What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

An opus of epic proportions, the tour de force performances in this cinematic icon relay what is: Warped. Hellish. Atrocious. Tumultuous. Evil. Vile. Envious. Ruthless. Hostile. Abhorrent. Perverse. Paranoid. Enraged. Nightmarish. Erroneous. Depraved. Terrifying. Ominous. Brutal. Apprehensive. Backstabbing. Yucky. 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. Her success is such that a line of porcelain dolls is made in her image. Meanwhile, her shy older sister Blanche lives in her shadow and is treated with contempt by the haughty Jane, with cruelty by her father, and given only 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. 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. As the tension between the sisters builds, Blanche 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. By 1962, Blanche and Jane are living together in a mansion purchased with Blanche's film earnings.