What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (1962)

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is a 1962 American psychological thriller film produced and directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. The screenplay by Lukas Heller is based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Henry Farrell. Upon the film's release, it was met with widespread critical and box office acclaim, and was later nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one for Best Costume Design, Black and White. The notoriously bitter Hollywood rivalry between the film's two stars was heavily important to the film's immense popularity at the time. This in part led to the revitalization of the then-waning careers of former Hollywood acting legends, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. In the years after the film's release, critics continued to acclaim the film for its psychologically driven black comedy, camp, and creation of the Hag horror sub genre. Because of the film's then unheard of and controversial plot, and the appeal of the film's stars, it has become a cult film, and continues to play as a Midnight movie. In 2003, the character of Baby Jane Hudson was ranked #44 on the American Film Institute's list of the 50 Best Villains of American Cinema.