What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

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What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

1962

2h 12m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

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

03/05/2017

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.

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Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

03/03/2017

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

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Andrew Schenker

Little White Lies

12/13/2012

3/5

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

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Mar 27

3.5/4

This offers an endless stream of indelible moments directed with ghoulish glee by Robert Aldrich.

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Penelope Gilliatt

Observer (UK)

03/06/2024

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

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Trace Thurman

Horror Queers Podcast

05/17/2023

4/5

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.

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Christopher K.

@gtrod47 2d

Ahead of its time. Great performances. Strange.

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John S

Nov 1

Brilliant on so many levels! This is a fascinating movie. Highly recommend.

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Mitch C

Sep 9

This is quite the twisted tragic tale and another example of the dramatic lengths Bette Davis would go to. It's part black comedy, part drama and part horror - the latter existing in the demented actions of Jane Hudson played gruesomely by Davis whose abuse of her sister Blanche is unsettling viewing. Crawford is good and her deterioration and desperation are well executed as are moments of hope dashed by Jane's repeated returns to foil cries for help. The ending may suffer somewhat from the heights of Jane's mental breakdown as it's slows to a conclusion but the image of Davis dancing in a circle of onlookers with ice cream - a flash to her hideously spoilt younger self - is striking and effective. The movie shifts to give us new perspective and question who is the greater villain - though I feel its fleeting as the behaviour displayed by James throughout is not so much bore out of jealousy as purely psychotic

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Garry A

@heavyg Jul 26

It's a classic film. It's campy at the right times. Watching Baby Jane torment her sister is a thrill to watch. The performances by Joan Crawford and Bette Davis are captivating.

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Lluvia A

Apr 14

A fantastic psychological thriller. The personal feelings towards each other from Bette Davis and Joan Crawford totally works for this film. The film was engaging from beginning to end.

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Farah R

@Farah Apr 13

Bette Davis and Joan Crawford's stellar acting makes this arguably the best psychological thriller ever made. Their convincing performances transcend the screen, making it impossible not to connect with both sisters and believe their plight. The film doesn't shy away from exploring the distrurbing and horrific details required be suspenseful, building to an unforgettable climax.

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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

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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., Aldrich, Seven Arts Pictures, Warner Brothers
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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