Joan Crawford been left near-penniless following Alfred Steele's death, accepted a small role in "The Best of Everything" (1959). Although she was not the star of the film, she received positive reviews. Crawford would later name the role as being one of her personal favorites. By 1961 Joan Crawford was once again her own publicity machine with a new script, "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?", sent by Robert Aldrich. Crawford starred as Blanche Hudson, an elderly, disabled former A-list movie star who lives in fear of her psychotic sister Jane, in the highly successful psychological thriller "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?"
Baby Jane Hudson they spot Blanche lying on the sand and rush to her aid. Jane is too caught up in her delusions to notice the policemen's presence. Among the film's most recognized images is Bette Davis as the aged Jane in blond Mary Pickford-like curls performing the syrupy song "I've Written a Letter to Daddy." Jane's final scene in the film is patterned on the final scene of "Sunset Boulevard", where Gloria Swanson's character descends the stairs for an imagined film scene after killing her lover. The success of the movie led the director to undertake a film using similar themes and