(Fave "Baby Jane" quote) - "You mean all this time we could've been friends!??"
To be honest, I was all set to despise this "Comedy-of-Horrors", venomously, the very minute I sat down to watch it. But, that all changed within the first 15 minutes as I quickly became quite engrossed in the contrasting character portrayals given by its 2 lead, veteran actresses, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford (both in their mid-50s at the time).
I know that a lot of people rave approvingly about Davis's grotesque make-up and all of her "scenery-chewing" antics as being the highlight of this picture - But, personally, my vote for most outstanding performance goes to Crawford as Blanche Hudson, a prisoner trapped in her own tailor-made hell.
I'd say that Crawford's riveting "Please.... Help me!" scene clearly put all of Davis's over-the-top shenanigans to absolute shame.
Yes. This tragic tale about madness, pent-up resentment and living a life of long-faded dreams definitely has its fair share of glaring flaws - But, all the same, it certainly does hold up quite well, 53 years down the road.
I definitely give film-maker, Robert Aldrich, a lot of credit for his competent direction of this picture. I can't begin to tell you how thankful I am that he didn't allow its storyline to ride right off the rails into utter mayhem.
To be honest, I was all set to despise this "Comedy-of-Horrors", venomously, the very minute I sat down to watch it. But, that all changed within the first 15 minutes as I quickly became quite engrossed in the contrasting character portrayals given by its 2 lead, veteran actresses, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford (both in their mid-50s at the time).
I know that a lot of people rave approvingly about Davis's grotesque make-up and all of her "scenery-chewing" antics as being the highlight of this picture - But, personally, my vote for most outstanding performance goes to Crawford as Blanche Hudson, a prisoner trapped in her own tailor-made hell.
I'd say that Crawford's riveting "Please.... Help me!" scene clearly put all of Davis's over-the-top shenanigans to absolute shame.
Yes. This tragic tale about madness, pent-up resentment and living a life of long-faded dreams definitely has its fair share of glaring flaws - But, all the same, it certainly does hold up quite well, 53 years down the road.
I definitely give film-maker, Robert Aldrich, a lot of credit for his competent direction of this picture. I can't begin to tell you how thankful I am that he didn't allow its storyline to ride right off the rails into utter mayhem.