What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962 film) films "Parachute Jumper" and "Ex-Lady" (both 1933) and the Joan Crawford film "Sadie McKee" (1934) was used to represent the film acting of Jane and Blanche respectively. The character of Liza, Mrs. Bates' daughter, was played by Davis' real-life daughter B. D. Merrill. After Joan Crawford's daughter Christina wrote the best-selling tell-all book "Mommie Dearest", Merrill published a memoir that depicted her mother in an unfavorable light. Crawford was scheduled to appear alongside Davis on a publicity tour of "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" but cancelled at the last minute. Davis claimed that Crawford backed out because she did
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962 film) professional rivalry upon a belated mutual respect." More recent assessments have been more uniformly positive. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 92% based on 50 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, ""What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" combines powerhouse acting, rich atmosphere, and absorbing melodrama in service of a taut thriller with thought-provoking subtext." In a retrospective review, "TV Guide" awarded the film four stars, calling it "Star wars, trenchantly served" and adding, "If it sometimes looks like a poisonous senior citizen show with over-the-top spoiled ham, just try to look away ...