What Ever Happened to Baby Jane Ending Explained? Plot, and More
by Hemalatha R | Updated Apr 26, 2023
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane Ending Explained
The movie What Ever Happened to Baby Jane tells the story of two sisters, Baby Jane Hudson and Blanche, whose lives take different paths after their childhood acting careers. Baby Jane, once a popular child actress, loses her fame and succumbs to alcoholism, while Blanche becomes a successful Hollywood actor. However, Blanche's career comes to an abrupt end when she becomes paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident that is blamed on Baby Jane.
Years later, the sisters live together in a mansion bought with Blanche's movie earnings, but their relationship is strained. Blanche plans to sell the property, and Baby Jane fears that she will be committed to a mental institution once the house is sold. She cuts off the phone line to prevent Blanche from making any calls and seeks to prevent her from leaving the house.
However, a turn of events occurs when Baby Jane is informed that Elvira's cousin has declared her missing. She plans to leave the house, taking Blanche with her, but they are interrupted by Edwin, who finds Blanche tied to her bed. Edwin notifies the authorities, and Blanche attempts to run over Baby Jane in a fit of anger.
In the end, the fate of the sisters is left unknown, leaving the audience to speculate on what might have happened to them. The movie explores themes of jealousy, resentment, and the consequences of a life lived in the spotlight.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane Review
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane is a gothic grotesque film directed by Robert Aldrich in 1962. The film stars Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, who play sisters Jane and Blanche, respectively. The staircase plays an important role in the film, separating the two sisters, who live together in a jam-packed mansion. The lifelong rivalry between the two sisters is evident throughout the film, and it culminates in a psychological horror story.
Davis plays the role of Jane, who becomes a shrill gargoyle with pancaked makeup all over her face, while Crawford plays Blanche, the kinder, more reasonable sister. The movie begins in the days of vaudeville when Jane was a child star, and Blanche was the plain sister. In their twenties, Blanche becomes the Hollywood queen, and Jane's appeal fades, resulting in Jane's intense hatred for her sister.
Blanche's life changes forever when their car crushes her against a gate, paralyzing her from the waist down, and Jane becomes her caretaker. The situation deteriorates as Jane's hatred for Blanche becomes more venomous, leading to a psychological horror story. The film was considered a camp classic for a long time, but it is actually a psychological horror story that displays Jane's pathological ego, which is shown in her macabre adult performance of "I've Written a Letter to Daddy."
Davis' portrayal of Jane is tilted toward her pathological ego, which emerges in her behavior towards a peculiar gentleman caller, Edwin Flagg, whom she proposes to hire as a pianist during her comeback. In conclusion, the film was impactful in 1962, and it trashed the screen images of Crawford and Davis. The personal dislike between the two actresses deepened the power of their onscreen relationship.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane Trailer
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane Streaming
The film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane is currently available for streaming on HBO Max and HBO Max Amazon Channel. This classic movie tells the story of two sisters, Jane and Blanche, who were child actresses in the vaudeville era. Jane, the younger of the two, was a spoiled and capricious child actress whose career declined due to alcoholism, while Blanche became an acclaimed Hollywood actress.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane Plot
The 1962 film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane tells the story of two sisters, Jane and Blanche Hudson, and their complicated relationship. The movie starts in 1917 when the sisters are children. Baby Jane is a successful child actress, and Blanche is overshadowed by her younger sister. As the years pass, Baby Jane's career falls into decline, while Blanche becomes a Hollywood star. In 1935, Blanche is paralyzed in a car accident, which is unofficially blamed on Jane.
The movie then jumps ahead to 1962, where the sisters are living together in a mansion purchased with Blanche's movie earnings. Jane is psychotic and resentful of Blanche's success. She mistreats Blanche and hires a pianist to help her revive her old act. Blanche informs Jane that she intends to sell the house, and Jane suspects that Blanche will commit her to a psychiatric hospital once the house is sold.
She removes the telephone from Blanche's bedroom, cutting her off from the outside world. Jane beats Blanche unconscious and locks her in her room.
While Jane is away, the housekeeper, Elvira, tries to access Blanche's room. Concerned by the lack of response, Elvira tries to break open the door with a hammer. Jane returns home and kills Elvira with the hammer. Edwin, the pianist, discovers Blanche bound to her bed and notifies the authorities. Jane takes Blanche to a beach where she sang as a child.
The next morning, Blanche tells the real story of the car accident to relieve Jane of guilt. Blanche admits that she tried to run Jane over on the night of the accident because she was angry at her drunken sister for mocking her at a party. Blanche's spine broke when her car struck the iron gates outside their mansion, and she dragged herself in front of the car's hood to stage the cause of the accident and frame Jane.
Blanche took advantage of Jane's shock and subsequent bender, concealing the real cause of the accident from her, which subjected Jane to a life of guilt, loneliness, and servitude.
Now aware of the truth, a saddened Jane responds "You mean all this time, we could have been friends?" When Jane gets ice cream for herself and Blanche from a nearby refreshment stand, she is recognized by two police officers, who ask her to lead them to Blanche, attracting the attention of nearby beachgoers. Jane dodges the officers' inquiry and dances before the crowd of curious onlookers. The officers find Blanche nearby and rush to save her.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane is a chilling tale of two sisters and the lengths they will go to for power and control. The movie explores themes of jealousy, resentment, and regret and is considered a classic of the psychological thriller genre.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane Cast
The below table contains the details of Whatever Happened To Baby Jane Cast
Name
Character
Bette Davis
Jane Hudson
Debbie Burton
Young Jane's singing voice
Joan Crawford
Blanche Hudson
Victor Buono
Edwin Flagg
Wesley Addy
Marty McDonald
Anne Barton
Cora Hudson
Marjorie Bennett
Dehlia Flagg
Bert Freed
Ben Golden
Anna Lee
Mrs. Bates
What Ever Happened To Baby Jane Ending Explained - FAQs
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is a psychological thriller film released in 1962. The movie tells the story of two sisters, one a former child star, and the other a former Hollywood actress, living together in a mansion. The film is based on a novel of the same name by Henry Farrell.
The film was directed by Robert Aldrich, who is also known for his work on other notable movies like "The Dirty Dozen" and "The Longest Yard."
Currently, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is available to stream on HBO Max and the HBO Max Amazon Channel.
The film was originally released on October 31, 1962.
The movie starred Bette Davis as the former child star, Baby Jane Hudson, and Joan Crawford as her sister, Blanche Hudson. The film received critical acclaim for both Davis and Crawford's performances, and it has since become a cult classic in the thriller genre.