What really happened to Baby Jane?

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Movie
German title What really happened to Baby Jane?
Original title What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1962
length 134 minutes
Rod
Director Robert Aldrich
script Lukas Heller
production Robert Aldrich in rental from Warner Brothers
music Frank De Vol
camera Ernest Haller
cut Michael Luciano
occupation
synchronization

What really happened to Baby Jane? (OT: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? ) Is a 1962 feature film directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford .

action

In 1917, Jane Hudson is a celebrated child star under the stage name Baby Jane , but her not-famous sister Blanche is in her shadow. Jane fails to make the leap into adulthood, however, and to the extent that her own career dwindled, Blanche rises to become an acclaimed movie star. But at the zenith of her career in the 1930s, Blanche had a mysterious car accident that confined her to a wheelchair.

In 1962 Jane and Blanche lived secluded in a Hollywood mansion. Jane has since degenerated into an alcoholic and is increasingly suffering from a loss of reality, whereupon Blanche decides to secretly sell the house and send Jane to a mental hospital. Jane finds out about her sister and begins a cruel game with the helpless Blanche. She first serves her killed bird to her sister, later a dead rat for "breakfast" and forges Blanche's signature to get to her bank account. At the same time, Jane tries to continue her career as a child star. She had copies of her former costumes made and found a partner in Edwin Flagg, an unemployed piano player. Blanche, now a prisoner in her own house, tries to alert the neighbors. However, Jane gets ahead of her and tortures her sister with open violence. At the same time, she refuses to eat or drink Blanche in order to slowly kill her. When the former domestic servant Elvira tries to gain entry to the house, Jane, who has completely lost her mind, kills the woman.

A week later, the police called the sisters' house that Elvira was missing and they wanted to ask her about it. In a panic, Jane drags her sister Blanche, who is close to death due to her exertions, to a public beach. There Blanche confesses to her sister that it was she and not Jane who caused the mysterious car accident. Jane was too drunk to remember back then and thought herself to be the perpetrator the entire time. The police end up finding Jane performing her old baby Jane act in front of a group of onlookers on the beach . Whether Blanche survived remains unclear.

background

The active career of Joan Crawford seemed to be over in 1957, when the actress voluntarily withdrew from the screen after the success of Esther Costello, despite a large number of follow-up offers, in order to take care of the concerns of the beverage manufacturer Pepsi in the future . Crawford had married Alfred Steele, chairman of the board of directors of the group, in 1955 and devoted himself to promoting the company with verve. In 1959, Steele died unexpectedly, leaving Crawford with nothing but millions in debt. In the course of the next few months, the actress reduced most of the arrears, partly also by means of the fee for her cameo appearance in All My Dreams , in which she portrayed the editor-in-chief of a publishing house. For a while the actress considered getting back into the movie business, but in the end she was elected to the board of directors of Pepsi and spent the next few years traveling around the world as a Pepsi representative. In contrast to Crawford, Bette Davis's career had never really got going since 1950 and her success with Everything About Eva . She also fell seriously ill in the middle of the decade and could not work for years. Towards the end of the decade she found herself as a supporting actress in less ambitious films. Her hope of being able to build on her old successes again by appearing in The Night of the Iguana on Broadway at the end of 1961 was quickly dashed as the critics panned her portrayal.

Robert Aldrich had the rights to the macabre novel What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? acquired by Henry Farrell. First, he convinced Joan Crawford to take on one of the leading roles. The two had shot the romantic melodrama Herbststürme back in 1956 . Both agreed that only Bette Davis could be considered for the role of the crazy baby Jane living in a dream world. With a lot of effort, Aldrich managed to secure the financing, as no established film studio wanted to spend money on a production with two ex-stars. Jack L. Warner , at whose studio Warner Bros. Crawford and Davis were partly under contract at the same time, called the two less charming two old washed-up broads (German: two dismantled old boxes ). The film stands in a tradition with works like Twilight Boulevard and City of Illusions , which had already cast a concerned look behind the glittering facade of Hollywood and exposed the emotional problems and excessive lust for fame of the stars. The film gains additional prominence through the cast of Crawford and Davis, who were often referred to as rivals by the press during their heyday. While Bette Davis was mostly known for her vivacious portrayal of negative characters, Joan Crawford was more famous for her glamorous image on the screen and the splendid wardrobe that became a trademark of her films. Contrary to what was always said in the gossip press, the two women got along reasonably well, according to everyone involved. Joan Crawford received a fixed fee of 30,000 US dollars for her work, and another 15% of the net profit, which should come to 150,000 US dollars in the end.

Joan Crawford was under no illusions in later years as to the extent to which the film damaged her image as a glamorous Hollywood star. She was fairly open to Roy Newquist.

"My God. I still have nightmares about it. I know why the film should never have been made. But I also know why there was a need to realize it. I was lonely Worse than that, I was bored to death. And I needed the money. "

In the years that followed, the actress was only to appear in cheaply produced horror films that sometimes crossed the line between horror and grand guignol . The follow-up project Lullaby for a Corpse , which was initially shot with Crawford and Davis, had to be stopped after Joan Crawford left due to illness. In the end, the role of Joan Crawford was taken over by Olivia de Havilland.

Bette Davis and Joan Crawford's relationship while filming What Really Happened To Baby Jane? are the basis for the first season of Feud , an anthology series by producer and director Ryan Murphy , which will be broadcast on the US broadcaster FX Network from March 17, 2017 . Jessica Lange plays Joan Crawford, while Susan Sarandon plays Bette Davis. Catherine Zeta-Jones can be seen as Olivia de Havilland .

Aftermath

The Success of What Really Happened To Baby Jane? resulted in a whole series of films in which older actresses who had passed the zenith of their fame suffer all sorts of horrors and physical hardships. When even the always ladylike Olivia de Havilland in Lady in a Cage was bullied by a horde of young people, one critic said:

"Count Olivia among those actresses who would rather play freaks than be forgotten."

What really happened to Baby Jane? was filmed twice more. In 1991, an American television film was made in which the siblings Lynn and Vanessa Redgrave played the leading roles. In 2002 Oskar Roehler directed the German television film Fahr zur Hölle, Sister! with Hannelore Elsner and Iris Berben as hostile sisters.

synchronization

The German version of the film was made at Berliner Synchron under the direction of Klaus von Wahl .

role actor German Dubbing voice
Jane Hudson Bette Davis Ingeborg Grunewald
Blanche Hudson Joan Crawford Anneliese Römer
Edwin Flagg Victor Buono Alexander Welbat
Elvira Stitt Maidie Norman Inge Wolffberg
Dehlia Flagg Marjorie Bennett Ursula War

Theatrical release

The budget for the film was only $ 980,000. Due to an aggressive marketing strategy and extensive media coverage, he brought in a good 3.5 million US dollars.

criticism

While the film receives mostly positive reviews today, the contemporary reviews were rather mixed. The performance of the two leading actresses was mostly praised, but many reviewers found the script illogical and the story unappealing.

Bosley Crowther had a few complaints about the film in the New York Times and, as usual, found no friendly word for Joan Crawford:

"Joan Crawford and Bette Davis make a pair of real freaks in [...]" What Really Happened to Baby Jane? "[...] [T] he story of two aging, formerly famous sisters only allows the two to be grotesque To wear costumes and, dressed like witches, to exaggerate excessively. [...] Miss Crawford [...] as the poor victim in the wheelchair who cannot defend herself against the attacks of her devilish sister, [...] is such a friendly, smiling bad actress, such an artlessly played helpless, little woman that one feels nothing for her. No wonder her crazy sister finds her dead boring. "

On the other hand, Variety , the leading industry paper, found Crawford highly praised:

"Miss Crawford gives a calm, remarkably good portrayal as crippled Blanche [...] In a wonderful little scene, Miss Crawford shows her reactions while watching old films of herself on television. Her face shines in the memory of the past glory [...] It's heartbreaking. "

The lexicon of international film wrote after a few decades:

“A garish psychological thriller, effectively staged by Hollywood routinist Robert Aldrich. The depressing film offers prime roles for the two aged divas Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, who immerse themselves in their exalted characters and play out their entire screen experience. "

Awards

The film won numerous awards and nominations.

Academy Awards 1963

The film went to the Academy Awards with five nominations and won one of the awards.

Won:

  • Best costumes (black and white film) - Norma Koch

He also received nominations in the categories

  • Best Actress - Bette Davis
  • Best Supporting Actor - Victor Buono
  • Best Cinematography (black and white film) - Ernest Haller
  • Best note - Joseph D. Kelly

British Film Academy Award 1964

Nominations in the category

  • Best Foreign Actress - Joan Crawford
  • Best Foreign Actress - Bette Davis

Golden Globe Awards 1963

Nominations in the categories

  • Best Actress - Bette Davis
  • Best Supporting Actor - Victor Buono

Cannes International Film Festival 1963

Participation in the competition for the Palme d'Or for the

  • best movie

Directors Guild of America 1963

Nomination in the category

  • best director - Robert Aldrich

literature

  • David Bret: Joan Crawford. Hollywood Martyr . Robson Books, London 2006, ISBN 1-86105-931-0 .
  • Charlotte Chandler: Not the Girl Next Door . Simon and Schuster, New York, 2008, ISBN 1-4332-0926-8 .
  • Shaun Considine: Bette and Joan. The Divine Feud . Dutton, New York 1989, ISBN 0-525-24770-X .
  • Lawrence J. Quirk , William Schoell: Joan Crawford. The Essential Biography . University Press, Lexington, KY. 2002, ISBN 0-8131-2254-6 .
  • Alexander Walker: Joan Crawford. The Ultimate Star . Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1983, ISBN 0-297-78216-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Shaun Considine, "The Devine Feud," p. 336; Alexander Walker, "The Ultimate Star," p. 117.
  2. ↑ Christ. I still have nightmares about it. I know why the picture shouldn't have been made, and I know why it had to be made. I was lonely, worse than lonely, bored out of my skull, and I needed the money.
  3. ↑ Add Olivia to the list of actresses who would rather be freaks than forgotten.
  4. ↑ What really happened to Baby Jane? In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous file , accessed on November 1, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Shaun Considine, "The Devine Feud," p. 336. Anders: Alain Silver and James Ursini, Whatever Happened to Robert Aldrich ?, p. 256, which assumes $ 1,025,000. Again A. Walker, who gives a budget of 825,000 US dollars on p. 171.
  6. ↑ Considine, p. 346 with reference to "the income statement from Warner Seven Arts". Different z. B. iMDB, which is assumed to be $ 9 million. In contrast, Walker even speaks of 10-12 million US dollars, without naming sources. According to other sources, box office earnings in the US and Canada are said to have been US $ 4,050,000, according to Box Office Information for What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? where reference is made to an article in Variety, "All-Time Top Grossers", Jan. 8, 1964 (p. 69).
  7. ↑ What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? at Rotten Tomatoes (English) , accessed on November 1 of 2019.Template: Rotten Tomatoes / Maintenance / Various connoisseurs in Wikipedia and WikidataTemplate: Rotten Tomatoes / Maintenance / Wikidata designation different from the set name
  8. ↑ Quoted from What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? In: Joan Crawford Best. Retrieved November 1, 2019 (English): "Joan Crawford and Bette Davis make a couple of formidable freaks in [...]" What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? " [...]. [A] story about two aging sisters who were once theatrical celebrities themselves does not afford either opportunity to do more than wear grotesque costumes, make up to look like witches and chew the scenery to shreds. [...] Miss Crawford [...] [a] a poor thing stuck in a wheelchair, unable to counter or resist her diabolic sister [...] she is such a sweetly smiling fraud, such an artlessly helpless ninny, that one feels virtually nothing for her. No wonder her crazy sister finds her a deadly bore. "
  9. ↑ Quoted from What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? In: Joan Crawford Best. Retrieved on November 1, 2019 (English): "Miss Crawford gives a quiet, remarkably fine interpretation of the crippled Blanche [...] In one superb bit, Miss Crawford reacting to herself on television makes her face fairly glow with the remembrance of fame past. [...] A genuine heartbreaker. "
  10. ↑ What really happened to Baby Jane? In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed November 1, 2019 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used