darkly comic horror film.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 13, 2012

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Penelope Gilliatt

Observer (UK)

It plays on the public's subconscious resentment of film stars... Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? is an oddly vengeful movie.

Mar 6, 2024

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Trace Thurman

Horror Queers Podcast

What could have been a campy B-movie becomes a rather touching tragedy thanks to two powerhouse lead performances from Joan Crawford and (especially) Bette Davis.

Rated: 4/5

May 17, 2023

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Joe Lipsett

Horror Queers Podcast

The precursor to the hagsploitation craze casts two real life titans in a feud that eerily echoes real life, and moreso how Hollywood treats its aging stars. The beach finale bumps this up a full half star; Davis is fantastic.

Rated: 4/5

May 10, 2023

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Aaron C

A classic must see film Bette Davis and Joan Crawford are top of their game in this film. No one can't tell me this film didn't inspire Stephen King when he wrote Misery.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/19/24

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Eye C

This is a tense and stressful movie, the conflict between the sisters is palpable. It’s just great love it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/03/24

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Audience Member

I can't imagine a more unpleasant two and a quarter hours than watching these two has-beens play....a couple of has-beens!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

09/27/24

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Audience Member

I thought this was an excessively cruel movie. The acting was good between Davis and Crawford. The story line could have been better. The entertainment value was low.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/26/24

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Luis M. D

This is a movie that should please everyone who likes serious psychological thrillers. What makes this story interesting is the slowly growing suspense rather than the gore or violence.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/11/24

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helder f

The premise of the movie is very suitable to create a great melodramatic movie. It deals with childhood stardom, with sibling rivalry and aging in Hollywood. Davis’s performance stands out, but she has much more to work with than Crawford. Her character is a bit confusing, at times evil, other times child-like regressed. I found that this was a movie to bring Crawford and Davis together, but otherwise it’s a bit flat. The length of the movie was distracting. Certain scenes could be cut short and others even skipped. Also distracting is the fact that script doesn’t show great attention to detail and realism. To imagine that a wealthy actress becomes bound to a wheelchair but remains living in the second floor of her house with no access to the first floor or the street… Davis with her raspy voice being able to imitate Crawford’s voice… it’s clear that the movie had other priorities than attempting to be realistic. I didn’t particularly enjoyed it, but audiences used to be more forgiving

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/25/24

Full Review

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Robert Aldrich

Director

Bette Davis

Miss Baby Jane Hudson

Joan Crawford

Miss Blanche Hudson

Victor Buono

Mr. Edwin Flagg

Marjorie Bennett

Mrs. Dehlia Flagg

Anna Lee

Mrs. Bates

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Synopsis

Jane Hudson (Bette Davis) is an aging child star left to care for her wheelchair-bound sister Blanche (Joan Crawford), also a former child actress. Stuck living together in a mansion in old Hollywood, Blanche plots to get even with Jane for the car crash that left her crippled years earlier. But Jane is desperate to keep Blanche imprisoned as she plans a new rise to fame, and tries to hide Blanche's existence from doctors, visitors and neighbors while she devises a way to get rid of her sister.

Director: Robert Aldrich
Producer: Robert Aldrich
Screenwriter: Lukas Heller, Henry Farrell
Distributor: Warner Bros., Warner Home Vídeo
Production Co: The Associates & Aldrich Company Inc., Warner Brothers, Aldrich, Seven Arts Pictures
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 31, 1962, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 21, 2016
Runtime: 2h 12m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)

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