is a 1962 American psychological horror thriller film directed and produced by Robert Aldrich, from a screenplay by Lukas Heller, based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Henry Farrell.

The alleged bitter rivalry between the two stars, Davis and Crawford, was pivotal to the film's initial success which helped revitalize their careers.

[5] In the years after release, critics continued to acclaim the film for its psychologically driven black comedy, camp, and creation of the psycho-biddy subgenre.

[9] In 1917, "Baby Jane" Hudson is a spoiled and capricious child actress who performs in vaudeville theaters across the country with her father, who acts as her manager and accompanies her on stage on the piano.

Meanwhile, her shy older sister Blanche lives in her shadow and is treated with contempt by the haughty Jane, cruelty by her father, and weak apologies by her mother.

As the sisters reach adulthood, their situations undergo a reversal; Jane's style of performing falls out of fashion, and her career declines as she descends into alcoholism, while Blanche becomes an acclaimed Hollywood actress.

Mindful of a promise made to their mother, Blanche attempts to maintain a semblance of a career for Jane, going as far as to prevail on producers to guarantee acting roles for her.

One evening in 1935, Blanche's career is cut short when she is paralyzed from the waist down in a mysterious car accident that is unofficially blamed on Jane, who is found three days later in a drunken stupor.

When Blanche’s old films begin airing on television, renewing her popularity among her fans, Jane becomes increasingly jealous and resentful.

She fixates on the success and adoration she once had as a child star and decides to revive her old act with hired pianist Edwin Flagg.

Three weeks later, producer Richard Rush was in talks to acquire the film rights, intending to cast Hugh O'Brian, Agnes Moorehead, and Jennifer West.

On July 21, 1962, studio head Jack L. Warner hosted a press luncheon to celebrate Davis and Crawford and to publicize the start of production.

[10] Victor Buono secured the role of "Edwin Flagg" after making a connection at the Golden Door spa in San Marcos, California.

[10] The house exterior of the Hudson mansion is located at 172 South McCadden Place in the neighborhood of Hancock Park, Los Angeles.

[citation needed] During filming in September 1962, Hedda Hopper mentioned hosting Crawford and Davis at her home for "an interview dinner."

As a Pepsi-Cola Company board member, Crawford supplied the soft drink to the cast and crew throughout the shoot, although Aldrich occasionally brought bottles of Coca-Cola as a prank.

[10] In August 1962, the Theatre Owners of America, concerned by the scarcity of Hollywood films outside holiday seasons, established a committee to organize "guaranteed bookings" and preview screenings.

She expressed her preference for film over live theater to reporters and humorously advertised her availability to Hollywood studios in trade publications.

She worked with singer Debbie Burton to record the song "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane," which appeared among the week's top singles in Variety.

The feeble attempts that Mr. Aldrich has made to suggest the irony of two once idolized and wealthy females living in such depravity, and the pathos of their deep-seated envy having brought them to this, wash out very quickly under the flood of sheer grotesquerie.

Bette Davis' make-up could very well have been done by Charles Addams, Joan Crawford's perils make those of Pauline look like good, clean fun and the plot piles one fantastic twist upon another until it all becomes nonsensical.

"[15] Brendan Gill of The New Yorker was somewhat negative as well, calling the film "far from being a Hitchcock—it goes on and on, in a light much dimmer than necessary, and the climax, when it belatedly arrives, is a bungled, languid mingling of pursuers and pursued which put me in mind of Last Year at Marienbad.

"[16] Among the positive reviews, Variety stated that after a slow and overlong introduction the film became "an emotional toboggan ride," adding, "Although the results heavily favor Davis (and she earns the credit), it should be recognized that the plot, of necessity, allows her to run unfettered through all the stages of oncoming insanity ... Crawford gives a quiet, remarkably fine interpretation of the crippled Blanche, held in emotionally by the nature and temperament of the role.

"[17] Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post also liked the film, writing that "Miss Davis has the showiest role and bites into it with all her admired force, looking a fright from head to foot.

"[19] In Sight & Sound, Peter John Dyer stated that the film had "a frequent air of incompetence," writing of Aldrich's direction that "Like some textbook student of Hitchcock who never got beyond Blackmail, he dispenses suspense with ham-fisted conventionality."

Dyer did praise the performances of the leads, however, finding that they seemed to have found "a new maturity, a discipline encouraged perhaps by the confined sets and Crawford's wheelchair, or by the interaction of their professional rivalry upon a belated mutual respect.

[37][38] Author Shaun Considine chronicled the actresses' rivalry, including their experience shooting this film, in the 1989 book Bette and Joan: The Divine Feud.

[39] Their broadly fictionalized backstage battle during the production of the film was also the basis for Ryan Murphy's 2017 miniseries Feud, which starred Jessica Lange as Crawford and Susan Sarandon as Davis.

[40][41] The alleged rivalry was also dramatized for BBC Radio 4 as Bette and Joan and Baby Jane (2010), starring Catherine Tate as Davis and Tracy-Ann Oberman as Crawford.

[42][43] In 2006, Christina Aguilera adopted a new alter ego called Baby Jane after Bette Davis' character in the film.