What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? Is a psychological horror film from 1962. Baby Jane Hudson (Bette Davies) was a famous Music Hall child-star, with her quieter older sister Blanche condemned to watch from the wings. However, as they grew up, Jane was forgotten and Blanche (Joan Crawford) became a famous actress. At the peak of her career, Blanche was crippled in a mysterious 'accident' and confined to a wheelchair. Now in their late fifties, the sisters live together in a Hollywood mansion, with Blanche reliant on the ever more erratic Jane. As Jane slowly loses touch with reality, her resentment of her sister grows and she begins to exact a torturous revenge.
Classification Issues
- Violence
- One sister is violently abused by the other, and it is implied that another character is murdered with a hammer.
- Threat and horror
- There are several scenes of psychological and physical brutality between the sisters, including scenes in which one is tied up and gagged. In one scene, one of the sisters serves the other a dead rat on a plate.
- Additional issues
- Other issues include mild bad language (‘crap’) and infrequent mild sex references.
Cinema classification
When the film was first submitted for classification in November 1962, the BBFC was concerned about three scenes and asked the distributor, Warner Brothers, to make cuts in order to achieve an X certificate (meaning no admission to persons aged under 16).
Two of the cuts that were requested – the sight of Jane kicking Blanche, and Elvira [the sisters’ housekeeper] witnessing Blanche tied up and “writhing” – were indeed removed from the film in order for it to be awarded an X certificate. The third – a shot of a dead rat being served to Blanche – was ultimately allowed to remain in the film following a request from Warner Brothers to BBFC Director John Trevelyan. The distributor argued that sight of the dead animal was essential to the plot, and that hiding it from view might lead people to imagine “something far worse than a rat was served up for dinner”.
Video classification
The cut material was reinstated for the film’s 1984 video release, which was given an 18 certificate.
Subsequent submissions
The film returned to the BBFC for a cinema re-classification in 2004 and viewed by two Examiners. One Examiner’s report noted that “we do not feel that it is 'reasonably or defensible' in any way to keep this film at 18.” They highlighted that “Compared to the psychological tension in something like The Others or the violence in T3 [Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines] or Spiderman [sic], we are on very safe grounds to let this out at 12.” The film was therefore reclassified at 12A for ‘psychological menace’.
In 2006, the film was submitted again and reclassified 12 for a new DVD release. The content advice issued at the time noted moderate violence and psychological threat.
