Overview
What Ever Happened to... (also known as What Ever Happened to Baby Jane...?) is a 1991 American made-for-television thriller film directed by David Greene and adapted for the small screen by Brian Taggert. It is based on the 1960 novel What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? by Henry Farrell and the 1962 theatrical film of the same name. It stars real-life sisters Lynn Redgrave as Baby Jane Hudson and Vanessa Redgrave as Blanche Hudson, in the roles previously played by Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in the 1962 adaptation.
The film was adapted to contemporary times, with Blanche's film success taking place in the 1960s instead of the 1930s. Her films were being rediscovered on home video instead of television reruns. Jane had been a child film star (replacing the original's vaudeville success), though her films were unavailable, leading to her jealousy.
Plot
In the 1940s, "Baby" Jane Hudson is a world-famous child star. Jane dominates her shy sister Blanche, who, as Jane's understudy and stunt double, longs to have an acting career of her own. By the 1960s, Blanche has become a serious and celebrated actress, while Jane's career fades into obscurity. Blanche's own career is ultimately cut short by a car accident that paralyzes her from the waist down, after which Jane was committed to a psychiatric hospital. Everyone believes that Jane, jealous of her sister's popularity, had run her over with her car and then gone insane with guilt.
In the present day, the aging sisters live together in a crumbling Brentwood mansion, where Jane, who still dresses herself in her old Baby Jane clothes and makeup, cares for the paraplegic Blanche. Blanche's films have recently become available on home video and television, launching her into a modest comeback. Jane resents both her sister's enduring popularity and her own role as caretaker and takes out her resentment on Blanche with vicious pranks. She intercepts all of the mail addressed to her sister, particularly fan letters, and constantly reminds Blanche that she never would have had a career if not for Jane's success. Blanche and her physical therapist, Dominick, worry that Jane's pranks might turn violent if she finds out Blanche is selling the house without her knowledge.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).