Every week, we in Her.ie towers will provide you with a blast from the past, a film that you cannot live without but nor should you, the classic film that you simply need to watch.
This week, we take a look at the one of the movies really sealed the legendary status of both Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, Whatever Happend to Baby Jane?
Released in 1962, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane was a film that everyone had been waiting for a long time for; it finally united the amazing Bette Davis with her enemy Joan Crawford on the film screen. The fact that the pair hated each other was an open secret in Hollywood and we mean they really hated each other. After just a few days working on the same set for Hush... Hush Sweet Charlotte, Crawford quit citing illness as an excuse but many believed she just couldn't work with Davis.
However, as both of their careers reached the end, Davis and Crawford both signed on Robert Aldrich's Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, pretending that they had in fact put their differences to rest. It couldn't have been further from the truth, the trouble continued throughout filming for the entire duration of the production.
On the other hand, if you decided to watch Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? now without any history of the production, you would think that this is just two amazing actresses working at the top of their game.
The film centres around a former child star, Baby Jane Hudson, who became overshadowed by her older sister, Blanche, in later life when she became a huge movie star. However, Blanche is involved in an accident which cripples her for life and it is up to Jane to take care of her sister. Jane's definition of taking care of her sister and Blanche's differ wildly and the sisters are constantly at each other's throats while Jane torments her sister on a constant basis. Of course, Jane's mental well-being continues to deteriorate over time and Blanche discovers that she must escape in order to survive.
The most important thing to note about Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? is that the acting on display here is second to none; we have not seen two actresses as good as Bette Davis and Joan Crawford since and we probably never will again. The fact that the pair absolutely hated each other also helped for the filming, it added to the intensity of the performances.
The film is listed as a psychological thriller and this really is an accurate description. We would recommend not watching this with the lights off, you may just get a little freaked out.
If you have seen it before, watch it again just to analyse the relationship between Joan and Bette. Just amazing.
