Robert Aldrich's 1962 thriller What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? is about to get a second life thanks to Ryan Murphy's new drama, Feud. The show tackles the legendary behind-the-scenes feud between stars Joan Crawford (Jessica Lange) and Bette Davis (Susan Sarandon), who worked together on the 1962 picture. Oddly enough, in the film Crawford and Davis played sisters who despised each other, which makes the behind-the-scenes feud all the more juicy. But, before you get addicted to another ripped from the headlines show, maybe you should do your homework and watch What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? But sadly, What Ever Happened To Baby Jane is not on Netflix, so watching it is no easy task.
The film, which won an Oscar for Best Costume Design, is sadly not on Instant Watch. However, the movie is available to rent on both Amazon and iTunes for $2.99. But, just in case you don't want to spend money before Feud premieres on Sunday, March 5, here's a quick rundown of what happens in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? The film is about two sisters, Baby Jane (Davis) and Blanche (Crawford), who have been pitted against each other since they were children. As a little girl, Baby Jane was an adored vaudeville star, but Blanche was largely ignored. When the two grew older, Blanche became a successful Hollywood actor as Baby Jane's success faded, prompting a mysterious car accident that left Blanche paralyzed.
Now the two sisters, growing old and with stardom far behind them, live alone in a Hollywood mansion, and they have nothing to do but fight. Blanche is demanding and Baby Jane is constantly drinking, and both are obsessed with their former fame. Needless to say, they turn on each other, and the film quickly becomes a strange horror film. I won't spoil it for you here, but just know that it gets pretty crazy — like soap opera crazy.
So, if you want to see the stuff that inspired the drama in Feud, then What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? is really just the thing you're looking for. Unfortunately, watching it won't be as easy as pressing play on Netflix, but it wouldn't be the same movie if it were easy, would it?
