Ep 247 What Ever Happened to Baby Jane

About this episode

The episode explores the film 'What Ever Happened To Baby Jane' and its impact on the careers of its stars.

It’s time for some Hollywood glamour on Welcome To Horror, as we ask “What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?” A film which gives some top tips for the family catering on a budget; introduces us to King Tut’s Cockney mum; and highlights the true diligence and observational skills of the LAPD. When it seems that a film exists primarily to pair two fading movie stars whose off-screen animosity was already legendary; it really shouldn’t be the masterpiece that “What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?” is. Director Robert Aldrich conjures stark Hollywood gothic, with lashings of cynical humour and a truly mean streak of domestic horror. Stars Bette Davis and Joan Crawford give career-best performances in territory that is unflattering anathema to their past glories, with their rivalry and begrudging respect for each other’s talents forging absolute gold. Budgetary restraints help the film feel more “real” as normal studio techniques were too costly, giving aspects of the film (particularly the location work) a near-documentary edge. Whilst “…Baby Jane” somewhat revitalised the careers of Davis and Crawford, leading both into further work in the horror genre, nothing can touch this macabre…

People in this episode

Host: Welcome to Horror

Topics covered

• Hollywood glamour
• film analysis
• horror genre
• career revitalization
• domestic horror

Keywords

• Bette Davis
• Joan Crawford
• Robert Aldrich
• horror film
• Hollywood
• domestic horror
• film analysis

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: LAPD

Books & works: What Ever Happened To Baby Jane

Places: Hollywood

More episodes of Welcome to Horror

• Ep 249 Dead Snow · June 7, 2026 · 38 min
• Ep 248 We Have Been Watching · May 24, 2026 · 40 min
• Ep 246 Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde · April 26, 2026 · 37 min
• Ep 245 The Menu · April 12, 2026 · 39 min
• Ep 244 The Call of Cthulhu · March 29, 2026 · 37 min
• Ep 243 The House of the Devil · March 15, 2026 · 37 min