IMDb > What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
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What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) More at IMDbPro »

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What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) -- Open-ended Trailer from Warner Brothers Pictures

Overview

User Rating:
8.0/10   11,278 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Henry Farrell (novel)
Lukas Heller (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
31 October 1962 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Sister, sister, oh so fair, why is there blood all over your hair? more
Plot:
In a decaying Hollywood mansion, Jane Hudson, a former child star, and her sister Blanche, a movie queen forced into retirement after a crippling accident, live in virtual isolation. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 10 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
User Comments:
Disturbing, because it's real more (124 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Bette Davis ... Baby Jane Hudson

Joan Crawford ... Blanche Hudson
Victor Buono ... Edwin Flagg
Wesley Addy ... Marty Mc Donald
Julie Allred ... Baby Jane Hudson, in 1917
Anne Barton ... Cora Hudson (as Ann Barton)
Marjorie Bennett ... Dehlia Flagg
Bert Freed ... Ben Golden (as Robert Freed)
Anna Lee ... Mrs. Bates

Maidie Norman ... Elvira Stitt
Dave Willock ... Ray Hudson
William Aldrich ... Lunch counter assistant at beach
Russ Conway ... Police Officer
Maxine Cooper ... Bank teller
Robert Cornthwaite ... Dr. Shelby
more
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Additional Details

Runtime:
134 min | Argentina:135 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound Recording)
Certification:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
According to Bette Davis in her book This N' That, this film was originally going to be shot in color. Bette opposed this, saying that it would just make a sad story look pretty. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Jane is shocked by her reflection in the mirror, the expression in her face as well as her posture has changed in the next shot. more
Quotes:
Jane: I don't want to talk about it! Everytime I think about something nice, you remind me of bad things. I only want to talk about the nice things. more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
I'VE WRITTEN A LETTER TO DADDY more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
128 out of 180 people found the following comment useful.
Disturbing, because it's real, 23 December 2003
Author: Robert Glass from Los Angeles

Interesting, to see comments dismissing WEHTBJ? as a "gay" film, or "cult" film, etc.

As a writer/producer who lived and worked in Hollywood for 30 years, I submit that those comments represent a "denial syndrome" of people who are ignorant of the facts of Hollywood.

What is so "horrifying" about WEHTBJ? is that the film is an utterly realistic psychodrama about two specific sisters of that era.

It's easy to say that Bette Davis' performance/makeup was "over the top," except that they weren't. In fact, I thought her look was taken from a sad "street person" in Hollywood who, in her seventies, walked up and down Hollywood Boulevard in a pink ball-gown and dead blonde wig and thick makeup, speaking into a transistor radio she held to her ear -- in the 60s, long before cell phones -- "talking" to the FBI about people chasing her.

Perhaps those who've spent their lives elsewhere, other than in Hollywood, feel that the characters in WEHTBJ? are "over the top." But they're not.

That's what makes them so heartbreaking. And the incredibly brave performances by Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Victor Bono and the rest -- not to mention the script and Robert Aldrich's direction -- make this simply the most definitive "Hollywood" psycho-thriller since "Sunset Boulevard."

There's "A Star Is Born," in any of its incarnations. Which is also "true" in its (their) way.

And there is "Sunset Boulevard" and "Baby Jane," which are even more true, and more brilliantly made.

These are not "horror films." They are riveting psychological studies, cast with astonishing actors, and magnificently directed and photographed.

They are the equivalent of Hitchcock's "Psycho," IMHO, which was preceeded by "Sunset Boulevard" and followed by "Baby Jane."

Each different, each brilliant, each marked by some of the most indelible performances ever captured on film.

It's typical of adolescents to make a "joke" about things that make them uncomfortable.

But when experience and age acquaint one with people like Baby Jane and Norma Desmond and, yes, Norman Bates, what's the point of joking?

These three films will tell those characters' stories forever, and better than 99% of films ever made.

That's why they're classics.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
What ever happened to the Baby Jane Hudson dolls??? skie763
in film or novel, is there a hint of incest? sassyblackgirl
Colorized version Alexandrico
100 Things I Learned from Watching '...Baby Jane' Lukerdog
What is up with Edwin? (spoiler) vjsansum-1
Why doesn't Blanche scream? ameliakate26
more

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