What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (film): Difference between revisions
m →Plot: Adding image of Joan as Blanche. |
|||
| Line 25: | Line 25: | ||
The movie opens in 1917. Baby Jane Hudson ([[Julie Allred]]) is a vaudevillian child star. She performs to adoring crowds, and there’s even a “Baby Jane” doll. Jane is a spoiled brat, and her doting stage father Ray ([[Dave Willock]]), gives in to her every whim. Her jealous sister Blanche ([[Gina Gillespie]]) watches from the wings. |
The movie opens in 1917. Baby Jane Hudson ([[Julie Allred]]) is a vaudevillian child star. She performs to adoring crowds, and there’s even a “Baby Jane” doll. Jane is a spoiled brat, and her doting stage father Ray ([[Dave Willock]]), gives in to her every whim. Her jealous sister Blanche ([[Gina Gillespie]]) watches from the wings. |
||
| ⚫ | |||
One night after a party, one of the sisters is at the gate of her mansion. We see the other one in her car step on the gas and smash into the gate, severely injuring her sister. |
|||
| ⚫ | Cut to the early 30’s. The roles are now reversed. Both sisters are movie stars, but Blanche is the successful and glamorous one, while Jane’s films have flopped. Unable to establish her talent as an adult actress, Jane has taken to drinking. One night after a party, one of the sisters is at the gate of her mansion. We see the other one in her car step on the gas and smash into the gate, severely injuring her sister. |
||
| ⚫ | In the present, both Blanche ([[Joan Crawford]]) and Jane ([[Bette Davis]]) live in their decrepit old mansion. Blanche is crippled from the automobile accident. She is usually holed up in her bedroom watching her old movies on television. Jane is a shadow of her former self, still drinking and wearing hideous caked on make-up. She is abusive towards her sister, who now depends on her. There are not many visitors at the house, except for their cleaning woman Elvira ([[Maidie Norman]]). |
||
Elvira fears for Blanche’s safety because of Jane’s erratic behaviour. She even tells Blanche that her sister has been opening her mail and dumping it in the trash. Later, when Jane finds out that Blanche intends on selling the house and putting her in a sanatorium, she responds by increasing her abuse. Blanche’s beloved parakeet even disappears. |
|||
| ⚫ | In the present, both Blanche ([[Joan Crawford]]) and Jane ([[Bette Davis]]) live in their decrepit old mansion. Blanche is crippled from the automobile accident. She is usually holed up in her bedroom watching her old movies on television. Jane is a shadow of her former self, still drinking and wearing hideous caked on make-up. She is abusive towards her sister, who now depends on her. There are not many visitors at the house, except for their cleaning woman Elvira ([[Maidie Norman]]). Elvira fears for Blanche’s safety because of Jane’s erratic behaviour. She even tells Blanche that her sister has been opening her mail and dumping it in the trash. Later, when Jane finds out that Blanche intends on selling the house and putting her in a sanatorium, she responds by increasing her abuse. Blanche’s beloved parakeet even disappears. |
||
Meanwhile, Jane gets the urge to go back into show business. In the living room, she sings her signature song from when she was a little girl, “I’ve Written a Letter to Daddy.” But when she gets a look at herself in the mirror and sees what time and age has done to her, she screams. |
Meanwhile, Jane gets the urge to go back into show business. In the living room, she sings her signature song from when she was a little girl, “I’ve Written a Letter to Daddy.” But when she gets a look at herself in the mirror and sees what time and age has done to her, she screams. |
||
Hearing this, Blanche presses a buzzer in her room to see what has happened. Jane responds by cursing and ripping the phone out of the wall in Blanche’s bedroom. She brings Blanche her lunch, and Blanche finds out what happened to her parakeet in a shocking manner. Jane serves the dead bird to her in a covered dish. Blanche is so frightened she refuses to eat the food Jane brings her. |
Hearing this, Blanche presses a buzzer in her room to see what has happened. Jane responds by cursing and ripping the phone out of the wall in Blanche’s bedroom. She brings Blanche her lunch, and Blanche finds out what happened to her parakeet in a shocking manner. Jane serves the dead bird to her in a covered dish. Blanche is so frightened she refuses to eat the food Jane brings her. |
||
Jane is now planning a comeback. She drives out to the local newspaper to place an ad for a pianist. While she’s out, Blanche makes an attempt to get help. |
|||
She writes a note on a piece of paper and throws it out of her window. A neighbour, Mrs. Bates ([[Anna Lee]]) is outside, but she doesn’t see it. Nor can Mrs. Bates hear Blanche, because her daughter Liza, played by Bette Davis’s daughter Barbara Merrill, is playing loud music. Jane arrives back at the house, and while she is talking to Mrs. Bates, she sees the note near her foot. She picks it up, and goes up to Blanche’s room where she mocks her by telling her that she will never leave the house. Then she drops the note in Blanche’s lap. |
Jane is now planning a comeback. She drives out to the local newspaper to place an ad for a pianist. While she’s out, Blanche makes an attempt to get help. She writes a note on a piece of paper and throws it out of her window. A neighbour, Mrs. Bates ([[Anna Lee]]) is outside, but she doesn’t see it. Nor can Mrs. Bates hear Blanche, because her daughter Liza, played by Bette Davis’s daughter Barbara Merrill, is playing loud music. Jane arrives back at the house, and while she is talking to Mrs. Bates, she sees the note near her foot. She picks it up, and goes up to Blanche’s room where she mocks her by telling her that she will never leave the house. Then she drops the note in Blanche’s lap. Jane gets a response to her ad. An overweight man named Edwin Flagg ([[Victor Buono]]) makes an appointment to see her that afternoon. Jane gives Elvira the day off and brings Blanche her lunch. |
||
Jane gets a response to her ad. An overweight man named Edwin Flagg ([[Victor Buono]]) makes an appointment to see her that afternoon. Jane gives Elvira the day off and brings Blanche her lunch. |
|||
[[Image:Joan Crawford in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane trailer.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Joan Crawford as Blanche Hudson.]] |
|||
In one of the cinema’s most macabre moments, Blanche lifts the cover off the dish to find a dead rat. This sends her into hysterics. Later, Edwin shows up at the house. While Jane is showing him a scrapbook of herself, Blanche activates the buzzer. Enraged, Jane goes upstairs where she rips the buzzer apart and smacks her sister. Back in the living room, Jane rehearses with Edwin at the piano. She does a grotesque version of “Daddy.” Edwin tries to hide his horror because he realizes he can take advantage of the situation. They agree to his salary and Jane drives him home. While she’s out, Blanche discovers that Jane has practiced forging her signature and is writing checks. She tries to get down the stairs to use the telephone. When she reaches the phone, she calls Jane’s doctor and tells him that she needs help. |
In one of the cinema’s most macabre moments, Blanche lifts the cover off the dish to find a dead rat. This sends her into hysterics. Later, Edwin shows up at the house. While Jane is showing him a scrapbook of herself, Blanche activates the buzzer. Enraged, Jane goes upstairs where she rips the buzzer apart and smacks her sister. Back in the living room, Jane rehearses with Edwin at the piano. She does a grotesque version of “Daddy.” Edwin tries to hide his horror because he realizes he can take advantage of the situation. They agree to his salary and Jane drives him home. While she’s out, Blanche discovers that Jane has practiced forging her signature and is writing checks. She tries to get down the stairs to use the telephone. When she reaches the phone, she calls Jane’s doctor and tells him that she needs help. |
||
Jane arrives back and finds Blanche talking to him. Blanche abruptly gets off the phone, and Jane beats her senselessly, kicking her in the head and stomach. Disguising her voice as her sister’s, Jane picks up the phone and calls the doctor back. |
Jane arrives back and finds Blanche talking to him. Blanche abruptly gets off the phone, and Jane beats her senselessly, kicking her in the head and stomach. Disguising her voice as her sister’s, Jane picks up the phone and calls the doctor back. |
||
She tells him not to come because “Jane” has found another doctor. |
She tells him not to come because “Jane” has found another doctor. |
||
The next day, Elvira arrives to work. Jane tells her that her services are no longer needed and dismisses her. Jane then drives off to the bank to withdraw her sister’s money. Elvira pretends to get on a bus to go home. But instead she goes back to the house and finds that Blanche’s door has been locked. When Jane comes back, Elvira confronts her and demands the key to the room. Jane gives it to her, but as the maid enters the room, Jane hits her on the head with a hammer and kills her. Then she puts the body in her car and disposes of it. |
The next day, Elvira arrives to work. Jane tells her that her services are no longer needed and dismisses her. Jane then drives off to the bank to withdraw her sister’s money. Elvira pretends to get on a bus to go home. But instead she goes back to the house and finds that Blanche’s door has been locked. When Jane comes back, Elvira confronts her and demands the key to the room. Jane gives it to her, but as the maid enters the room, Jane hits her on the head with a hammer and kills her. Then she puts the body in her car and disposes of it. |
||
Revision as of 21:55, 23 November 2009
 | This article—in particular, the Box office and In popular culture sections— needs additional citations for verification. (May 2009) |
| What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Original poster | |
| Directed by | Robert Aldrich |
| Written by | Lukas Heller Based on the novel by Henry Farrell |
| Produced by | Robert Aldrich |
| Starring | Bette Davis Joan Crawford Victor Buono |
| Cinematography | Ernest Haller |
| Edited by | Michael Luciano |
| Music by | Frank DeVol |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |  October 31, 1962 |
Running time | 134 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) is an American psychological horror film produced and directed by Robert Aldrich. The screenplay by Lukas Heller is based on the novel of the same name by Henry Farrell. In 2003, the character of Baby Jane Hudson was ranked #44 on the American Film Institute's list of the 50 Best Villains of American Cinema.
Plot
The movie opens in 1917. Baby Jane Hudson (Julie Allred) is a vaudevillian child star. She performs to adoring crowds, and there’s even a “Baby Jane” doll. Jane is a spoiled brat, and her doting stage father Ray (Dave Willock), gives in to her every whim. Her jealous sister Blanche (Gina Gillespie) watches from the wings.
Cut to the early 30’s. The roles are now reversed. Both sisters are movie stars, but Blanche is the successful and glamorous one, while Jane’s films have flopped. Unable to establish her talent as an adult actress, Jane has taken to drinking. One night after a party, one of the sisters is at the gate of her mansion. We see the other one in her car step on the gas and smash into the gate, severely injuring her sister.
In the present, both Blanche (Joan Crawford) and Jane (Bette Davis) live in their decrepit old mansion. Blanche is crippled from the automobile accident. She is usually holed up in her bedroom watching her old movies on television. Jane is a shadow of her former self, still drinking and wearing hideous caked on make-up. She is abusive towards her sister, who now depends on her. There are not many visitors at the house, except for their cleaning woman Elvira (Maidie Norman). Elvira fears for Blanche’s safety because of Jane’s erratic behaviour. She even tells Blanche that her sister has been opening her mail and dumping it in the trash. Later, when Jane finds out that Blanche intends on selling the house and putting her in a sanatorium, she responds by increasing her abuse. Blanche’s beloved parakeet even disappears.
Meanwhile, Jane gets the urge to go back into show business. In the living room, she sings her signature song from when she was a little girl, “I’ve Written a Letter to Daddy.” But when she gets a look at herself in the mirror and sees what time and age has done to her, she screams. Hearing this, Blanche presses a buzzer in her room to see what has happened. Jane responds by cursing and ripping the phone out of the wall in Blanche’s bedroom. She brings Blanche her lunch, and Blanche finds out what happened to her parakeet in a shocking manner. Jane serves the dead bird to her in a covered dish. Blanche is so frightened she refuses to eat the food Jane brings her.
Jane is now planning a comeback. She drives out to the local newspaper to place an ad for a pianist. While she’s out, Blanche makes an attempt to get help. She writes a note on a piece of paper and throws it out of her window. A neighbour, Mrs. Bates (Anna Lee) is outside, but she doesn’t see it. Nor can Mrs. Bates hear Blanche, because her daughter Liza, played by Bette Davis’s daughter Barbara Merrill, is playing loud music. Jane arrives back at the house, and while she is talking to Mrs. Bates, she sees the note near her foot. She picks it up, and goes up to Blanche’s room where she mocks her by telling her that she will never leave the house. Then she drops the note in Blanche’s lap. Jane gets a response to her ad. An overweight man named Edwin Flagg (Victor Buono) makes an appointment to see her that afternoon. Jane gives Elvira the day off and brings Blanche her lunch.
In one of the cinema’s most macabre moments, Blanche lifts the cover off the dish to find a dead rat. This sends her into hysterics. Later, Edwin shows up at the house. While Jane is showing him a scrapbook of herself, Blanche activates the buzzer. Enraged, Jane goes upstairs where she rips the buzzer apart and smacks her sister. Back in the living room, Jane rehearses with Edwin at the piano. She does a grotesque version of “Daddy.” Edwin tries to hide his horror because he realizes he can take advantage of the situation. They agree to his salary and Jane drives him home. While she’s out, Blanche discovers that Jane has practiced forging her signature and is writing checks. She tries to get down the stairs to use the telephone. When she reaches the phone, she calls Jane’s doctor and tells him that she needs help.
Jane arrives back and finds Blanche talking to him. Blanche abruptly gets off the phone, and Jane beats her senselessly, kicking her in the head and stomach. Disguising her voice as her sister’s, Jane picks up the phone and calls the doctor back.
She tells him not to come because “Jane” has found another doctor. The next day, Elvira arrives to work. Jane tells her that her services are no longer needed and dismisses her. Jane then drives off to the bank to withdraw her sister’s money. Elvira pretends to get on a bus to go home. But instead she goes back to the house and finds that Blanche’s door has been locked. When Jane comes back, Elvira confronts her and demands the key to the room. Jane gives it to her, but as the maid enters the room, Jane hits her on the head with a hammer and kills her. Then she puts the body in her car and disposes of it.
The police call the house and tell Jane that a relative of her maid has reported her missing. She tells them that she hasn’t seen her for a week. Jane prepares to leave with her sister, fearing the police will discover what she’s done. Suddenly Edwin shows up to receive his first payment. Blanche is able to knock something down in her room and Edwin goes up and sees the condition she’s in. She begs for help, and Edwin runs out of the house to get the police. Desperate, Jane puts her sister in the car and drives to the beach. The next morning, the search is on for them. Elvira’s body was found and there are bulletins on the radio. Blanche is lying on the sand with Jane sitting beside her. Knowing that she is near death, she tells Jane the truth about what happened all those years before. It was she, Blanche, who tried to run over her sister. However, Jane moved out of the way in time and Blanche slammed into the gate and snapped her spine. Jane was too drunk to realize what happened and has since believed she was responsible for her sister’s condition. Now with her mental condition completely deteriorated, Jane goes off to get ice cream cones for the two of them. The police arrive to find her as she is dancing on the sand, with a crowd surrounding her. Finally she has the attention again that she’s craved.
Production notes
The house used for the exterior of the Hudson mansion was located at 172 South McCadden Place in the Hancock Park section of Los Angeles. The final scene on the beach was shot in Malibu, reportedly the same site where Aldrich filmed the final scene of Kiss Me Deadly (1955).
The small role of the neighbor's daughter was played by Davis' daughter B.D. Merrill who, following in the footsteps of Crawford's daughter Christina, later wrote a memoir that depicted her mother in a very unfavorable light.
Crawford was infuriated when Davis was nominated for an Oscar and she was overlooked. She contacted the Best Actress nominees who were unable to attend the ceremonies and offered to accept the award on their behalf should they win. When Anne Bancroft was declared the winner for The Miracle Worker, Crawford triumphantly pushed her way past Davis saying "Step aside!", and swept onstage to pick up the trophy. Davis later commented, "It would have meant a million more dollars to our film if I had won. Joan was thrilled I hadn't."[1]
The film's success led to other projects featuring psychotic older women, directed and/or produced by Aldrich, including Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte and What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?.
The film was remade in 1991 as a television movie starring real-life sisters Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave.
Differences from the novel
- In the novel, the sisters' maid is called Edna. In the film, her name is changed to Elvira.
- The novel was much more violent than the film, and Jane's torture of her sister more intense.
Cast
- Bette Davis ..... Jane Hudson
- Joan Crawford ..... Blanche Hudson
- Victor Buono ..... Edwin Flagg
- Maidie Norman ..... Elvira Stitt
- Anna Lee ..... Mrs. Bates
- Julie Allred ..... Young Baby Jane Hudson (1917)
- Gina Gillespie ..... Young Blanche Hudson (1917)
- Russ Conway .... Police officer
- Anne Barton ..... Cora Hudson (billed as Ann Barton)
- Marjorie Bennett .....Dehlia Flagg
- Bert Freed ..... Ben Golden (billed as Robert Freed)
- Wesley Addy .....Marty McDonald
- Ernest Anderson .....Ernie the Ice Cream Vendor at the Beach
- Dave Willock .....Ray Hudson
- William Aldrich .....Lunch Counter Assistant at Beach
- Maxine Cooper .....Bank Teller
- Michael Fox .....Motorcycle Cop at Beach
- James Seay .....Police Officer
- Don Ross .....
- John Shay .....
- John Shepoldd ....
- Peter Virgo .....
- Bobs Watson .....Clerk in Newspaper Advertising Department
- Debbie Burton .....Singing Voice "Voice" "I've Written a Letter to Daddy"
Critical reception
In his review in the New York Times, Bosley Crowther observed, "[Davis and Crawford] do get off some amusing and eventually blood-chilling displays of screaming sororal hatred and general monstrousness ... The feeble attempts that Mr. Aldrich has made to suggest the irony of two once idolized and wealthy females living in such depravity, and the pathos of their deep-seated envy having brought them to this, wash out very quickly under the flood of sheer grotesquerie."[2]
Variety stated, "Although the results heavily favor Davis (and she earns the credit), it should be recognized that the plot, of necessity, allows her to run unfettered through all the stages of oncoming insanity ... Crawford gives a quiet, remarkably fine interpretation of the crippled Blanche, held in emotionally by the nature and temperament of the role."[3]
TV Guide awarded the film four stars, calling it "Star wars, trenchantly served" and adding, "If it sometimes looks like a poisonous senior citizen show with over-the-top spoiled ham, just try to look away ... As in the best Hitchcock movies, suspense, rather than actual mayhem, drives the film."[4]
Awards and nominations
- Academy Award for Best Actress (Bette Davis, nominee)
- Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Victor Buono, nominee)
- Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Black and White (winner)
- Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Black and White (nominee)
- Academy Award for Best Sound (nominee)
- BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress (Crawford, nominee)
- BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress (Davis, nominee)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama (Davis, nominee)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture (Buono, nominee)
- Laurel Award for Golden Laurel for Sleeper of the Year (Winner)
- Golden Palm - 1963 Cannes Film Festival (nominee)[5]
Box office
The film was a massive success. With a budget of $980,000 it grossed $9 million at the worldwide box office and $5 million in rentals.
Gross with inflation (2007): $94,999,526
In popular culture
The 1990 series of French and Saunders featured a parody called "Whatever Happened To Baby Dawn?", with Dawn French in the "Jane" role and Jennifer Saunders as Blanche.
The music video to Shakespear's Sister's single "Goodbye Cruel World" features a short scene at the start spoofing the film with Siobhan Fahey in the Jane role and Marcella Detroit in the Blanche role, this highlighted the real-life tension between the two musicians.
In 2000, one episode of The WB Television Network's series Popular parodied the rat dinner scene twice; the first time, Sam McPherson portrayed Jane and the second time, Brooke McQueen portrayed Jane.
In the 1990s, MTV featured a commercial spoofing the film, depicting an aged Courtney Love as Baby Jane, terrorizing wheelchair-bound Madonna in the role of Blanche.
In Christina Aguilera's music video for "Ain't No Other Man", released in 2006 on her album Back to Basics, she plays her alter ego, "Baby Jane", in reference to the film. Her license plate even reads as such.
Legendary shock rock performer Alice Cooper has stated that this film was what helped him develop his on stage character and show.
The film is shown playing in a movie theater in the 2005 remake of House of Wax.
No Doubt's 2003 song "It's my life" features imitations of a scene from the film in their music video.
In an Invader Zim episode Bad Bad Rubber Piggy is very similar to the movie. Zim is just like Baby Jane in the episode. The differences is that the episode had a happy ending while the movie didn't.
On an episode of Will and Grace, Grace references the title of the movie when she recalls how Will first met her mother.
In the Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple In All The World episode "Guess Who's Coming for Quiche?" the character Evan makes a 'Whatever Happened To Baby Jane' reference to his wheelchair-bound boyfriend Chuck
In season four, episode one of "Outrageous Fortune" (New Zealand), Loretta names her baby 'Jane', and references the movie in her choice.
References
- ^ Mother Goddam: The Story of the Career of Bette Davis by Whitney Stine, with a running commentary by Bette Davis, Hawthorn Books, Inc., 1974, ISBN 0-8015-5184-6, pp. 296-297
- ^ New York Times review
- ^ Variety review
- ^ TV Guide review
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
External links
