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? (novel) phone, while making her afraid to eat by serving Blanche's dead pet bird on a salad and, later, a large rat from the cellar. In a drunken daze, Jane decides to revive her childhood singing and dancing act of Baby Jane, reasoning that Fanny Brice had success with Baby Snooks. She then hires a musical accompanist, Edwin Flagg, through a help wanted ad. As reality topples crazily into eerie fantasy, Jane abuses her sister with monstrous cruelty, while embezzling her money to buy liquor and revive her childhood act as "Baby Jane Hudson". Edna comes to find out why Blanche