Review of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) by Alexander J — 17 Jan 2009

Time has taken its toll on Baby Jane. Both within the context of the movie and the movie itself. Though probably not as powerful as it was some forty years ago, Bette Middler's portrayal of a former child star is disturbing to sa the last.

She is the embodiment of freakiness, a character so full of pain, hate, mischief and totally out of her mind, a woman still living yesteryear's dream. My sympathy for Joan Crawford's character is limited, even if she plays a convincing crippled victim of her sister's envy (and her own success).

Painful to watch, but mainly because the acting is superb and it hardly ever gets boring (although some scenes do seem a bit stretched and pointless by today's standards, others are just outright hilarious - intentionally?).

A chilling, mean, constrained little "gothic" drama with some of the best female performances ever seen on screen.