Review of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) by William James S — 17 Apr 2017

Devastating and beautiful, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford offer up timeless performances in an unsettingly good and "way ahead of it's time" picture, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane - based on the Henry Farrell novel before it is terrifying and sweetly dark throughout.

The film is only heated by the real life feud between the two actresses and the irony of their ageing attempts at making a comeback, two of the greatest actresses of all time struggling with ageism and the egocentric minds of Hollywood.

The story is dark and Hitchcockian, unfolding and winding around like a tendril until it unfurls at the end and spills a cacophony of secrets onto the audience. It's not one of the scariest horror films, but it is one of the best.

Bette's cackling and erratically hoarse performance as the villainous Baby Jane is timeless.