60 Years Later, This Oscar-Winning Horror Flick Is Still Famous for Its Scandalous Behind-The-Scenes Drama

The 1962 movie What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, directed by Robert Aldrich, starred Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, actresses who were determined to return to the top of Hollywood by any means necessary.

They had been rivals throughout their careers, and there was much rumor and speculation about their rivalry. This conflict was reflected on the set of the cult film.

The filming of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane turned into a cruel experiment, giving rise to the term hagsploitation.

What Is What Ever Happened to Baby Jane About?

Sisters Jane and Blanche Hudson are aging actresses living in a Los Angeles mansion. Jane was a vaudeville star known as Baby Jane, but her career began to decline as she aged.

As a child, Blanche lived in the shadow of her sister's fame, but as an adult, she found success in the movies but was unable to help her sister continue her career. At the height of her fame, Blanche suffered an accident, apparently caused by Jane.

From that moment on, the sisters lived in a state of mutual hatred. When Jane learns that her wheelchair-bound sister is selling the mansion, she begins to terrorize Blanche.

The Film Was One of the Few Horrors to Win an Oscar & Started a Whole New Subgenre

The movie was a sensation when it was released. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane became one of the few horror films to win an Academy Award.

The film received five Oscar nominations and won the award for Best Costume Design, and also gave birth to the horror subgenre of hagsploitation, also known as psycho-biddy, in which former A-list actresses played older, dangerous and unstable women.

But neither the memorable direction nor the dark humor and plot twists brought What Ever Happened to Baby Jane as much success as the two Hollywood legends.

Bette Davis & Joan Crawford's Feud Began Before the Movie Was Made, but Reached Its Peak on the Set

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane was the only movie in which Bette Davis and Joan Crawford appeared together. There was as little love between the actresses as there was between the Hudson sisters.

By the early 60s, both actresses were in desperate need of a hit, and coincidentally, that was when their feud reached its peak.

The two fought constantly; Davis and Crawford took turns calling Aldrich with complaints. The marketing team, of course, could not ignore this context and exploited it to promote the movie.

Both Actresses Tried in Every Way to Make Each Other's Lives Unbearable

On the set, the animosity between the parties was not openly expressed due to the professionalism of both, but it was palpable in the air. The actresses found the most ingenious ways to make each other's lives miserable.

The first episode of open confrontation happened when Bette Davis installed a Coke machine on the set. Joan Crawford, the widow of Pepsi owner Alfred Steele, assumed she did it out of spite.

Then, while filming the scene where Jane kicks Blanche, Davis punched Crawford so hard she needed stitches.

Crawford, of course, had her own retaliation. In preparation for the scene in which Jane drags Blanche across the floor, the actress secretly strapped a special weight-lifting belt under her dress. The actress deliberately botched several takes, and by the end of the shoot, Davis' back was sore.

The Oscar Incident With Davis and Crawford Became Legendary

And finally, Crawford was literally furious that it was Davis who was nominated for an Oscar for her role as Jane Hudson.

In the end, Anne Bancroft won the statuette for The Miracle Worker, but imagine Bette Davis' surprise when Crawford went up on stage to accept the award on behalf of the winner.

Yes, she made special arrangements with several colleagues who could not attend the ceremony to accept their Oscars, only to make Bette furious.