One of the earliest, and
certainly one of the best, psychological thrillers made, What Ever Happened
to Baby Jane is a must watch for these 31 Days of Hell. Although not a
traditional horror movie, this classic film takes a look at how decades worth
of bottled up resentment and hatred can spill out into cruel and violent
retribution. These themes are aided by the real life hatred and feud between
the two stars of the film, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, whose pettiness set
the mold for Hollywood rivalries for decades to come.
Produced and directed by
Robert Aldrich, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane is based on a Henry
Farrell novel of the same name, and was adapted for the screen by Lukas Heller.
The story features Jane Hudson (Bette Davis), the former child star Baby Jane
who was a child singing and dancing star, not dissimilar to Shirley Temple.
However unlike Shirley Temple, Baby Jane is portrayed as a diva, while her
sister Blanche Hudson (Joan Crawford) is portrayed as much more agreeable. The
movie flashes forward a few decades, and Blanche is the biggest thing in Hollywood,
keeping her sister in work by forcing studios to sign Jane if they want Blanche
in their movies. Blanche is then crippled in a mysterious car accident, and
Jane becomes the prime suspect.
Image Courtesy of The Sun
The film again jumps a
few decades to Jane and Blanche as much older women. Jane is drinking heavily
and is very abusive to Blanche, who she cares for in order to earn her keep in
Blanche’s home. The nasty spite brewing between the siblings erupts when
Blanche announces she will sell the house, and attempts to get Jane some help
for her drinking problem. The two leading actresses have excellent chemistry on
stage, fueled by the bitter rivalry the actresses had between each other.
Although on stage
chemistry is often used to refer to actors and actresses getting along well on
set, in this case the chemistry is built by the petty ways the actresses
attempted to undermine each other. During one scene when Jane drags Blanche
across a room, Crawford put extra weights on the inside of her dress to make it
more difficult for Davis to move her. There were petty arguments about
lighting, compensation and dressing room size throughout the production of the
film. Post production, when Davis received high praise and an Oscar nomination
for her performance, Davis began praising herself in the media while not giving
a second thought to Crawford’s performance.
Crawford, incensed that
Davis was nominated for an Oscar when she was not, went around to all the women
who were offered best actress, and asked to accept the award on behalf of them
if they won. She found a taker, and accepted the award for Anne Bancroft for
her role in The Miracle Worker. Davis also claimed that Crawford
campaigned against her within the Academy, costing her the award.
The petty, spiteful
behavior of the actresses helps to build the characters up in the same way. That
history between the actresses is brought on camera wonderfully into the history
between the two sisters. Their excellent performances are aided by the real
life hatred they had for each other.
In addition to brilliant
performances, this is a very well shot movie. When Jane performs her songs in the
foyer of the elaborate mansion they live in she is standing under a light that
give the impression of the spotlight she has been chasing since her youth. When
she catches a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror and stares at her old,
gaudy face and make up in shock, the audience feels the pain she is going
through.
Image Courtesy of Empire
The make up Bette Davis
wore on set further contributed to the excellence of that performance and
character. Davis showed up on set in full make up and costume, and told the
director that this is what Jane looks like. Aldrich agreed that it was the
perfect makeup to convey an older woman who is trying to cling to some semblance
of youth. Davis was also an outlier in Hollywood at the time for voluntarily wearing
unflattering make up. Actresses of the day did not want to look unflattering or
ugly on screen, and risk being perceived as such. Davis, however, was used to
being on the outside of Hollywood, and the performance was improved for it.
The role of Blanche Hudson
is quite similar to that of Paul Sheldon in Stephen King’s Misery, which
was turned into a film of the same name. Paul Sheldon is laid up in bed with
shattered legs, unable to move or do much of anything for himself. He is
trapped inside with someone so unstable they will be abusing him one minute and
praising him the next. Sheldon is a purely reactionary character, who is only
capable of reacting to what is happening around him. Although Blanche has a little
more mobility at her disposal, she is also at the whim of Jane, who feeds and
takes care of her much in the same way. Because Blanche depends of Jane for so
much in her day to day life, and when that supporting relationships becomes more
and more abusive, it becomes all the more horrifying.
However, unlike Annie Wilkes
of Misery, I cannot help but feel bad for Jane as well. She is constantly
reminded of the career she could have had, and her sister did. She feels guilt
for harming her sister but cannot process it due to her resentment over her
sister’s career. Some of this pain may be able to be attributed to her father,
who at the beginning of the film is portrayed as sweet to Jane when she is a
star, and nasty to Blanche when she was not. The main song that Jane sings from
the old days is also titled I’ve Written a Letter to Daddy, and several
other of her songs we see in passing reference a father figure. Some of her
resentment could be linked to a need to be the talented sister in order to be
the favored child in her father’s eyes. Although none of this is explicitly
laid out, Jane references her father often as a driving force in her career. -Patrick Bernas
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