• What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

1/2/25 (Tues)

I’m not sure if this 1962 film was meant to be serious, but it’s fantastic high camp, a drag queen’s dream. Bette Davis gives a gothic portrayal of the demented former star in Sunset Boulevard mixed with the demented fan in Misery, while Joan Crawford plays the crippled sister with an irritating gentleness that reminded me of Olivia de Havilland (Crawford’s real-life sister) in Gone With the Wind. Never a dull moment from start to finish.

A former child star failed to shake off her sweet, curly-haired Baby Jane image as she grew, only to see her little sister Blanche surpass her as a major movie star. Unfortunately Blanche was left crippled at the peak of her stardom, reportedly run over by her drunk and bitter sister. She is now wheelchair-bound, living with the spinster Jane on the second floor of her home. Jane has never forgiven Blanche for snatching stardom from her and treats her abominably, which is where the camp comes in. Her sneering cut-downs are magnified in amplitude by Davis’ inimitable delivery. She has learned how to imitate Blanche’s voice and signature, allowing her full freedom of movement with Blanche’s affairs and money. Her actions become more extreme: when Blanche tries to call the doctor for help, Jane rips out the phone; when the former tries to throw a note out the window to a neighbor, Blanche finds it and vents her fury. She snatches Blanche’s pet bird and serves it as lunch, only to top that by frying up a rat. She tries to revive her career as a girl act to ridiculous effect, but is convinced that it is Blanche who is standing in her way, She eventually takes away the wheelchair entirely, throws Blanche in bed, ties her hands together, and tapes her mouth shut. When the maid discovers what’s happening, Jane truly goes mad and kills the maid with a hammer. She then takes the dying Blanche down to the beach, reminiscing about visits there as a child. It is there that Blanche tells her the true story about the accident. When the police catch up to Jane, she turns to the gawking crowd and, in her delirium, performs her former dance routine on the sand as the dead body of her sister is discovered.

The whole thing is played in utter seriousness, which is quite right. Davis gives a totally committed performance and makes no attempt to prettify herself with her gaudy and unflattering makeup, little girl curls, a fat costume (I assume), and unabated nastiness. It was closer to Kabuki than to Hollywood, but whatever it was, it was extremely impressive. Crawford was just too goody-goody to be true, making it hard to sympathize with her entirely. I would have appreciated a bit more spunk. But it was Davis’ movie in any case, and she delivered. A unique experience, to be sure.