MOVIE REVIEW: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
I wasn’t ready for What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, for its historical context and its narrative context. The movie had its critical acclaim after its release date, and it also helped to revive the careers of its legendary leads. Both Joan Crawford (Our Dancing Daughters [1928], Mildred Pierce [1945], Sudden Fear [1952], Trog [1970]) and Bette Davis (Of Human Bondage [1934], Now, Voyager [1942], All About Eve [1950], The Whales of August [1987]) worked at Warner Brothers in the 1940s. The tabloids made up a rivalry between them to sell their rags, but the actresses claimed not to have any issues working together. Speaking of rivalries in Hollywood, this film somewhat mirrors the Tinseltown tale about these cinematic cousins and their ultimate fall from fame and notoriety — less so about the notoriety, as you’re about to learn.
“Baby” Jane Hudson (Julie Allred, in her only film role) is a child star during the Vaudeville era, singing and dancing for the audience with her father’s musical accompaniment. She’s got merchandising deals with her own brand of life-sized dolls; she also has a temper and misbehaves when she doesn’t get what she wants. Her sister Blanche (Gina Gillespie, “Law of the Plainsman” [TV-NBC], “Karen” [TV-NBC]) has to sit in the wings with their mother, watching Jane and her father soak up the limelight. Her mother reminds a resentful Blanche to be nice to Jane, as her streak of good fortune would not last and she would need help — and Blanche never forgot.
Twenty years passed and Hollywood left Jane’s Vaudeville act behind, while Blanche picked up the slack and became an acclaimed actress. She used her affluence to ensure Jane got to be in movies, but the former Vaudeville star’s acting in the movies was considered substandard. Jane became alcoholic and resentful at Blanche’s success, mocking her at parties. Then came the night when an accident happened at Blanche’s Los Angeles home where she was struck by a car driven by a drunk Jane. Scared and confused, Jane ran off into the night to be found 3 days later in a scandalous state. Though rendered a paraplegic by the accident, Blanche forgave Jane and did not press charges. Even more perplexing, Jane was allowed to live with Blanche and care for her in her special condition.
Twenty more years pass, and Jane (now played by Davis) has become both alcoholic AND psychotic as she resentfully watches over anxious Blanche (now played by Crawford). They get visits from Blanche’s trusted helper Elvira (Maidie Norman, Torch Song [1953], Airport ‘77), but money’s getting tight and Jane’s attitude towards her differently-abled sister is becoming more abusive. Jane’s jealousy towards Blanche manifests in horrendous ways, even as the former child star makes plans to stage a Hollywood comeback with the help of a dodgy piano man named Edwin (Victor Buono, Beneath the Planet of the Apes [1970], The Greatest Story Ever Told [1965]). Jane’s whole life is wrapped up in the reverie of being a star again, even as she wears full stage makeup and adult-sized versions of her Vaudeville costumes. How far is she willing to go to make her dream a reality? And will it be sufficient revenge against Blanche?
<<spoilers beyond this point>>
Whenever I think of Joan Crawford, I always think of Faye Dunaway’s unflattering depiction of the actress in 1981’s Mommie Dearest, screaming NOOOOO WIRRRRE HANGARRRRS! Now I can see her as she was meant to be seen: as an amazing actress of the silver screen with fantastic bone structure. I had only heard of Bette Davis in passing, but she is everything I expected her to be: an incredibly skilled and sassy actress who isn’t afraid to ugly up for an unsympathetic role. To have two of THE BEST in the game playing against each other is like Jay-Z and R.Kelly teaming up for The Best of Both Worlds album: it’s about to be a monumental event.
The hardest part to stomach was the violence from Jane against Blanche’s body. To be fair, the violence was shocking in the 1960s — then again, so was allowing an African-American maid enter your home unsupervised. Our contemporary culture is so twisted that we can’t show sexual contact and intimacy without politicization, but shocking acts of violence are tame and expected. We educate our children on this foolishness, and believe wrongly that earlier productions would be less overt. Please remember these movies were made during violent times and industry censorship is the reason why the blood doesn’t show up as much.
Of particular note is the through-line of past events affecting their lives: Blanche wants to fix the past, and Jane wants to return to it. So much of the film capitalizes on the ever-present Hollywood narrative of the actress feud to the point where you’ll miss the story’s chilling resolution. It’s a campy film classic for a reason , so go see it where you can find it…if you can stand the film’s black-and-white format.
CHOICE CUTS:
- The neighbors (Barbara Davis Hyman and Anna Lee) were barely in the film, but they make for a wonderful framing device for the present-day shenanigans.
- I mistook Maidie Norman for Juanita Moore (Imitation of Life [1959]), and I am ashamed.
- The overhead shot of a stressed-out Blanche doing donuts in her wheelchair is both classic and unhinged.
- Talking during movies is one of my bad habits, and I thought I had it beat; this movie caused me to relapse.
- This is Victor Buono’s first film role.
- Who keeps uncovered chocolates in a drawer?
- “Cringe” is the word best used to describe Baby Jane, as she desperately wants to be a star again while lacking the ability and talent.
- Mary Louise “Baby” Dahl aka “Baby-Doll” is a Batman villain from the DC Animated Universe. She seems to be a weird homage to Baby Jane, but she’s not. According to episode notes, Baby-Doll is based more on child actors like Shirley Temple, Gary Coleman, and Emmanuel Lewis.
- There was a point in the narrative where they referenced Jane’s three-day bender scandal, and I held on to it for arbitrary reasons. Then Edwin argued with his mom about Jane’s backstory, and he didn’t believe the stories she presented to him. It was weird, because for a second it made me think that Jane was actually his mom and the woman Edwin argued with was not. Even worse, Edwin and Jane were carrying on a relationship — which would have been amazingly screwed up on every level!
