WHATEVER HAPPENED
TO BABY JANE?

Year: 1962
UK: Park Circus
Cast: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono, Wesley Addy, Julie Allred, Anne Barton, Marjorie Bennett, Bert Freed, Anna Lee, Maidie Norman, Dave Willock, Russ Conway, Maxine Cooper, Robert Cornthwaite, Gina Gillespie, B D Merrill, James Seay, Bobs Watson, Debbie Burton (voice)
Director: Robert Aldrich
Country: USA
UK: 134 mins
UK Certificate: 12A contains psychological menace
UK Release Date: 8 October 2004


Synopsis

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 life in her considerable shadow. Decades pass and Blanche becomes a beautiful, talented movie idol and Jane a 'has been'. When a car accident cripples Blanche, binding her to a wheelchair, Jane sees her opportunity to regain power and assumes the role of caretaker. Her newly gained dominance 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, THE DIRTY DOZEN, KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE) 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, camp, grotesque, and terrifying, the wildly over-the-top WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? is a disturbing and unforgettable film.