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What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
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This innovative and much imitated chiller set the trend for ageing Hollywood divas to revive their careers by playing unhinged maniacs — but no one beats Bette Davis or Joan Crawford in the snarl-and-shriek department. Here, the former queens of Hollywood play actress sisters divided by age-old Tinseltown resentments, with Davis's grotesquely made-up former child star “Baby” Jane Hudson torturing her paralysed sister Blanche (Crawford). The on-screen fireworks were reportedly fuelled by off-screen hatred, but the chemistry between the stars is unquestionably hair-raising and upped the Gothic stakes to camp shock levels. On a more serious note, this Grand Guignol-style Sunset Blvd deals with the frightening decay of illusions by cleverly incorporating both actresses' earlier work into the psychodrama. AJ
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Tell us what you think
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Running time
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127min
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Country of origin
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US
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Genre
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Gothic Drama
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Original language
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English
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Screenplay
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Lukas Heller, from the novel by Henry Farrell
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Theatrical distributor
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Park Circus
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UK cinema certificate
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12A
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UK cinema release date
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October 2004
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| awards information |
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Award |
Category |
Name |
Nominee/Winner |
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| Academy 1962 |
Actor in a Supporting Role |
Victor Buono |
Nominee |
| Academy 1962 |
Actress |
Bette Davis |
Nominee |
| BFAA 1963 |
Best Foreign Actress |
Joan Crawford |
Nominee |
| BFAA 1963 |
Best Foreign Actress |
Bette Davis |
Nominee |
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Film certification logos reproduced by kind permission of BBFC |
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