History YMMV / WhateverHappenedToBabyJane

* MeanCharacterNiceActor / NiceCharacterMeanActor: Opinions on Bette Davis's relative niceness in real life vary, but in her on-set professionalism and her treatment of the crew, she comes off as a saint compared to temperamental diva Joan Crawford. Yet Crawford plays the sweet, sympathetic Blanche while Davis plays the notoriously nightmarish Jane.

* MemeticMutation: "But ya ''are'', Blanche! Ya ''are'' in that chair!"

** At the beginning of the film, they sell dolls based on Baby Jane and stress that they are "exact replicas." A doll modeled on a real life little girl would have been innocent enough at the time -- dolls and toys based on child ''and'' adult actresses were completely normal[[note]]look up Loraine Burdick's ''Child Star Dolls and Toys'', and ''Adult Star Dolls and Toys'' collectors' guides with many pictures[[/note]] -- but takes on far more sinister and creepy overtones today.

** At the beginning of the film, they sell dolls based on Baby Jane and stress that they are "exact replicas." A doll modeled on a real life little girl would have been innocent enough at the time, but takes on far more sinister and creepy overtones today.

* {{Narm}}: Lynn Redgrave's makeup in the remake. It's essentially the same as Bette Davis's-- but the difference is that the remake is in colour. Davis's worked in black and white, and helped make Jane look creepy. Redgrave's, on the other hand, looks incredibly goofy. That's not to mention the GirlishPigtails.

* MoralEventHorizon: Jane appears to have crossed this with her attempted murder and systematic abuse of Blanche, and [[spoiler:her killing of Elvira. The twist ending reveals all this to be a subversion.]]

* ValuesDissonance: When Edwin's mother is telling him about the night Jane supposedly tried to kill Blanche, she describes the worst part--read: worse than trying to murder her own sister--as being found in a hotel room with a man she didn't know. Sort-of lampshaded by Edwin in his retort:

* MemeticMutation: "But ya ARE, Blanche, ya ARE in that chair!"

* {{Narm}}: Lynn Redgrave's make-up in the remake. It's essentially the same as Bette Davis's - but the difference is that the remake is in colour. Davis's worked in black and white, and helped make Jane look creepy. Redgrave's on the other hand looks incredibly goofy. That's not to mention the GirlishPigtails.
* TastesLikeDiabetes: "I've Written A Letter To Daddy" in its original instance. However when Jane sings it years later, it becomes NightmareFuel.

* ValuesDissonance: When Edwin's mother is telling him about the night Jane supposedly tried to kill Blanche, she describes the worst part - read: worse than trying to murder her own sister - as being found in a hotel room with a man she didn't know. Sort-of lampshaded by Edwin in his retort:

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:

*** [[spoiler: Note that the book leans more towards the former interpretation, revealing that Blanche deliberately kept Jane from seeking psychiatric help because she was afraid that, as part of the therapy, Jane might remember that she was the miraculously escaped ''victim'' of Blanche's hit-and-run attack, rather than the ''assailant'' why crippled Blanche like she believes herself to be.]]

* HarsherInHindsight: Jane Hudson is known as a drunken mess on set when she tries to be an actress, while Blanche is a perfect lady. The reverse happened to the two actresses that played them; Bette Davis was known for being a consummate professional who kept working for nearly twenty years after this film. Joan Crawford was known for being drunk and full of {{Narm}}, and would have retired from films before the decade was over.

* {{Woobie}}:

* FunnyAneursymMoment: Mrs Bates says "that Jane Hudson makes me so mad I could kill her", and her daughter jokes "what'll we use?" - said daughter is played by BD Merrill. She would later publish a scathing ''Literature/MommieDearest'' style book about her mother.

* UncannyValley: The Baby Jane doll.

** There's more than an element of JerkassWoobie in both cases, however. [[spoiler: Blanche because she tried to kill Jane and then framed Jane for trying to kill ''her'', and Jane because whether she was guilty or not, she still spend the a significant amount of time psychologically tormenting and abusing her disabled sister.]]

* RealitySubtext: Davis and Crawford had been rivals since the '30s and utterly despised each other in real life; in his Great Movies essay on the film, Creator/RogerEbert speculated that "it's possible that each agreed to do the picture only because she was jealous of the other's starring role."

* ValuesDissonance: When Edwin's mother is telling him about the night Jane supposedly tried to kill Blanche, she describes the worst part - read: worse than trying to murder her own sister - as being found in a hotel room with a man she didn't know.
** Sort-of lampshaded by Edwin in his retort:
-->'''''"Why do you care? [[CrowningMomentofFunny Isn't that how I was conceived?]]"'''''
* {{Woobie}}: [[spoiler: Jane. Poor, poor Jane. Wracked by guilt over something ''she never did''.]]

** There's more than an element of JerkassWoobie in both cases, however. [[spoiler: Blanche because she tried to kill Jane and then framed Jane for trying to kill ''her'', and Jane because whether she was guilty or not, Jane still spend the next three decades psychologically tormenting and abusing her disabled sister.]]

* UnfortunateImplications: When an aged Carol Kane appears on the DVD's documentary on the film "Bette and Joan: Blind Ambition", she looks and sounds eerily like Baby Jane, right down to the brassy whine.

* RealitySubtext: Davis and Crawford had been rivals since the '30s and utterly despised each other in real life; in his Great Movies essay on the film, RogerEbert speculated that "it's possible that each agreed to do the picture only because she was jealous of the other's starring role."

* OneHitWonder: Jane with "I've Written a Letter to Daddy."