What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?

Starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Directed by Robert Aldrich
(1962, 132mins. Pre-dates the rating system, but may not be suitable for young audiences.)

The well known real-life animosity between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford was put to exquisite on-camera use in this gothic and sometimes campy exercise in psychological terror. Davis is “Baby Jane” Hudson, a former child star who is embittered by the later, greater success of her sister Blanche (Crawford) as a top movie star. Blanche is crippled in a car accident and Jane is extremely resentful at having to take care of her in their decaying L.A. mansion. As Jane schemes to make a comeback in show business, Blanche becomes increasingly desperate to get out of her demented sister’s control. Davis was never afraid to take on characters that were unattractive or unsympathetic, and her performance here is as courageous as it is unforgettable. “Baby Jane” has become a cult classic, but it is, fundamentally, a skillful, well-performed nail-biter.