What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? 1991 remade the classic Bette Davis/Joan Crawford movie to disappointing effect. Bette Davis and Joan Crawford are two iconic film stars whose deep hatred for one another is well documented. Their long-running rivalry was later made the subject of Ryan Murphy’s miniseries Feud, which starred Susan Sarandon as Davis and Jessica Lange (American Horror Story) as Crawford. The show covers the filming of 1962’s What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? which united the duo for their only onscreen collaboration.
Directed by Robert Aldrich (The Dirty Dozen), What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? is based on the novel of the same name. The story concerns two sisters, with Bette Davis playing “Baby” Jane Hudson and Joan Crawford playing Blanche. Jane was a huge vaudeville star when she was young, but her career faded as Blanche became a major film actress whose success greatly overshadowed Jane’s. Blanche is later paralyzed in a car accident with Jane – who is suffering from mental illness and still harboring deep resentments – becoming her carer.
What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? was shot in stark black and white and features two career-defining turns from both Crawford and Davis, with the simmering tension between the two no doubt helped by their offscreen relationship. The film is still a highly regarded psychological thriller today and was later remade as an ABC TV movie in 1991.
The What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? remake seems promising on the surface since it cast real-life sisters Lynn and Vanessa Redgrave (Mission: Impossible) as Jane and Blanche respectively, but that’s where the positives end. It recreates the key beats of the original but its flat visuals and Lynn Redgrave’s campy performance are two major issues. If the TV movie had committed to an over the top tone than it maybe could have been fun, but it mostly tries to play things straight, which then makes the campier moments feel jarring.
What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? also tried to modernize the story by including things like VHS tapes, which now make it look even more dated than the first movie. Despite featuring two immensely talented leads the TV remake just lacks the power of the original, which is why it’s essentially a footnote in the history of the 1962 version. Walter Hill (48 Hours) was once attached to a What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? remake in 2012, though no actresses were linked to the lead roles; given the lack of updates, it seems doubtful the new remake will go ahead.
