| | | "Sister, sister, oh so fair, why is there blood all over your hair?"
Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, English, French, Spanish, Subtitled
A far-fetched but thoroughly engaging black comedy of two faded movie stars; one is a cripple at the mercy of her demented sister, Baby Jane Hudson. A chilling masterpiece in terror, madness and macabre characterizations.
"A chilling, disturbing movie." Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum
"...as close to genre perfection as one is likely to come." Joel Meares, FilmCritic.com
Editor's Note
As a child, Jane Hudson (Bette Davis) was a pampered vaudeville star known to the world as Baby Jane while her younger sister, Blanche (Joan Crawford), led a quiet life in her considerable shadow. Decades have passed and now Blanche is a beautiful, talented movie idol and Jane a lowly extra. When a car accident cripples Blanche, binding her to a wheelchair, Jane sees her opportunity for revenge and assumes the role of caretaker. Her newly gained power completes the transformation of the sugar-sweet child star into a nightmarish caricature of Baby Jane. As she does everything she can to make her sister's life a living hell--including feeding Blanche a dead rat and brutally beating her when she tries to phone for help--Jane plots a comeback, aided by shifty musical director Edwin Flagg (Victor Buono). Director Robert Aldrich (KISS ME DEADLY) composes the strangest and most unsettling film of his career, creating a blueprint for future psycho-thriller filmmakers to follow. Renowned offscreen rivals Davis and Crawford revived their flagging careers with two stunning performances, and Buono received an Academy Award nomination for his supporting role. Creepy, campy, grotesque, and terrifying, the wildly over-the-top WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? is a disturbing and unforgettable film.
Plot Summary
Aging sisters--one a bitter former child star, the other an actress whose career was ended by a crippling car wreck--duke it out in this campy shocker.
| Features | Audio: English, French Dolby Digital Mono | | Dubbed: French | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Warner |
| Release Date: 5/30/2006 |
| Running Time: 135 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1962 | | Catalog ID: 68368 | | UPC: 00012569683686 | | Number of Discs: 2 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Video: B&W |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Nominee (1964) | | | British Academy Awards, Joan Crawford, Best Foreign Actress | | | British Academy Awards, Bette Davis, Best Foreign Actress | |
Nominee (1963) | | | Cannes Film Festival, Robert Aldrich, Golden Palm Award | | | Golden Globe, Bette Davis, Best Motion Picture Actress - Drama | |
Winner (1963) | | | Oscar, Norma Koch, Best Costume Design, Black-and-White | |
Nominee (1963) | | | Oscar, Bette Davis, Best Actress in a Leading Role |
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| | Professional Reviews | USA Today
"...The Bette Davis-Joan Crawford teaming still packs a punch in this onetime surprise hit..." 10/03/1997 p.3DTotal Film
"...The leads are suitably poisonous, and the line between life and art blurred as clips from their films are used as the Hudson's own. Creepy..." 10/01/2000 p.108 Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings 8 of 10
I've never really been a fan of Bette Davis, but I do have to admit she gives one hell of a performance in this movie, as does Victor Buono as the somewhat decrepit musician she befriends. I'm less impressed with Joan Crawford, but in all fairness, she doesn't have the good role. This movie marks the beginning of a truly odd subgenre of horror films which found challenging roles for actresses that were most likely considered over-the-hill at that time, and there's no doubt there is a lot of dimension to the grotesque character of Baby Jane in this movie, and it gave both actresses a new phase in their career, though only Davis would really pull it off; Crawford would end up in the likes of Berserk and Trog. - Dave Sindelar
Ozus' World Movie Reviews 9 of 10
Robert Aldrich's trashy camp thriller comedy/melodrama was based on a story by Henry Farrell. The two fading and feuding older 'ice queen' stars, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, who never got along were paired up in a gimmicky twist in casting by getting the dramatic actresses to stoop to playing in a lowly horror pic. Ms. Crawford's resentment was reinforced after Davis' nomination for Best Actress--which convinced Crawford she had been had. Wearing grotesque costumes that made them look like witches was part of the deal. In any case, costume designer Norma Koch won an Oscar for her work. - Dennis Schwartz
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