---
product_id: 13027644
title: "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (Anniversary Edition)"
price: "R425"
currency: ZAR
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reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/13027644-what-ever-happened-to-baby-jane-anniversary-edition
store_origin: ZA
region: South Africa
---

# What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (Anniversary Edition)

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## Description

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? 50th Anniversary Special Edition (DVD) (2 Disc) Two icons from the golden age of Hollywood, Oscar® winners* Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, take their famous feud onscreen in Robert Aldrich’s newly restored thriller. In fi erce, no-holds-barred performances, Bette Davis portrays aging ex-child star Baby Jane Hudson while Joan Crawford plays Blanche, the crippled sister Jane torments psychologically. As the sisters descend into madness, the tension builds to a shocking ending in this unforgettable Academy Award®-winning** classic. French Synopsis Icônes de l’âge d’or hollywoodien et lauréates des OscarMD*, Bette Davis et Joan Crawford transportent leur célèbre querelle à l’écran dans le suspense nouvellement restauré de Robert Aldrich. Les deux actrices livrent des interprétations impétueuses et effrénées, Bette Davis dans le rôle de l’ancienne enfant-vedette vieillissante Baby Jane Hudson et Joan Crawford dans celui de Blanche, la soeur invalide à qui Jane infl ige des tortures psychologiques. La tension monte alors que les soeurs sombrent progressivement dans la folie, menant au dénouement stupéfi ant de ce classique inoubliable, gagnant des Academy AwardMD**.

Review: Maybe the Best Movie About Sibling Rivalry Ever! - "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane" marked the first movie I'd seen (embarrassingly enough!) by either Bette Davis or Joan Crawford. It didn't take long for me to learn that the two actresses were supposed to have been bitter rivals in real life and that many people were fans of one or the other but not both. Whether or not the actresses were rivals and whether or not you're a Bette Davis or Joan Crawford fan, this is a movie filled with drama, camp, humor, horror, and suspense! This is a tale of sibling rivalry between two sisters, Jane (Davis) and Blanche Hudson (Crawford). The movie begins with their childhood, Jane Hudson is the star of the family due to the relentless, if not shameless, promotion by their father. The beginning sequence of Jane singing "I've Written a Letter to Daddy," at first seems like an overly-long inclusion, but Aldrich (director) is laying down the foundation for Jane's character. As she sings, Blanche seethes backstage, both jealous of her sister's fame and the attention given to Jane by their father. Shortly after the show, Jane throws a temper tantrum in front of the same fans that had come to see her, thus prematurely ending her young career. The movie flashes forward to the sisters as young women, both actresses at this point, but now Blanche is a star in major motion pictures and Jane is a no-talent(and alcoholic!)only buoyed by her sister's success. The movie flash forwards again to an "accident" that causes Blanche to become paralyzed from the waist down. Flash forward once more and it is now "tomorrow" or present day (1962) and Jane and Blanche are living together in a deteriorating mansion, and are now in their 50's. This is where the movie really begins to take shape! Blanche's old movies have recently been released to television to her (and her neighbor's) delight, but causes still-fresh feelings of resentment and jealousy in Jane. At first, Blanche seems content, much like the caged bird she keeps in her room. However, her caretaker brings to her attention that Jane has been going through her mail, and has started drinking again "coincidentally" around the same time Blanche took steps to sell the house. Bette Davis is sensational as Jane, a garish creation of pancake make-up and tattered baby doll dresses. However, these are the least disturbing things about this character! With each scene, one can feel Jane's mounting desperation and depravity as she begins to torture Blanche by serving her "questionable" entrees, spouting veiled threats, and cutting her off from the outside world. Joan Crawford wisely pulls back, balancing Davis' histrionics and gives a restrained, deceptively subtle performance. Upon first viewing, her character is almost unsympathetic. There's seemingly plenty of opportunities for escape or rescue that aren't taken, leaving the viewer to ask "why?!" But upon second viewing, Blanche's actions make more sense and highlights the subtlety of Crawford's performance, which may have not been as apparent in the shadow of Davis' more meaty role and wonderfully bombastic performance. For me, the most macabre and disturbing part of this movie is when Jane drunkedly sits at the piano and starts singing "I've Written a Letter to Daddy" and performs it just as she did as a child until she catches sight of herself in the mirror and screams. It's a sympathetic and condemning moment for Jane: you see that though she is aware of reality, but prefers the safety of her dream, her childhood. After this point in the movie, her cruelty to Blanche reaches new heights, and one realizes that Jane is not so much mentally ill as she is self-absorbed and desperate. Jane eventually tries to revive her career with a broke piano player who is happy to ignore her eccentricities and come-ons for the promise of a paycheck. Buono is great comic relief in a movie that could've felt claustrophobic or heavy-handed otherwise. Once he comes to realize that there's no paycheck and what's really going on in the house, Jane realizes for the first time that her actions will have consequences and takes Blanche away to the beach for the shocking ending. I won't spoil it for you, but it'll make you want to see the movie again I promise you! Everything works in this movie, Aldrich is at the top of his game, the sets and lighting heighten the drama, and all the actors give brilliant performances. The most powerful thing about this movie though is its statement about the depth of sibling rivalry and its impact on the lives of these two women (or anyone who had a rivalry with a sibling!). I highly recommend this movie to not just people who like old movies or these great actresses, but to anyone looking to watch a compelling movie that stays with them long after its over! Also: the special edition of this movie is fantastic! I've seen a lot of old movies adapted to DVD and sometimes the sound and/or picture is poor, but this was transferred masterfully and the extras are a fun watch!
Review: Oh, really? Did she LIKE it? - 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane' is a movie whose name will forevermore conjure up images of Bette Davis in whiteface as the screeching, unhinged Jane, rats on silver trays, and Joan Crawford dying on a beach. However, if you can look past the campy stereotypes there's a beautifully-crafted thriller here, waiting to be enjoyed as one of the definitive films of 1960's Hollywood. Baby Jane Hudson (Bette Davis), a former child vaudevillian, is now charged with the care of her crippled movie-star sister Blanche (Joan Crawford). Having lost the use of her legs in an accident, Blanche stays mostly to her room, relying on Jane's guilt to take care of her. When Blanche decides to sell her house, Jane initiates a reign of terror over the infirm star, culminating in one of the most desolate and emotionally charged finales ever seen in pictures. It's impossible to look away from Davis as Jane. She's loud, over-the-top, unhinged, dangerous and luminous. As one reviewer charged, she is all cliche and mannerism, and there aren't enough sequences where Davis' considerable talent as an actress is allowed to give the character any real humanity. These scenes are present, however, when Jane is drunk at the piano, or right at the end of the movie when she's buying ice cream, and it's these scenes, played so beautifully by Davis, that stop the character of Jane from becoming yet another schlock-horror Titan and propel her into our memories as one of the greats. Joan Crawford, long considered to be the least-talented of these two actresses, turns the tables entirely in her role as the terrorised, hapless Blanche. She is winsome, emotional and most of all, she is real. Her magnificence as an Actress reveals itself in the personal exchanges with Blanche, their maid, and in those scenes where she is required to move out of her wheelchair - Crawford plays the part with empathy and pathos, and we find ourselves emotionally attached to Blanche for the entire picture. Victor Buono as Edwin Flagg, Baby Jane's musical arranger and special friend, also deserves a special mention - his performance is greasy, two-faced and cloying, and in absolute sympathy with the character he is portraying. Direction is excellent - Robert Aldrich has created a monster in Baby Jane, but, not content to let her carry the whole show, he gives us a genuinely creepy mansion for her to terrorise in, a house full of ambiguous shadows and beautifully lit and shot corners, staircases and window-lattices. He cleverly contrasts the pure Horror-Noir look of the Hudson interior with that of the plastic-fantastic suburban world of the neighbouring Mrs. Bates (Anna Lee) to great effect. Like the direction, the use of music and sound too goes a long way to furthering the sense of isolation and despair in the Hudson house. Blanche's buzzer and Jane's thumping, slouchy footsteps cut through mass silences and add to the tension. Jangly jazz music (the instrumental track from a song by Debbie Burton and Bette Davis, called 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane') in the sequence where Blanche is racing against time to get a note to her neighbours adds more again to the tension and isolation. Excellently preserved and transferred, 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?' is a movie that no collection really should be without. It's a great example of how talent doesn;t fade with age, a truly chilling film, and above all else, highly entertaining. Recommended.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Contributor | Bette Davis, Henry Farrell, Lukas Heller, Robert Aldrich |
| Customer Reviews | 4.8 out of 5 stars 6,959 Reviews |
| Format | Color, Multiple Formats, NTSC, Special Edition |
| Genre | Drama |
| Language | English |
| Runtime | 2 hours and 14 minutes |

## Product Details

- **Contributor:** Bette Davis, Henry Farrell, Lukas Heller, Robert Aldrich
- **Format:** Color, Multiple Formats, NTSC, Special Edition
- **Genre:** Drama
- **Initial release date:** 2012-10-09
- **Language:** English

## Images

![What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (Anniversary Edition) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81dV1P8CvJL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Maybe the Best Movie About Sibling Rivalry Ever!
*by D***. on February 8, 2010*

"What Ever Happened to Baby Jane" marked the first movie I'd seen (embarrassingly enough!) by either Bette Davis or Joan Crawford. It didn't take long for me to learn that the two actresses were supposed to have been bitter rivals in real life and that many people were fans of one or the other but not both. Whether or not the actresses were rivals and whether or not you're a Bette Davis or Joan Crawford fan, this is a movie filled with drama, camp, humor, horror, and suspense! This is a tale of sibling rivalry between two sisters, Jane (Davis) and Blanche Hudson (Crawford). The movie begins with their childhood, Jane Hudson is the star of the family due to the relentless, if not shameless, promotion by their father. The beginning sequence of Jane singing "I've Written a Letter to Daddy," at first seems like an overly-long inclusion, but Aldrich (director) is laying down the foundation for Jane's character. As she sings, Blanche seethes backstage, both jealous of her sister's fame and the attention given to Jane by their father. Shortly after the show, Jane throws a temper tantrum in front of the same fans that had come to see her, thus prematurely ending her young career. The movie flashes forward to the sisters as young women, both actresses at this point, but now Blanche is a star in major motion pictures and Jane is a no-talent(and alcoholic!)only buoyed by her sister's success. The movie flash forwards again to an "accident" that causes Blanche to become paralyzed from the waist down. Flash forward once more and it is now "tomorrow" or present day (1962) and Jane and Blanche are living together in a deteriorating mansion, and are now in their 50's. This is where the movie really begins to take shape! Blanche's old movies have recently been released to television to her (and her neighbor's) delight, but causes still-fresh feelings of resentment and jealousy in Jane. At first, Blanche seems content, much like the caged bird she keeps in her room. However, her caretaker brings to her attention that Jane has been going through her mail, and has started drinking again "coincidentally" around the same time Blanche took steps to sell the house. Bette Davis is sensational as Jane, a garish creation of pancake make-up and tattered baby doll dresses. However, these are the least disturbing things about this character! With each scene, one can feel Jane's mounting desperation and depravity as she begins to torture Blanche by serving her "questionable" entrees, spouting veiled threats, and cutting her off from the outside world. Joan Crawford wisely pulls back, balancing Davis' histrionics and gives a restrained, deceptively subtle performance. Upon first viewing, her character is almost unsympathetic. There's seemingly plenty of opportunities for escape or rescue that aren't taken, leaving the viewer to ask "why?!" But upon second viewing, Blanche's actions make more sense and highlights the subtlety of Crawford's performance, which may have not been as apparent in the shadow of Davis' more meaty role and wonderfully bombastic performance. For me, the most macabre and disturbing part of this movie is when Jane drunkedly sits at the piano and starts singing "I've Written a Letter to Daddy" and performs it just as she did as a child until she catches sight of herself in the mirror and screams. It's a sympathetic and condemning moment for Jane: you see that though she is aware of reality, but prefers the safety of her dream, her childhood. After this point in the movie, her cruelty to Blanche reaches new heights, and one realizes that Jane is not so much mentally ill as she is self-absorbed and desperate. Jane eventually tries to revive her career with a broke piano player who is happy to ignore her eccentricities and come-ons for the promise of a paycheck. Buono is great comic relief in a movie that could've felt claustrophobic or heavy-handed otherwise. Once he comes to realize that there's no paycheck and what's really going on in the house, Jane realizes for the first time that her actions will have consequences and takes Blanche away to the beach for the shocking ending. I won't spoil it for you, but it'll make you want to see the movie again I promise you! Everything works in this movie, Aldrich is at the top of his game, the sets and lighting heighten the drama, and all the actors give brilliant performances. The most powerful thing about this movie though is its statement about the depth of sibling rivalry and its impact on the lives of these two women (or anyone who had a rivalry with a sibling!). I highly recommend this movie to not just people who like old movies or these great actresses, but to anyone looking to watch a compelling movie that stays with them long after its over! Also: the special edition of this movie is fantastic! I've seen a lot of old movies adapted to DVD and sometimes the sound and/or picture is poor, but this was transferred masterfully and the extras are a fun watch!

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Oh, really? Did she LIKE it?
*by R***R on January 19, 2004*

'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane' is a movie whose name will forevermore conjure up images of Bette Davis in whiteface as the screeching, unhinged Jane, rats on silver trays, and Joan Crawford dying on a beach. However, if you can look past the campy stereotypes there's a beautifully-crafted thriller here, waiting to be enjoyed as one of the definitive films of 1960's Hollywood. Baby Jane Hudson (Bette Davis), a former child vaudevillian, is now charged with the care of her crippled movie-star sister Blanche (Joan Crawford). Having lost the use of her legs in an accident, Blanche stays mostly to her room, relying on Jane's guilt to take care of her. When Blanche decides to sell her house, Jane initiates a reign of terror over the infirm star, culminating in one of the most desolate and emotionally charged finales ever seen in pictures. It's impossible to look away from Davis as Jane. She's loud, over-the-top, unhinged, dangerous and luminous. As one reviewer charged, she is all cliche and mannerism, and there aren't enough sequences where Davis' considerable talent as an actress is allowed to give the character any real humanity. These scenes are present, however, when Jane is drunk at the piano, or right at the end of the movie when she's buying ice cream, and it's these scenes, played so beautifully by Davis, that stop the character of Jane from becoming yet another schlock-horror Titan and propel her into our memories as one of the greats. Joan Crawford, long considered to be the least-talented of these two actresses, turns the tables entirely in her role as the terrorised, hapless Blanche. She is winsome, emotional and most of all, she is real. Her magnificence as an Actress reveals itself in the personal exchanges with Blanche, their maid, and in those scenes where she is required to move out of her wheelchair - Crawford plays the part with empathy and pathos, and we find ourselves emotionally attached to Blanche for the entire picture. Victor Buono as Edwin Flagg, Baby Jane's musical arranger and special friend, also deserves a special mention - his performance is greasy, two-faced and cloying, and in absolute sympathy with the character he is portraying. Direction is excellent - Robert Aldrich has created a monster in Baby Jane, but, not content to let her carry the whole show, he gives us a genuinely creepy mansion for her to terrorise in, a house full of ambiguous shadows and beautifully lit and shot corners, staircases and window-lattices. He cleverly contrasts the pure Horror-Noir look of the Hudson interior with that of the plastic-fantastic suburban world of the neighbouring Mrs. Bates (Anna Lee) to great effect. Like the direction, the use of music and sound too goes a long way to furthering the sense of isolation and despair in the Hudson house. Blanche's buzzer and Jane's thumping, slouchy footsteps cut through mass silences and add to the tension. Jangly jazz music (the instrumental track from a song by Debbie Burton and Bette Davis, called 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane') in the sequence where Blanche is racing against time to get a note to her neighbours adds more again to the tension and isolation. Excellently preserved and transferred, 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?' is a movie that no collection really should be without. It's a great example of how talent doesn;t fade with age, a truly chilling film, and above all else, highly entertaining. Recommended.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ~Greatest Performance Of Them All~ Bravo Bette Davis!
*by B***S on February 23, 2012*

Bette Davis, for many greatest legendary Actress from the Classic Film Golden Era, started her illustrious film career shortly after sound came to movies, becoming a huge star in the thirties and forties, two "Best Actress" Academy Award wins before the thirties were out, re-inventing herself in unique fascinating fashion every decade through to end of the eighties, never anything less than engrossing & spectacular to watch and experience in all those amazing film classics. Along the way are so many high points traveling through this peerless brilliant career, "What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?" justifiably brought the durable legendary lady back to Superstar status in the sixties like an explosion...baby boomer teens went wild over Bette Davis as "Baby Jane", filling theaters in cult like fashion for months on end, all production costs were paid first eleven days of New York City exclusive engagement alone! Raw & naked Bette Davis performance every moment is riveting and exhilarating to watch and ultimately experience, nothing held back & clearly this once-in-a-lifetime extraordinary achievement was and remains completely worthy of "Best Actress" Academy Award, obvious nobody that year or the year before or year after matched this astonishing performance that is incomparable on so many levels making one wonder "what were they thinking?"...inspired musical moments feature "I've Written A Letter To Daddy" as a stunning trilogy, woven throughout story at various points in the life of Baby Jane to great effect, first sung in family vaudeville act by a youthful Baby Jane, featuring her as a wildly successful but hopelessly spoiled child star, next as a giddy hopeful with newly made replicas of childhood costumes, in rehearsal with a befuddled Victor Buono putting a new "Baby Jane" act together decades later, finale of "I've Written A Letter To Daddy" has a despondent Jane realizing all is behind her now, shattering scene is chilling to watch and truly a phenomenal scene to experience the depth of Bette Davis remarkable power, doing something so bold and different from anyone else on the big screen, creating a magical & memorable moment that is truly unforgettable. Working well with rival Joan Crawford who is tremendous and every moment in peak form, brilliant casting these extraordinary legendary film giants together as they are both incredible to watch and you believe them all the way...other supporting roles standing out is the bumbling Victor Buono in a brilliant Motion Picture debut, perfection every moment with his mom another well-rounded totally believable character...ever patient maid is another great character adding to drama real suspense, talent no longer exists to make a memorable movie classic like "What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?", a timeless masterpiece that will never grow old...vision & extraordinary direction by Robert Aldrich created a lasting Motion Picture Masterpiece to be enjoyed over and over again and for generations to come!

## Frequently Bought Together

- What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (Anniversary Edition)
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