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WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? Masterful Thriller Decoded

Robert Aldrich’s work is a brilliantly executed psychological thriller that is far more terrifying than most “paranormal” horror films.

Piotr Han

24 January 2025

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? Masterful Thriller Decoded

The Unusual Career of an Unusual Star of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

When Bette Davis began her career in the early 1930s, it was not easy for her. Despite her undeniable talent, breaking through was challenging. Unlike most actresses of that era, she lacked the advantage of classical, dazzling beauty—she wasn’t unattractive, but she fell far short of the ideal of beauty typical of those times. She decided to turn this perceived flaw into a strength and took a very bold step for a young actress: she started accepting negative roles. She wasn’t afraid to play ironic, sarcastic, and “unfeminine” characters. She also had no qualms about aging herself for roles. Adopting this approach paid off tremendously; in a relatively short time, she achieved true stardom. This accomplishment is all the more impressive when considering that Bette Davis managed to avoid what all actors taking unconventional roles fear: typecasting.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Bette Davis

Davis refused to be pigeonholed as a character actress. She also received “classic” leading roles (including in melodramas). She became one of the greatest stars of her time, with the ability to influence the choice of director, casting, and even the scripts of her films. Needless to say, she eagerly used this power. It’s also worth noting that she was a rebellious artist with a strong character. In an era when independent cinema practically didn’t exist, and studio heads had far more power than they do today, Davis wasn’t afraid to clash with them.

As time went on, her star began to fade somewhat. This is not surprising; cinema has never been particularly kind to actresses over fifty. Both then and now, there is a noticeable deficit of interesting roles written with older actresses in mind (and in modern times, the situation is even more difficult, as most well-written roles are claimed by Meryl Streep). As for leading roles in potential box-office hits, such opportunities are practically nonexistent. Therefore, when the opportunity arose to play the titular character in a major film, Bette didn’t hesitate for a moment.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Joan Crawford

In What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, the second leading role was given to Joan Crawford, whose career was a mirror opposite of Bette Davis’s. Crawford was a classic beauty, playing roles typical of glamorous stars of that time. She also enjoyed great fame, though she wasn’t considered as good an actress. Crawford’s main asset was her looks, so as she began to lose her beauty with age, her career slowed down more sharply than Davis’s, who was two years younger. The two women did not have a fondness for each other, but in the context of such a specific film as What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, this wasn’t a problem. Quite the opposite.

Retirement home it is not

United States, early 20th century. Baby Jane Hudson is a child star of the stage, and her performances are extremely popular. However, a few decades later, the tables turn: Baby Jane’s career stagnates, and all the glory goes to her sister Blanche, who becomes one of the biggest movie stars of the 1930s. Everything changes when Blanche is run over by a drunken Baby Jane. The main action of the film takes place decades later, when the two now-aging women live under one roof. The paralyzed Blanche (Joan Crawford) is at the mercy of her jealous, alcohol-abusing, and fame-obsessed sister (Bette Davis), who gradually descends into madness.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Bette Davis, Joan Crawford

Robert Aldrich’s work is a brilliantly executed psychological thriller that is far more terrifying than most “paranormal” horror films. For most of the film, the camera is confined to the spacious house shared by the sisters. Yet, as a viewer, you feel trapped in a claustrophobic space with no escape. Watching What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? was an incredibly stressful experience for me—the atmosphere of paranoia is built, among other things, by the tight framing of the shots. Each appearance of the titular character caused me a unique discomfort. Like the tormented Blanche, I wanted to escape the trap at all costs.

Aldrich achieved a rare feat—his Baby Jane is one of the best and most terrifying villains in cinema. She is certainly not as flashy a character as, for example, Hannibal Lecter, the Joker, or Hans Landa. Those characters, in some sense, could fascinate; Baby Jane evokes pure disgust and fear, making her confrontations far more suspenseful. This leads to an almost physical discomfort during the viewing experience. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? lingers in the memory for a long time, but it is not a film one would eagerly revisit. Even its ironic epilogue does little to change that. This is a characteristic of this type of “unpleasant” cinema, though it doesn’t diminish its value.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Bette Davis

Reducing Baby Jane to the role of a mere thriller would be unfair to this exceptional production. Aldrich’s work is also (or perhaps primarily) a story about how the status of a child star can have a destructive impact on one’s personality. Parents, by investing in their children’s careers, may think they are securing a bright future but could actually ruin their lives. The media often highlights such cases. And how many smaller tragedies must have unfolded away from the spotlight? Even the calm Blanche spends her evenings watching old films in which she starred.

It will probably come as no surprise that Davis won this battle by a knockout. She had a much more interesting and “photogenic” role to play. The role of Baby Jane was an actor’s dream. However, this does not diminish Bette Davis’s accomplishment, whose performance is a masterclass in acting. As mentioned earlier, her character is one of the most repulsive villains in cinema, but even so, in a few scenes, we feel pity for her and even a faint trace of sympathy. It is an incredible and highly admirable achievement.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Bette Davis, Joan Crawford

In a way, both actresses summed up their careers with this film. Bette Davis once again wasn’t afraid to age and disfigure herself for a role, while Joan Crawford was—traditionally—prettier and “simpler,” which made her less memorable than her grotesque (but not over-the-top) rival. However, the duo complemented each other perfectly. Their combined efforts, along with Robert Aldrich’s masterful direction, resulted in one of the best and most evocative thrillers of the 1960s.

Animosity, Greed, and… Professionalism!

As I mentioned earlier in the article, Crawford and Davis did not get along. This statement is a significant understatement, as—if the legends are to be believed—they outright hated each other. Both women were known for their difficult personalities, egocentrism, and hypersensitivity about their artistic legacies (the similarity to the characters they portrayed cannot be a coincidence). The parallels do not end there: both Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were married four times, and both became the subjects of books written by their own children. Negative portrayals.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Joan Crawford

It was probably for these reasons that Aldrich decided to cast these two actresses in such a specific film as What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?. This was an excellent decision from both an artistic and a marketing standpoint. The prospect of a clash between these two great personalities (along with the immense popularity of another psychological thriller, the iconic Psycho from 1960) made the producers place great financial hopes on this project. The actresses were well aware that this could be one of their last chances to play leading roles in a top-tier box-office hit, which is why they behaved impeccably on set. Despite their mutual animosity, there were no conflicts between them, and the work proceeded in an atmosphere of cool professionalism. It also helped that both actresses were set to receive a percentage of the film’s box-office earnings.

Their calculations proved to be correct. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? became one of the biggest hits of the season. Both actresses made a substantial profit. In addition to its box-office success, the film also achieved artistic acclaim. Bette Davis received an Academy Award nomination (though the Academy deemed Anne Bancroft’s performance in The Miracle Worker superior). Legend has it that a jealous Joan Crawford lobbied against her “colleague’s” nomination. It’s hard to determine whether this is true. After all, an Oscar for Davis would have translated into greater earnings for Crawford. However, it is a fact that the latter had the honor of accepting the statuette on behalf of the absent Anne Bancroft at the ceremony.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Bette Davis

Joan Crawford did not appear in any significant productions afterward. Her last film was the campy horror Trog in 1970. Bette Davis’s career fared somewhat better; she went on to deliver a few good performances in warmly received films. However, none of them matched the popularity of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?. Only Robert Aldrich had his greatest success still ahead of him. This director, adept in every genre, gave the world the famous The Dirty Dozen in 1967.

Interestingly, the trio reunited in 1964 on the set of Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte. This production emerged somewhat as a result of the popularity of Baby Jane. Once again, we have a large house and a psychotic Bette Davis in the lead role. Unfortunately, after a few weeks of filming, Joan Crawford had to withdraw due to health reasons and was replaced by Olivia de Havilland. Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte was well-received but did not replicate the success of its predecessor. The bar had simply been set too high.

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