Bette Davis film, "Lady for a Day"), based on a story by Damon Runyon. She accepted her next role, in the Grand Guignol horror film "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" (1962), after reading the script and believing it could appeal to the same audience that had recently made Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" (1960) a success. She negotiated a deal that would pay her 10% of the worldwide gross profits in addition to her salary. The film became one of the year's biggest successes. Davis and Joan Crawford played two aging sisters, former actresses forced by circumstance to share a decaying Hollywood mansion.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962 film) age could purchase a copy of the film. However, in 2004, the film was re-submitted for a theatrical re-release, and it was given a 12A certificate, now meaning persons under 12 years of age could view it if accompanied by an adult. It remains at this category. The film's success spawned a succession of horror/thriller films featuring psychotic older women, later dubbed the psycho-biddy subgenre, among them Aldrich's "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte", "What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?", and director Curtis Harrington's "Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?" and "What's the Matter with Helen?". It was parodied by the Italian comedy film "What