Crawford wasn’t just a great movie star. She wasn’t just a magnificent face. She was a working actor with hundreds of movies to her credit, from the silent era through to the 70’s TV shows, numerous awards including a Best Actress Oscar, and a fetish for perfection.
Her work showed that.
“Whatever Happened To Baby Jane” has a strange history to it. Although it definitely has camp value to it, and if you can’t appreciate that you’re truly missing out on something, but it has much more than that. It has two great performances by two of Hollywood’s greatest actresses.
Here Crawford not only addresses the idealized feud between her and Davis (which I never once believed) she also gives us a small peek into her process. What she did to prepare for Blanche, how it came to her, what it meant. How she attacked this character by staying in her wheelchair for weeks at a time in order to get used to this particular piece of Architecture. And more importantly, how that informed the person she was portraying.
A great actor giving us a glimpse into something very private.