Greetings horror fans, we have yet another weekend’s worth of high quality vintage horror films ahead on Turner Classic Movies; my pick is the genuinely disturbing What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (1962).

This film features two of the finest actresses from Hollywood’s golden era, Bette Davis as Baby Jane and Joan Crawford (yes, the “I said no wire hangers!” lady) as her disabled sister.  I heard about this film for years but never took the time to watch it until 2009, I was blown away by the filmography, by the palpable suspense, and by the way the two actresses played against each other.  Bette Davis gives an over-the-top performance as Baby Jane; throughout the film she ratchets up the tension by making her presence bigger and bigger.  Conversely Joan Crawford’s performance becomes more subtle and nuanced throughout.  Don’t plan on being terrified but rather on being disturbed in a scary sort of way.  In fact, Baby Jane’s adult performance of the song “I’ve Written a Letter to Daddy” is one of the most disturbing musical numbers I have seen in film, putting it up there with vomit inducing “Thank Heaven for Little Girls” sung at the beginning of Gigi (1958).  If you haven’t seen this film catch it tonight at 10:45 PM on TCM and let me know what you think in the comments section.

If you’re in the mood for a good old school fright film then check out two of the best; Bride of Frankenstein (1935) Saturday at 8:00 PM and The Mummy (1932) at 9:30 PM both films are fun, and scary and well worth the time.

Check back on Wednesday 10/30 for the final installment of this series on classic horror movies on TCM.

Friday October 25

8:00 PM Bucket of Blood (1959)

9:15 PM Dementia 13 (1963)

10:45 PM What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

Saturday October 26

1:15 AM Sisters (1973)

3:00 AM Spider Baby (1964)

4:30 AM Village of the Damned (1961)

8:00 PM Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

9:30 PM The Mummy (1932)

– John Morton