FAQ

Two aged sisters, Jane (Bette Davis) and Blanche (Joan Crawford) Hudson, live together in an old Hollywood mansion, Blanche confined to a wheelchair and Jane taking care of her. As children in 1917, Jane was known as "Baby" Jane Hudson (Julie Allred), a child star in vaudeville wowing the world with her singing, dancing, and golden curls, while her older sister Blanche (Gina Gillespie) was plain, unassuming, and unnoticed. As they grew older, however, Baby Jane's appeal faded whereas Blanche blossomed into a celebrated actress. In a tragic car accident, Blanche was crippled, ending her promising career. Still resentful and spiteful of her sister's success, Jane makes Blanche's life a living hell, removing her telephone, intercepting her letters, serving her dead parakeet for dinner, and isolating her from any contact with the outside world. And it gets worse.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is also a 1960 novel by American novelist Henry Farrell. The novel was adapted for the screen by German screenwriter Lukas Heller.

Afraid that Edwin (Victor Buono) is going to tell on her, Jane unties Blanche and moves her from the bed out into the car. She drives to the beach and lays Blanche on a blanket in the sand. As the sun comes up and the beach starts filling with sunbathers, no one notices the two sisters, one playing in the sand and the other laying in it. The concession stand opens, and a newspaper can be seen announcing that the body of the Hudson maid was found in a Ventura suburb. A radio reports that Blanche and Jane Hudson are missing, and it is presumed that Jane has forcibly abducted Blanche. A man reports to two policemen sitting at the concession stand that a black convertible is parked in the middle of the road, so they go to investigate. Meanwhile, Jane has gone to sit next to Blanche, who confesses that she is dying and that she has to tell the truth to Jane about what happened to her legs. Blanche admits that it was she who tried to run over Jane but slammed into the gate instead and snapped her own spine. She managed to drag herself out of the car where the police found her, and they assumed that it was Jane who had run over Blanche. Because Jane was too drunk to realize what happened, she has since believed that she was responsible. "You mean all this time we could have been friends?", Jane asks, then runs off to the concession stand to get a strawberry ice cream cone for Blanche. The police notice Jane and beg her to tell them where Blanche is. As other people on the beach begin gravitating toward them, Jane thinks that she is surrounded by adoring fans and begins to dance for them. In the final scene, the police see Blanche lying in the sand and hurry over to help her.