Cult camp classic Baby Janewill be remade

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Matt Akersten

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Fri 13th Jul, 2012 in International News

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This 1962 film brought together two of cinemas finest leading ladies and revived their careers as they fought on and off screen.

Fifty years later, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? will be remade, it has now been confirmed.

The campy classic story of two warring sisters will be told again, and writer/director Walter Hill is now on the look-out for two actresses to play the past-their-prime roles.

The original starred Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, who shared a legendary off-screen rivalry and united to make this film, which was plagued by behind-the-scenes drama.

Love the original? Two fans of the movie, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, did a comedy remake of the film in 1990… enjoy it below.

So which warring Hollywood leading ladies would you like to see take on Davis and Crawford’s renowned roles?

Kathleen Turner and Michelle Pfieffer perhaps? Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston aren’t quite old enough…

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TheOldie

TheOldie said on the 13th Jul, 2012

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

TheOldie

TheOldie said on the 13th Jul, 2012

and

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Dsquare

Dsquare said on the 13th Jul, 2012

Tom and Katie.

And I agree. Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

TheOldie

TheOldie said on the 13th Jul, 2012

are my missing o getting to you :)

but seriously............who could play Bette. That cigarette/whiskey cackle !

mind you the French and Saunders clip has some moments but some Classics should just be left alone.

dougster

dougster said on the 13th Jul, 2012

never heard of it. most old movies need to be redone. why not.

TheOldie

TheOldie said on the 13th Jul, 2012

:eek::eek::eek:

Bar Wench

Bar Wench said on the 13th Jul, 2012

This is one of my absolute favourites.

I think whoever came up with this bright idea needs to be taken out back and shot.

Zepol23

Zepol23 said on the 13th Jul, 2012

This movie should not be touched, its already too hilar.

mark_ said on the 14th Jul, 2012

Baby Jane is a camp classic because it allowed free reign to that appalling ham Bette Davis to eat up the scenery. She could only make a decent movie if she had a strong man to corrall her appalling hamminess.

And the movie is actually boring and 3 times longer than it needs to be because the director was a dumb fool who also made the hideous lesbian movie called KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE.

Baby Jane was remade in the 1990s but that version isn't a camp classic because it had disciplined actors who didn't treat the sisters as caricatures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASNWw6yFIb8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvaJAriny7Y&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dR80VGbQTA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzwwgoM5MSo

Bar Wench

Bar Wench said on the 14th Jul, 2012

^ Suddenly I feel like the Margaret to Mark's David.

The_Freak

The_Freak said on the 14th Jul, 2012

And in case you didn't understand TheOldie or Dsquare then let me quietly add

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

There have been enough remakes of classic movies and old campy 60s TV shows that just were pure "abortions" and sank quicker than the Titanic. LEAVE THEM ALONE!

My friend's son says that unless a movie's in 3D or about Vampires, he's not interested! There's a start, remake "Interview With A Vampire" and now that Tom has to pay out Katie, you never know?...... He might need the work! :D

(Mental Note To Self: Stop swaying on the couch to "Kokomo" by The Beach Boys, on RAGE it's undignified!...and so retro!) :eek:

Dsquare

Dsquare said on the 14th Jul, 2012

...................................... didn't treat the sisters as caricatures.

But they are Blanche, they are!!

Dsquare

Dsquare said on the 14th Jul, 2012

are my missing o getting to you :)

No, I have embraced the missing o.

crazzymikey

crazzymikey said on the 14th Jul, 2012

they don't make them like they used to

mark_ said on the 14th Jul, 2012

I reckon Judy Davis could play the Bette Davis role.

sneakos

sneakos said on the 14th Jul, 2012

they were, but i fixed them up in this post so theres none missing

and theres th same number of o's in each quote so its all even now

il just look @ this box now to compensate for that which cant be spoken about

unless you guys wanna go back and fix ur o's

while i lie down on my bed with teddy :D

sneakos

sneakos said on the 14th Jul, 2012

O.M.G :eek: :( :eek:

they wont fix up

sneakos

sneakos said on the 14th Jul, 2012

can u guys do some editting

please

sneakos

sneakos said on the 14th Jul, 2012

@ least th missing o's are in equal positions and there's th same number of o's

so thats a plus :)

TheOldie

TheOldie said on the 14th Jul, 2012

can u guys do some editting

please

Nooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooo oooooooooo oooooooooo oooooooo ooooo ooooooo ooooooo

sneakos

sneakos said on the 14th Jul, 2012

*close ur eyes teddy ... dont look*

shireboy

shireboy said on the 14th Jul, 2012

NOOOO...... same here with The Oldie.

Honestly - what is with 'Hollywood' these days ??!!

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm... what's on our schedule..... nothing.... well let's just roll out a remake / reboot / or just con the public that we stuffed up last time - See 'Spiderman' ... oh.. sorry.. The Amazing Spiderman for that !

As for OLD movies getting redone - well there's the upcoming

- TOTAL RECALL - unnecessary remake
- a new Bourne film - we'll call that a reboot
- you could add PROMETHEUS into the reboot camp - terrible film!
- FANTASTIC FOUR REBORN
- MAN OF STEEL.... yep ... another Superman reboot

but Baby Jane.... hell no remake will ever replace the heat that came from Bette and Joan. Seek it out if you've never seen it :)

Barrin

Barrin said on the 14th Jul, 2012

Not fussed about Baby Jane, but if they ever mess with this... :mad:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XWim-Dm1UB4/TGhZaYEFdHI/AAAAAAAAAw4/6vMcZ0d1sgo/s400/AllAboutEveDVD.jpg

TheOldie

TheOldie said on the 14th Jul, 2012

hmmmmmm Total Recall maybe so that we dont have Arnold hamming it up. Sometimes sci fi is better due to the special effects.

Plus rumour had it that they hated each for 30 years till they made the movie together and hated each other to the grave. How can you replicate that ?

Dsquare

Dsquare said on the 14th Jul, 2012

Not fussed about Baby Jane, but if they ever mess with this... :mad:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XWim-Dm1UB4/TGhZaYEFdHI/AAAAAAAAAw4/6vMcZ0d1sgo/s400/AllAboutEveDVD.jpg

This movie dissapointed me. I saw in the cheap bin in JB and got very excited, ran home, took it out of the little yellow baggy and thought "You f...ing idiot, this is All About Eve. The movie you were thinking about was The Three Faces of Eve".

That was some years ago. I still haven't watched it.

crazzymikey

crazzymikey said on the 14th Jul, 2012

ill pass on total recall. It seems crappy remakes are all colin farrel can get these days.

so sick of remakes they are never good. movies now rre just special effects and nothing else

shireboy

shireboy said on the 14th Jul, 2012

And of course, any remake has to be in 3D !!

(gee typing on an iPad is a bit more difficult !)

pointzer said on the 14th Jul, 2012

You haven't watched it but it disappointed you?

OK, obviously there is something of Bette Davis cracked Baby Jane in you...

Too bad you've cheated yourself of a good watch.

Barrin

Barrin said on the 14th Jul, 2012

This movie dissapointed me. I saw in the cheap bin in JB and got very excited, ran home, took it out of the little yellow baggy and thought "You f...ing idiot, this is All About Eve. The movie you were thinking about was The Three Faces of Eve".

That was some years ago. I still haven't watched it.

Ah... if you haven't watched it how can you say it disappointed you?
It was nominated for 14 Oscars (a record only equalled by Titanic) and won six. It has the most deliciously bitchy dialogue and Bette is basically playing herself - a vain, over-indulged actress - who gets her comeuppance from the titular 'Eve'. Do yourself a favour and watch it! Look out for the young Marilyn Munroe playing Miss Caswell, a graduate of the Copacabana School of Dramatic Art.

pointzer said on the 14th Jul, 2012

^ oh yeah I forgot about Marilyn.

I like the final scene where the triumphant Eve puts on the tiara in front of a mirror with the infinite regression of reflections. So EVIL.

But it goes a bit deeper doesn't it? Not just stealing your crown ( I think most of us know how that feels ) but subsuming your identity too?

Dsquare

Dsquare said on the 14th Jul, 2012

I mustn't have been very clear. My dissapointment was with the fact that it wasn't the movie I thought it was, not the movie itself.

It wasn't meant to be taken seriously...................maybe I've just inhaled too must dust and mould spores with my packing and am posting deliriuos statements that only I understand?

Barrin

Barrin said on the 14th Jul, 2012

^ oh yeah I forgot about Marilyn.

I like the final scene where the triumphant Eve puts on the tiara in front of a mirror with the infinite regression of reflections. So EVIL.

But it goes a bit deeper doesn't it? Not just stealing your crown ( I think most of us know how that feels ) but subsuming your identity too?

Did you know there is also a musical version called 'Applause'? It was made in the early 70s and Lauren Bacall triumphed on Broadway in the Bette Davis role. They updated it and made one departure from the film by having Margot Channing visit a gay bar in Greenwich Village. The quality of this video is poor but it's a hoot. Bacall is supposed to be a real bitch to work with but just look at how she 'throws' herself into the choreography. Oh for a time machine to take me back to see it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71dRwNTN69I

pointzer said on the 14th Jul, 2012

I mustn't have been very clear. My dissapointment was with the fact that it wasn't the movie I thought it was, not the movie itself.

It wasn't meant to be taken seriously...................maybe I've just inhaled too must dust and mould spores with my packing and am posting deliriuos statements that only I understand?

Maybe you could cultivate those mould spores and start dealing?

pointzer said on the 14th Jul, 2012

Did you know there is also a musical version called 'Applause'? It was made in the early 70s and Lauren Bacall triumphed on Broadway in the Bette Davis role. They updated it and made one departure from the film by having Margot Channing visit a gay bar in Greenwich Village. The quality of this video is poor but it's a hoot. Bacall is supposed to be a real bitch to work with but just look at how she 'throws' herself into the choreography. Oh for a time machine to take me back to see it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71dRwNTN69I

Dont care much for musicals - I'm not that gay - but the Greenwich Village gay bar twist sounds interesting.

Bacall and Bogart - THE BIG SLEEP - awesome.

Dsquare

Dsquare said on the 14th Jul, 2012

I tried the live mould but the little buggers just wouldn't stay in line.

The_Freak

The_Freak said on the 15th Jul, 2012

This movie dissapointed me. I saw in the cheap bin in JB and got very excited, ran home, took it out of the little yellow baggy and thought "You f...ing idiot, this is All About Eve. The movie you were thinking about was The Three Faces of Eve".

That was some years ago. I still haven't watched it.

Oh, you've got to watch it! It really has some good one liners and as pointzer said the "lovely" Eve Harrington is so evil. A real bitch! I guarantee you'll like it! Not as "campy" as Baby Jane, but set in the Theatre world and with the acerbic wit of George Sanders as Addison de Witt......it's very good.

Dsquare

Dsquare said on the 15th Jul, 2012

It's on the list. I've got so many DVDs that I still haven't watched I'm waiting for retirement to have to time to catch up.

moviefan84

moviefan84 said on the 15th Jul, 2012

I have seen the film and I thought it was a pretty good movie, but personally I think it is a rather unusual choice for a remake and I don't think it will work. But it seems like film studios (especially Hollywood) have run out of ideas lately and seem to be remaking everything that they can get their hands on, and most of the time not very well (The Day The Earth Stood Still, american remake Godzilla, Tim Burton's Planet Of The Apes, ect) but of saying that I will admit that their are number that I actually have liked over the years but they seriously need to take a break with the remakes and start doing original stuff again.

The_Freak

The_Freak said on the 15th Jul, 2012

Agreed! :)

I don't know if it's that they've run out of ideas, though. The phrase "a quick buck" comes to this old Freak's mind. :rolleyes: I think it is also laziness and a unwillingness to take a gamble on new material. Sad,though! There are plenty of books (ebooks etc) out there that are a rich source of material for films and which would appeal to a younger demographic, than going down the "remake road", again!

TheOldie

TheOldie said on the 15th Jul, 2012

agree

there are so many books out there.

Look at the Harry Potter series, Hobbit , Vampire etc that have been made into great movies but as you say Freak maybe they just think its easier to rehash old stuff cause the script etc already done.

Then again look at the bomb John Carter. I wanted to go see it at the movies but missed out and watched it the other night on Foxtel.
Absolute shite and that was first time it had been turned into a movie as far as I know.

Travis de Jonk

Travis de Jonk said on the 16th Jul, 2012

This film is in my top 10 favourite movies of all time! It's brilliant! Two juggernaut acting personalities - blistering performances, so NUTS! They better not fuck it up in the remake! Though I seriously doubt the ability of anyone to do better than the original.

The_Freak

The_Freak said on the 17th Jul, 2012

I'll bet you any money Travis that they do!

There have been a few remakes that weren't too bad. I liked the "Brady Bunch" films but that was because they sent up the original "Mom & apple pie" 60s-70s series. Really took the piss!:D

But sadly most remakes come under the "WTF" category. Anyone see the "Psycho" remake with Anne Heche in the Janet Leigh role? They were so worried about making a "dog's breakfast" out of it, that they copied every single camera angle. What an abortion!:(

"Whatever Happened To Baby Jane" should stay, as is - a classic. It's like trying to remake "Gone With The Wind"

LEAVE THEM ALONE, PUH_LEASE! :eek:

mark_ said on the 17th Jul, 2012

That's pretty good hoofing for a 50 year old.

I refuse to say anything negative about that one because it was done by a gay man. And it was in COLOUR!

But the main reason remakes are made is because OUR generation (and that includes me) has a SHORTER ATTENTION SPAN now. We've been changed with MTV editing and Jerry Bruckheimer effects.

We can get sentimental about the original but very few of us sit down to watch the complete thing because they now seem so long and slow moving and drawn out.

.