WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?: Blu-ray reissue (Warner Bros./Seven Arts, 1962) Warner Archive

“Not a dime for those two old washed-up broads,” was the way Jack L. Warner put it to director, Robert Aldrich when the idea of co-starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford was first pitched to him. Aldrich had other ideas, and eventually persuaded Jack to, at least, distribute Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) under the Warner Bros. shield, although Aldrich would have to shoot his movie elsewhere. Apparently, even the thought of either gal on Jack’s backlot cast a pall over Warner’s personal believe that bad luck was contagious. But not even Jack could conceive the combined efforts of Davis, Crawford and Aldrich would yield such a sublime concoction of grand dame guignol, destined to ring cash registers around the world. Jack might have had other reasons for rejecting the offer outright. Indeed, he had never found ‘common ground’ with Davis who, after the mid-1930’s commanded a salary and creative control over her own destiny so ostentatious in an industry dominated by moguls that she earned a moniker around the studio as ‘the fifth Warner brother.’ After defying Jack’s edicts and attempting to make a picture abroad while still under his iron-clad rule, Davis returned to the fold, no less fiery or fueled with ambition to become one of the greatest leading ladies of all time.  And Jack, hoping Davis would fall flat on her face so he could pull in the reins, would not be allowed to look back once Davis had creative control, navigating her destiny with one solidly-chosen hit maker after the next.

Yet, despite the mountain of money to be made off her back, by the mid-1940’s Jack had tired of Davis’ brashness; also, ducking into the men’s lav’, merely to avoid another confrontation with her. So, when MGM, having run out of steam with formulaic pictures for diva, Joan Crawford, decided to end their alliance with the star – to be branded ‘box office poison’, Jack seized upon the opportunity to hire Crawford to keep Davis in check. It didn’t work, and Crawford, just as cagey as Davis where her career was concerned, played her cards very close to the vest; waiting nearly 2 whole years after inking the Warner deal before starring in her Oscar-winning classic, Mildred Pierce (1945). In point of fact, Warner Bros. did well by both Davis and Crawford – two of its most bankable stars throughout the mid-to-late forties. But then, Davis did Beyond the Forest (1949) – a bona fide turkey, and, Crawford’s seemingly unstoppable run hit a series of snags with diminishing box office returns that convinced Jack the time had come to cut both ladies loose. In the interim between 1950 and 1962, Davis and Crawford’s careers entered – then re-entered fallow periods, fired up in fits and sparks, only to fade into obscurity over and over again. The term ‘comeback’ is often over-used, but it remains accurate in describing the renaissance both actresses experienced after Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? hit screens.  And Jack, not above shameless promotion, was to be found mugging for the cameras, hugging Crawford and Davis as if their triumphant return had been his idea all along. ‘Washed-up old broads’, indeed!  

Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were two indisputable heavy-weight megawatt talents, who fussed and feuded, slinked and suffered as few divas of their ilk could or have since. On screen each created indelible and iconic images of the classic Hollywood female star, irreproachable by any standard - then or now. Behind the scenes, they were bitter rivals of the first magnitude whose mutual contempt was legendary. Davis would always insist Crawford heavily campaigned to deprive her of an Oscar for 1950’s All About Eve. But the rivalry began long before this, when Crawford was already a leading lady at MGM in the mid-1930s, but Davis was still struggling to carve her niche over at Warner Brothers. By mid-decade Crawford was ensconced as the reigning glamour girl par excellence with legions of fans. Davis, who would be the first to admit she was not a conventional beauty, in retrospect, was probably more than a tad envious of Crawford’s success. But with her breakout in Jezebel (1938), Davis began her own rapid ascendance at WB, a journey that would surpass and eventually eclipse Crawford’s supremacy at MGM. Indeed, by mid-decade Crawford was all but forgotten by the studios, while Davis was churning out one hit after the next. Now, Aldrich offered both ‘has-beens’ a chance to bring their well-publicized feud to the forefront by pairing them together in a single movie. Seen in this light, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? is something of a very cruel joke. It plays as an almost semi-biographical account of what each ‘lady’ thought about the other; both Crawford and Davis cast as fading stars, spending their emeritus years in seclusion in a slightly moth-eaten mansion – itself, a strangely sad relic from happier times.

The screenplay to Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? from Lukas Heller, was loosely based on a novel by Henry Farrell. However, Heller’s reinvention extols not only the delicious hatred of its fictional counterparts but also revels in the mold and mildew of both Crawford and Davis cast-off careers – each uncomfortably preserved in mothballs until Aldrich found a way to resurrect them from this pop culture oblivion. Viewing the movie today, it is increasingly difficult to separate fact from fiction; Davis’ contempt for Crawford emanating with odious venom from beneath her wig and heavily pancaked face. In the scene where Baby Jane Hudson (Davis) kicks her handicapped sister about the floor, Davis actually hauled off and struck Crawford in the head, sending her to hospital. Later, during the scene where Jane is supposed to carry her sister’s bound body out of bed, Crawford, knowing of Davis’ bad back, deliberately acted as a dead weight to ensure Davis would injure herself while attempting the stunt. To suggest the working atmosphere was a tenuous détente between these two aging figureheads is an understatement.  Nevertheless, Aldrich had earned a reputation as a formidable ‘lion tamer’ and also knew his craft. Furthermore, he had a deep and abiding respect for his co-stars. And in retrospect, Crawford and Davis’ mutual venom, claws out, creates an underlay of blood-curdling realism in this ‘fictional’ story. It also elevates Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? from B-budget fright-fest to guaranteed ‘A+’ cinema art.

Our story sets up the premise of sibling rivalry between Baby Jane Hudson (Julie Allred), the darling of the Vaudeville circuit, and her sister, Blanche (Gina Gillespie). It’s 1917 and Jane is a spoiled child star whose father, Ray (Davie Willock) simply dotes on her while the two are on stage, but cannot even wrangle her into obeying him once the curtain has come down. Backstage, Jane throws a tantrum. This raises a few eyebrows from her adoring fans and their mothers. When Blanche attempts to quell Jane’s fury, Ray snaps at her. Mother, Cora (Anne Barton), who is patient and sympathetic to her cast-off daughter, encourages Blanche to forgive and forget. Blanche has no such intention. By 1935, the adult Blanche has become the movie star of the family while Jane has turned to the bottle to coddle her fearful realization her adult film career is over. Returning to the mansion they share after a party, one of the sisters consciously attempts to crush the other by smashing the car into a wrought iron gate. Aldrich keeps this moment, shot in tight close-ups of legs and hands, deliberately ambiguous while ever so slightly implying Jane is behind the wheel.

After the main title sequence, our story fast tracks to 1962. Both ladies are now well past their prime and living in seclusion in the same mansion. Crippled in the auto ‘accident’ so long ago, Blanche (now played by Crawford) relives her glorious past vicariously through watching revivals of her movies on the television in her upstairs bedroom. Her entire world consists of being kept in this one room, rarely visited by the abusive Jane (Bette Davis) but looked after with compassion by the housemaid, Elvira Stitt (Maidie Norman). Next door neighbor, Mrs. Bates (Anna Lee) attempts to make polite conversation with Jane, even suggesting that perhaps she and her daughter, Liza (Barbara Merrill) might visit Blanche to tell her how much they admire her movies. But Jane keeps Mrs. Bates at bay, lying about Blanche’s condition and explaining that she cannot receive guests. In truth, it is Jane who is determined to keep her sister isolated. Jane has not been the same since the accident, her mental state precariously teetering into manipulative and maniacal lunacy. Hence, when Jane discovers Blanche intends to sell the house and place her in a sanatorium for her own good, she plots to preserve her own permanency by whatever means.

Jane begins by taunting Blanche with the disappearance of her parakeet. The dead bird winds up as an entrée on Blanche’s plate.  Next, and rather misguidedly, she plots her showbiz comeback, taking out an ad for a pianist in the paper. However, when Jane accidentally catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she is genuinely horrified by what the ravages of time have done to her. Concerned, Blanche repeatedly buzzes downstairs, incurring Jane’s wrath. Blanche attempts to hoist herself to the window and make contact with Mrs. Bates by tossing a note into her yard. The paper falls short, however, and Jane retrieves it by accident. Returning with the note, Jane informs Blanche she will never leave the house or, in fact, her room. In the meantime, portly effete mama’s boy and con artist, Edwin Flagg (Victor Buono) arrives at the Hudson home in response to Jane’s ad, offering his services as a pianist for her act. Jane shows him a yellowed scrapbook of her past clippings and suggests they review her material for a revival. But when Blanche repeatedly buzzes downstairs to alert Flagg that someone else is in the house, Jane quietly excuses herself before tearing upstairs where she assaults Blanche and rips the buzzer out of the wall.

The next day Blanche discovers Jane has been forging her signature on checks to bleed her bank account dry. Now, Blanche decides to take matters into her own hands. While Jane is out shopping, Blanche painfully drags herself downstairs to the only available phone, placing a call to their family doctor to hurry over at once. Alas, before the call can be put through, Jane comes home and beats Blanche senseless, kicking her repeatedly in the head and stomach. Disguising her voice, Jane informs the doctor his services will no longer be needed as ‘Blanche’ has found a new physician who will be looking after her. Dragging Blanche back to her room, Jane binds and gags her in bed, then promptly fires Elvira. Suspicious of Jane’s motivations for her dismissal, Elvira begrudgingly leaves the house, but returns later to find Blanche tied up. Unable to warn Elvira that Jane is standing behind her, Blanche helplessly watches as Jane murders Elvira with a hammer, waiting until nightfall to hide the body in the trunk of the car and finally dispose of it.  A short while later, police arrive to investigate Elvira’s disappearance but are cordially thrown off by Jane who is plotting Blanche’s demise. Edwin arrives for his first payment and hears Blanche knock something over in her room. Concerned, particularly after he has been repeatedly told by Jane there is nothing to worry about, Edwin rushes upstairs, finds Blanche bound and gagged and in horror runs off to get the police.

Her cover exposed, her world imploding, Jane frantically carries a very undernourished and dehydrated Blanche down to the car, driving them both to the beach. Realizing she will likely die Blanche confides the truth to Jane – it was she who drove the car on the night she became paralyzed. In a deliberate attempt to run Jane over, Blanche lost control of the car, snapping her own spine behind the wheel. As Jane was too drunk to remember the incident, she has lived all these years with the guilt, believing it was she who was responsible for her sister’s paralysis.  Jane’s grasp on life experiences a singular moment of clarity. “You mean all this time we could have been friends?” she asks, before losing touch with reality. In her decaying imagination, Jane reverts to childhood, telling Blanche she will bring her back some ice cream. As Jane joyously skips and prances about the sand, she unwittingly attracts the attention of the police, who rush to discover Blanche lying dead on the beach.

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? remains as darkly disturbing as the day it was made. Jack L. Warner reluctantly agreed to distribute the film, but absolutely forbade Aldrich to shoot a single strip of it on the Warner Bros. backlot. When Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? became a sleeper smash, Jack suddenly became quite chummy with Aldrich, even posing for pictures with Crawford and Davis.  Immediately following the film’s success, Aldrich began ambitious plans for something of a reunion, ‘Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte’. Alas, by the time cameras would roll on that project, made for 2oth Century-Fox, Crawford had emphatically decided she wanted nothing more to do with Davis. Her part was recast with Olivia de Havilland. Between Crawford and Davis, it is difficult to gauge which actress gives the better performance in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Undeniably, Davis’ Jane is the showier of the two – veering into a sort of macabre camp that is utterly bone-chilling. But Crawford’s paraplegic is much more than just a sympathetic counterpoint to Davis’ grand-standing. She infuses Blanche Hudson with an empathy derived from her sheer incapability to defend herself.  The audience sides with Crawford’s hopelessness, feels the weight of her dread with mounting anxiety as Davis’ supreme gargoyle skulks around the corners or creeps in with childlike vermin up the stairs. The revelation that Blanche, having deliberately plotted to murder her own sister, and in absence of fulfilling this goal, instead chose to raze Jane’s sanity with an insurmountable application of lifelong guilt, remains the penultimate shocker that realigns our perceptions of these two potent adversaries. Which sister has been the more destructive influence? Ultimately, this depends on one’s point of view. But Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? remains a very disquieting exercise in sibling rivalry run amok. In an age of filmic affectation, this movie is, was and will always be a very troubling reflection, infused with the state of mind of its two aging stars.  

Warner Archive has reissued Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? on Blu-ray. It’s the same transfer as before, and a very impressive one at that. The B&W image is varied, with solid contrast and a light smattering of film grain. Truly, this 1080p disc shows off Ernest Haller’s cinematography to its best results. The DTS mono audio is mostly solid, but occasionally suffers from an ever-so-slight distortion. Extras are a regurgitation from the 2006 DVD (which were also carried over to the original Blu-ray release), and include an audio commentary by Charles Busch and John Epperson. We also get a half-hour featurette to contrast and compare Crawford and Davis’ careers. There is also an excerpt from the Andy Williams Show featuring Davis singing and dancing. Finally, we get the hour-long documentary on Davis hosted by Jodie Foster, and, a half-hour fluff piece on Crawford. Aside: Crawford’s career gets covered fully on Criterion’s Blu of Mildred Pierce, which ports over the 1999 TCM original documentary. Warner’s packaging is new, sporting original artwork but otherwise not much else. Their previous Blu-ray offering, still available at Amazon is contained in a handsomely bound digipack with trivia and glossy photo art. Bottom line: very highly recommended if you don’t already own the previously issued Blu-ray. Otherwise, pass.      

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

4.5

VIDEO/AUDIO

4

EXTRAS

3