Scene one: The hospital ward 1962.
:Blanche Hudson, fifty-two year old woman was found passed out on a beach in Beverly Hills. Her sister, "Baby" Jane Hudson was responsible for the malnourished Blanche. Blanche was crippled from the waist down and she cannot use her legs for anything. She is lying on the bed still unconscious from the lack of food Jane would give her. A doctor and a nurse look at her to see if she will even make it through the night:
Nurse: Doctor, is Miss Hudson going to be all right? Do you think she'll make it?
Doctor: Nurse Dreary, she only passed out shortly after the law found her. According to Brummagem, she said weakly; "Please take care of Jane. She is sick and doesn't know what she is doing. Please, she needs help more than I do." That's Blanche Hudson for you, always thinking of that brood, Baby Jane.
Nurse: She was famous?
Doctor: It was before your time, Nurse Dreary. She was hot stuff when I was a kid. That was nearly thirty or forty something years ago. Grandma took me to see her when I was a kid once. Boy, she had talent. She could dance and sing like a fourteen year old when she was only six. She was the Shirley Temple of my time. You had to buy tickets days in advance to see Baby Jane Hudson perform. Sometimes her dad would play what I think was a banjo and piano. That family had talent, but not all at once.
Nurse: What about their mother?
Doctor: Freda LaSalle was a showgirl in her day. Hell, according to my old man, that woman had the nicest set of legs on the west coast. Too bad she quit performing to settle down with Bob Hudson to have the girls. My old man said that she could've been something swell. She met Bob one night at that nightclub, Towson. Bob was the opening act and she was the intermission. Freda fell in love with Bob and before you know it, boom! Boom! They have kids.
Nurse: Whatever happened to Baby Jane?
Doctor: She plowed her sister down with the car and crippled her for life. Jane had to take care of Blanche. According to a fellow named Edwin Flagg, she went crazy and tied up Blanche to the bed to starve her to death. He claimed that he was "happy" at the time. Then they ended up at the beach and that was that.
Nurse: Who reported her missing?
Doctor: I think a woman by the name of Bates.
:Blanche wakes up, but she is still weak:
Blanche: Where am I?
:Doctor and Nurse turn around to see Blanche Hudson:
Doctor: Miss Hudson, are you all right?
Nurse: Excitedly I saw your movie on the T.V. the other day. I loved it! You were brilliant!
Doctor: Nurse Dreary!
:Blanche gives her a weak smile and sighs:
Doctor: Please forgive her, Miss Hudson. She's only star struck.
Blanche: That's quite all right. Where am I?
Doctor: Miss Hudson, you are at Cedar Grove Hospital. You were on the beach with your sister and you passed out.
Blanche: Sits up Where is Jane? Is she all right?
Doctor: She'll be fine. She's at the local sanitarium and Miss Hudson, that's better for her. The police were going to take her to jail for what she did to you, but they knew that you would not have stood for it.
Blanche: I was going to put her away, but I couldn't. I just couldn't:Breaks into tears: she was the breadwinner in our family when she was a kid. I just could not ever put her away!
Doctor: Pats her on the back She'll be fine and so will you, Miss Hudson. Now, since you are wide-awake, why don't I get you a nice piece of steak from Brown Derby?
Blanche: I don't know if I can eat, doctor.
Doctor: You must.
Blanche: It won't be easy.
Doctor: What do you mean, Miss Hudson? I thought that you'd be starving.
Blanche: Jane killed my bird and served it as lunch. Then she took a rat and made it a dinner dish. She tried to make me afraid to eat.
Doctor: Miss Hudson, it'll be fine. Now you have to gain at least five pounds before we let you go home.
Blanche: Is there a phone I could use?
Doctor: Yes, there is, but you need to rest for the time being and then after you eat something, you can call whoever you like to, Miss Hudson.
Blanche: Thank you, doctor. :She gently lays back down and rests as the nurse and doctor leave her alone:
Doctor: Nurse Dreary, I need you to call the Santa Monica Sanitarium and tell them all the information we got from Miss Hudson.
Nurse: Yes, doctor. :Exits stage left as Mrs. Bates enter stage right with some flowers for Blanche:
Mrs. Bates: excuse me, doctor. I am Mrs. Pam Bates, Miss Hudson's next-door neighbor. I came to see if she is all right.
Doctor: Lady, Miss Hudson is not fit for any visitors.
Mrs. Bates:miffed: that's what Jane Hudson told me. When Jane Hudson told me that, she was starving that poor woman to death. Now, I don't want to wait any longer to meet Blanche Hudson. I lived next door to those people for six months and I never got to meet her.
Doctor: Mrs. Bates…
Mrs. Bates:Cuts him off: I want to meet Blanche Hudson right now! Do you know who my husband is?
Doctor: who?
Mrs. Bates: Jim F. Bates, that's who.
Doctor: The Jim F. Bates?
Mrs. Bates: Yes.
Doctor: The Jim F. Bates who owns this hospital, museum, sanitarium, and many places in Beverly Hills?
Mrs. Bates: Yes. I could have him fire you.
Doctor: I think Miss Hudson would love your company. Besides, I am off to Brown Derby to get her a nice big juicy steak. She needs to gain at least five pounds to go home. :Exits stage left:
:Mrs. Bates goes over to the bed and sits in a chair next to Blanche Hudson. She looks at her with admiration for her fame in the early thirties. She adores Blanche Hudson. Mrs. Bates moves Blanches' hair from her face and smiles at her respectively:
Mrs. Bates: Oh, poor woman. Your sister will pay for this, you know. :Mrs. Bates gets up and puts the flowers on the night table next to Blanches' hospital bed. Blanche wakes up and sees Mrs. Bates:
Blanche: Mrs. Bates?
Mrs. Bates:glad to know that Blanche knows who she is: Yes! That's me, Mrs. Pam Bates.
Blanche: Your husband owns almost half of Beverly Hills and Santa Monica, right?
Mrs. Bates: That's him.
Blanche: It's a pleasure to meet you at last, Mrs. Bates.
Mrs. Bates: Same here, Miss Hudson. :She sits down and says proudly: I was the one who filed the report last night.
Blanche: Oh, really?
Mrs. Bates: Yes, and I wanted to tell you that my daughter Jill and I adored your film "Last Honeymoon" the other night. Did Jane tell you? Did she give you my flowers?
Blanche: Yes she did. What flowers?
Mrs. Bates: The lilies.
Blanche: She must have forgotten.
Mrs. Bates: Don't make excuses for her. I found out what she did to Elvira. I looked her up and found out she was living with a cousin. I told her cousin that Jane might have killed Elvira. I knew that because when I asked Jane if I could borrow Elvira for a few times a week, she told me that she was fired. I told her that it could not be because I saw her go into the house. After that, I never saw poor Elvira again. I knew that Jane must have done something to her.
Blanche: Mrs. Bates, I was there when Jane killed Elvira. Elvira got Jane to unlock the door to my room and then Jane hit her in the head with a hammer. Elvira was right about putting her in a home. I could not find it in my heart to. Mrs. Bates, when Jane and I were kids, she was the famous one. She was Baby Jane Hudson. Jane would get all the attention and fame while I was in her shadow. When the tables turned, I was the famous one and she was forgotten. Imagine that, Mrs. Bates. Imagine that you were once famous for a long time and then one morning you wake up and everybody forgets about you and who you were. She went into alcoholism and abusive behavior. She lost all self-control on her well being.
Mrs. Bates: I never thought of that. Miss Hudson, when I was a little girl Baby Jane was what all the other girls would talk about. They had their baby Jane dolls and Baby Jane curls. She was cute, but the doll was scary. It was a china doll and it looked like a real Baby Jane. I got to see her once in Vaudeville. My father and mother took my sisters and I to see the famous Baby Jane. Daddy told me that "we may be poor, but at least you, Kelly, and Hailey will have this memory." Maybe I should have acknowledged her, Miss Hudson. Maybe we should have let her know that Baby Jane still exists in our hearts today.
Blanche: She did have one friend though. His name was Edwin. Jane was head over heals for him. Edwin was a bit younger than her, but she loved him because he respected and was interested in her.
Mrs. Bates: My daughter Jill would love to meet you sometime soon, Miss Hudson. Perhaps when you are well?
Blanche: I would love that. I rarely get any visitors. Jane never lets anyone come upstairs to visit me. She was jealous.
Mrs. Bates: I probably should have said that I loved her as a child.
Blanche: Don't beat yourself up, Mrs. Bates. Jane was like that since the accident.
Mrs. Bates: Then it's true. What Julie Fowler told my Jill was true. I thought that it was a stupid rumor started up by those tabloids.
Blanche: It never made the papers, Mrs. Bates. I did not ever let it get public. It was a studio slip. The studio was supposed to keep it under wraps, but they did not. No, some director told his wife and she told her friends and that's how it got started.
Mrs. Bates: I have to go now. It was nice to meet you at last, Miss Hudson.
Blanche: It was nice to meet you too, Mrs. Bates.
Mrs. Bates: Bye. :Exits stage right as Blanche takes a nap:
Curtains close
Act 1 scene 2: The Santa Monica Sanitarium
:Two orderlies carry each arm of Jane Hudson into her dorm room. She screams and yells as they put her down onto the bed:
Jane:Screaming Frantically: Do you know who I am? I am Baby Jane Hudson! That's who! I am a respected celebrity of Hollywood and Vaudeville. I want my own damn room!
Orderly #1: Miss Hudson, your sister requested the best care for you.
Jane:Hollers: I have no sister!
Orderly #2: Miss Hudson, be a good girl and calm down so that Dr. Shelby could get a look at you.
Jane:Hollers: Like Hell I will!
Orderly #1: Where is that nurse at? I think we should put her in the tub with a canvas so she could calm down.
Orderly #2: I think we should go on ahead without any consent. I'm sure she'll understand. :They pick her up and drag her to the canvas:
Jane:Hollers: No! No! No!
:The put her into the canvas tub while she continues ranting: "I am Baby Jane Hudson! I am Baby Jane Hudson!":
Orderly #1: from what I heard miss, they were going to arrest you for murder and attempted murder, but no, your sister, being the charitable woman she is demanded this for you. She claims that you are sick in the mind and need help.
Jane:She's a dirty rotten liar! That little bitch has had it in for me since day one! She hated me because the audience loved me better than her! She almost got even with me with those damn movies that Hollywood airs once every other day, but I put a stop to it. I unplugged her television so she wouldn't rub it in my face! I'll kill that little bitch! I'll kill her I will!
:Curtains close:
Act 1 Scene 2: the hospital room-a few days later
:Blanche is gaining all her weight back and then some. She is on the phone with her business manager. She is selling her house for a smaller one on the beach:
Blanche: Yes, Burt I am fine…I know that I should have put her away years ago, but I did not have the heart to…it just got so extreme when she killed Elvira and tried to kill me…I know that I could have prevented this…yes maybe I should have known for a long time…so the beach house you found is small enough to take care of and cheap enough to afford and still pay for the medical care for Jane…but it's big enough for a live-in maid…I do not have one lined up yet…I did have Elvira, but she's dead…maybe her cousin would like to live with me…I met her cousin once. She was filling in for her one day because she was sick…I think I could trust her cousin Letta…from what I heard Letta is a good cook…yes, I will call her today, but she just found out that her cousin is dead, so how can I get my affairs in order for Letta…I could call her tomorrow when the funeral is over…yes Burt, I will…thank you, bye. :Hangs up:
:Doctor and Nurse come in from Stage Right to check Blanches weight:
Doctor: Miss Hudson, are you ready to be weighed?
Blanche: Yes, sir.
Doctor: You know the drill :Blanche puts her hands on his shoulders and he puts his hands on her waist. He lifts her out of the bed and almost drops her: I always forget that you are paralyzed from the waist down, Miss Hudson. :Lifts her up: upsie-daisy:Places her on a scale, but still holds her as the nurse works with the scale: How much, Nurse Dreary?
Nurse: About 100 pounds and 10 ounces.
Doctor: You're going home tomorrow little lady.
Blanche: Great, I've got some affairs to get in order before long. I need to make another call before you take the phone back, doctor. May I?
Doctor: Help yourself, Miss Hudson.
Blanche: Thank you. :Doctor takes her back to the bed as the nurse exits left: Doctor Harrington, have you heard about Jane, yet?
Doctor: Blanche, I did not want to tell you this, but I guess you have every right to know. Jane has been drying out from all the booze she drank. She has been vomiting a lot lately and she has a vendetta with your name on it.
Blanche: I knew that it would happen. I have to get her out of there.
Doctor: No you don't have to get her out of there. She deserved it.
Blanche: But I have to get her out of there.
Doctor: I never understood why you were nice to that girl.
Blanche: She is my sister. Mama had me promise her that I would treat Jane and daddy nicer than they ever treated me as a kid. They never gave a damn about me. All daddy ever cared about was Baby Jane because she was the moneymaker. Finally when I got my first contract with MGM, daddy made sure that it included Jane. I went along with it because Jane was my sister and mama wanted me to be nice Jane. Mama was the only person that gave a damn about me. She was both my mother and my father.
Doctor: Your mother was Freda LaSalle right?
Blanche: Yes, she was. She could have been something if she didn't marry daddy and had Jane and I. Mama was the nicest soul anyone could ever meet in this world.
Doctor: Without Jane, you could have made it far. You are the older one, right?
Blanche: Yes. Jane was beautiful as a small child, but when she got older, the more ugly she got. Jane was something as a child.
Doctor: For a celebrity, you are a very nice woman. I never met a celebrity that I ever like before. You got real class, Miss Hudson.
Blanche: Thank you, doctor. I am afraid for Jane though.
Doctor: Don't be, Miss Hudson. Jane had it coming. It just had to be you who had to put a stop to her destructive behavior.
Blanche: Doctor, excuse me for a moment I have to make this call.
Doctor: Right, Miss Hudson exits right
Blanche:Dials the phone: Hello, Letta this is Blanche Hudson…your cousin Elvira worked for me…my deepest sympathies…she was the only one who could deal with Jane…I know that you need some place to live since Elvira is no longer helping you make payments on the apartment, so I was wondering if you would like to move in with me to be my full-time maid…if you don't, I understand…that was what Elvira was going to do after I had committed Jane into the home…I know…I know…can you come by sometime Monday…I'll still be at the house until next week after I get all my affairs in order…okay, all right, Letta…bye.
Act 1 scene 4: The sanitarium
:In the sitting room, some of the patients are staring into space, playing with dolls, or playing cards. Jane sees the action and thinks of this as her opportunity to show off her talent:
Jane: to herself an audience! An upcoming applause:She goes into the sitting room and starts singing I've Written a Letter to Daddy to the patients. A small group of them go crazy and throw objects at her. Jane runs out of the room screaming like a maniac:
Act 1 scene 5: Blanches' Beverly Hills House.
:Blanche just got home from the hospital. The moving men are there moving her and Jane's stuff into boxes and then onto a van. Blanche looks around at the place as if she did not recognize it anymore. Of course, the only views of the house that Blanche ever got were her bedroom and bathroom. Letta enters the house. Letta is a black woman in her early twenties:
Letta: Miz Blanche?
Blanche: Yes, you must be Letta Harkens.
Letta: My couzin Elvira, lord rezt her soul, told me all about you. She zaid dat you were the nice one and Miz Jane waz inzane. Iz it true, Miz Blanche? Iz it true dat Miz Jane tried to kill you?
Blanche: Yes, sadly it is true.
Letta: Iz it true dat Miz Jane iz crazy?
Blanche: Yes, it is true. All true! She is in a home now and I wished to not discuss it, Letta.
Letta: Sorry Miz Blanche. I hears a lot of rumors from all da other housekeepers. I wanted to know if theys were true.
Blanche: The past is behind us, Letta. Miss Jane is in a home in Santa Monica. So she will not be living with us. We will not be living here. We will be living on the beach.
Letta:Excited: Wowie, Miz Blanche! I always wanted to live on da beach! I love da beach!
Blanche: I love it, too. I think we'll get along fine.
Act 1 scene six: Visiting Jane in the sanitarium
:Jane is sitting in the living room with all the other patients for visitor's day. Blanches' lawyer Mr. Lawson T. Anderson accompanies her to visit Jane in the hospital:
Blanche:Merrily: Jane, it's me Blanche.
Jane:coldly: Blanche? Blanche whom?
Blanche: Blanche, your sister.
Jane: I have no sister.
Blanche: Jane, what do you mean:No reply: Jane, I am talking to you civilized. No reply Jane?
Lawson: Come on, Miss Hudson, you know what the doctor said. She is mad at you for committing her.
Blanche: I know, but I must make amends.
Lawson: What amends do you have to make, Blanche? She plowed you with the car, then she killed your housekeeper, and then she tried to kill you.
Jane: You're damn right I did! I had my reasons, Mr. Anderson. She was rubbing it in my face that the audience loved her and not me anymore. Then she had her damn movie premiered on the television. Finally, she was going to put me in a home and not tell me about it. I only killed Elvira since she was going to tell on me and have the police slap me around again, like they did when I ran into Blanche with the car. If daddy did not have a heart attack and died, I would not have gotten into trouble with the police. If mama really liked me, she would have helped me.
Blanche: Mama loved you, Jane.
Jane: No she didn't! She never loved me! Mama was jealous that I actually had a future on the stage and she didn't! She knew she blew it when she got knocked up with you! Oh, Blanche daddy told me the whole thing. Daddy said that he never loved mama. He said that mama was a whore in a salon where daddy and his friends would go to drink. Daddy got drunk and knocked mama up.
Blanche: Mama wasn't a whore! She was an actress!
Jane: Oh yes she was, sister dear. Mama slept with half the men in California. Ever since daddy died, mama has been back to the same habits. Daddy said that I was the only good thing that came out of that marriage.
Lawson: Now, Miss Hudson, you're upsetting your sister.
Jane: Oh, Mr. Anderson you know so little about my childhood. All of you do, especially you Blanche. Daddy said that I was special since I was born with talent. He knew that I was something special when he heard me sing a song along with him. I remember as if it were yesterday…
(Flashback, 1916)
Jane v/o: daddy was playing his banjo and singing Darling. Usually, he never liked it when Blanche or me would sing with him because he was rehearsing. :While she is saying this dialog, Baby Jane, four-year-old little girl, enters from the left while Bob sings the song Darling and playing the banjo. Baby Jane stands beside him and sings along. Bob stops playing and singing while Baby Jane continued to do so. Baby Jane looks frightened when Bob stops playing and studies her:
Baby Jane:Timid: sorry, daddy. I love that song that you sing to the people. It was an accident.
Bob:smiles slyly: Janie, I think I got me a new act.
Baby Jane: Really? What kind?
Bob: I think it's going to be a father-daughter act.
Baby Jane: Are you going to sing with me and Blanche?
Bob: No, but I will sing with you. Blanche doesn't have the talent that you have.
Baby Jane: Really?
Bob: Yes :kisses her forehead: You're going to be a little shining star, baby.
Baby Jane: Really? You think so, daddy?
Bob: I know so, Baby Jane. That's it! Baby Jane! We'll call our act Baby Jane!
Baby Jane: After me?
Bob: Yes, sweetheart, after you since you'll be the star!
Baby Jane:hugs Bob: oh, daddy!
Bob: We'll be bigger than the whole damn Vaudeville!
(Back to 1961)
Jane: We sure were bigger than Vaudeville. Pretty soon, my name was in lights and people would pay three dollars to see me perform with daddy. I made the money so I got what I wanted. If I wanted ice cream, I got it. If I wanted a doll, I got that too. Daddy bought me that house that me and Blanche live in. Blanche claims that she bought it, but the house is in my name. I could prove it, look on the deed.
Blanche: Jane, it's my house. Lawson Anderson can prove it. We brought the document to show you. :Lawson pulls the document out of his brief case and hands it to Jane. Jane gets mad, crumples the paper, and throws it into Blanches' face:
Jane: You little bitch! That's a lie:Lawson picks the piece of paper up and straightens it out: You're a dirty rotten liar! You always were and always will be!
Blanche: Jane, it's true! I own the house! I bought it after I signed my first contract with MGM.
Jane: Dirty rotten liar!
Lawson: Miss Hudson, it's true. I am a real lawyer and that is the real thing. Now be a good girl because your sister has to tie up a few loose ends.
Blanche: I'll come back and visit you soon, Jane.
Jane: Liar!
:Lawson wheels Blanche out of the hospital. Blanche looks unsure about her decision of putting Jane into a home. She knows that it is for the best, but she is unsure about her decision. Lawson reassures Blanche that she made the right choice:
Lawson: Jane needs to be taken care of and dried out, Blanche.
Blanche: I know, but I want to make sure that I am doing the right thing. I had to make her believe that I crippled myself, but I will always know that she crippled me. She was afraid of my success. Unlike her, mine was shortly lived.
Lawson: Jane has always been jealous of you. She may not say it, but it shows.
Blanche: I used to be jealous of her. It felt like daddy always favored her over me.
(Flashback, 1917 a theatre in San Francisco)
:Baby Jane is on the stage tap dancing to Suwannee River. Seven-year-old Blanche, twenty-six-year-old Freda LaSalle-Hudson, and thirty-three-year-old Bob Hudson watch her tap dance and wow the audience that a five-year-old could dance like a professional. Blanche is jealous of Baby Jane because her father likes Baby Jane better than her and everybody knew Baby Jane. Blanche longs for the attention that Baby Jane would get from everybody:
Bob: whispers go Jane! Go! Thata girl! Etc.
:The music stops and Baby Jane takes a bow. Then she sings I've Written a Letter to Daddy. Halfway through the song, Baby Jane and Bob do some choreography together. Then Baby Jane sings the rest of the song. Blanche is trying to be happy for Baby Jane, but she can't help feeling like wringing her neck.:
Bob: Thanks folks! Thank you!
:Johnny presents Baby Jane with a lifelike doll of her:
Johnny: all for you.
Bob: That's a swell doll! Ain't it a swell doll, folks? Kids tell your moms that each and every one of those dolls is an exact replica of your own Baby Jane Hudson.
:Bob whispers something into Baby Jane's ear as the patrons leave the theatre. Then Baby Jane stomps on Bob's foot and she shoves the doll back to Johnny. Johnny then takes the doll and puts it on a shelf backstage.:
Baby Jane:hollers: I don't want to go the old motel! I don't want to take a nap!
Bob: Janie, you need your rest!
Baby Jane: I want an ice cream!
Bob: We just had one yesterday!
Baby Jane: I make the money so I should get what I want!
Bob: Now stop it, Jane!
Baby Jane: Do you not love me anymore, daddy?
Bob:sighs: okay, but that's it for the week.
Baby Jane: Blanche would like some ice cream. We got to have some for Blanche.
Blanche: I-I'm fine. I don't want any ice cream.
Bob:angry: what do you think you're doing:Blanche looks away from them as Baby Jane and Bob exit left to head for the ice cream parlor. Freda comforts Blanche;
Freda: Blanche, don't take anything that your father says to you personally. He is stressed out. He thinks the tour is too much for Jane. Being the man that he is, he won't say anything to you or me or even to Jane. Ever since he found out that she could sing and dance, he felt that he had found his soul mate. Jane is to your father as Blanche is to…
Blanche:smiles a little bit: mama.
Freda:hugs her: Good girl. Now lets go to the motel while Jane and your father have their ice cream. I bet that you are tired as well.
Blanche: I actually want to read.
Freda: Child, I swear that you have read every book between here and New York. What have you not read yet?
Blanche: I don't know? Today's paper, perhaps?
Freda: Okay, there is one waiting on the table at the motel.
Blanche: I want to see if they had interviewed Clara Bow yet. I loved her in that film, what's it called again, mama?
Freda: It Girl.
Blanche: Oh yes. I think she's divine. I want to grow up and be just like her.
Freda: I bet you will, angel.
Blanche: I wonder if she could sing like Jane?
(1961, Santa Monica California)
Blanche: Mama was right. I did have the publicity of Clara Bow, but it was ruined after the accident.
Lawson: That was no accident, Blanche.
Blanche: It was, Lawson. It really was.
Act 2 scene 1: Jane meets Cora Little.
:In the hospital in Santa Monica, two orderlies carry in this dumpy forty-year-old female into the ward. Jane observes as Cora Little curses out the orderlies for bringing her in:
Cora:shakes her fist: You know I'll break out again:Jane hears the words "break out" and she goes up to Cora to formally introduce herself:
Jane: Excuse me miss?
Cora: Yeah :she lights a cigarette: who the hell are you?
Jane: I'm Jane Hudson, but I'm also known as Baby Jane Hudson.
Cora:not impressed: so? I'm Cora Little. I used to be known as Little Cora Little. I was in Vaudeville for three months.
Jane: I was a big star until my sister took that away from me.
Cora: Sisters are the worst.
Jane: Especially older ones.
Cora: Likewise. That's why I'm in this joint with these other kooks.
Jane: Kooks?
Cora: Crazy people like your self, toots. You have too much face powder on did you know that? What did you used to be, a clown?
Jane: No, a performer on Vaudeville. People loved me. They paid three dollars just to see me.
Cora: When? 1800?
Jane: No, 1916-1924. They said that I got old and was outdated. So I went into movies with my sister Blanche. Of course, I was there first and then she followed me, like she did all her life. If I had known that Blanche was going to charm the directors with her classy looks, I would've killed her years ago.
Cora: Your sap story touched me, toots. :Puts her cigarette out: tonight when the stray-men are asleep, we'll break you out.
Jane: Great. Why are you in here anyways?
Cora: My sister, the fabulous Constance Conner took my husband and kids from me. She brainwashed them into calling her mama. Where in the hell was she when I was diapering them? Answer that for me will you? She took them from me when they were quite young.
Jane: What are your kids' names?
Cora: Bette and Joan :takes two pictures out of her dress pockets:. See, Joan's the older one. She's a brunette. Bette is the blonde. Bette is my baby girl. :Pulls out another picture of her and the kids: See? This is a happy marriage Hank and I had, but no. Constance had to have him and the girls. That bastard left me for my own sister.
Jane: Blanche stole many things from me. She somehow had mama persuade daddy to include her on my contract with MGM. Daddy agreed to it.
(Flashback, Pasadena 1930)
:Freda and Bob are in the master bedroom. Freda would not sleep and Bob is curious as to why she would not sleep:
Bob: Freda, are you all right honey?
Freda: Bob, I think Blanche has a knack for acting. She has a gift like Jane.
Bob: Jane is special. She was born with it, unlike Blanche.
Freda:scolding: now you saw Blanche in that community play. Don't you think that she was something spectacular, like Jane is?
Bob:Scoffs: just luck. That's all she has is luck.
Freda: at least it's good luck.
Bob: Freddie, I love the girls equally, you know that. Jane is a bright girl, she'll make it, but Blanche really is not.
Freda: Bob, you better do something for Blanche. Isn't your friend working on that film?
Bob: Yeah, he said he needed a brunette for the part, but I am not handing it to Blanche on a silver platter. She has to earn it herself. Her classy looks will help her. I must say that she has a pretty face these days. Yeah I guess I could have two famous girls, Freddie.
Freda: Oh, Bobby. :Kisses his cheek: I love you. Not only are your talented and you passed it down to our girls, you are a good man. Now I must sleep. :Kisses him on the lips night: darling.
(A few months later in the living room)
:Twenty-two-year-old Blanche Hudson runs into the living room to tell Bob and Freda the good news:
Blanche: Mama? Daddy? Guess who got nominated for an Oscar for Moon Glow?
Freda: Darling, you did?
Blanche: Yes, mama. I did. :Freda hugs Blanche while Bob looks coldly at her; Daddy, did I make you proud of me?
Bob: What about Jane? Is she going to get an award?
Blanche: They don't nominate comedies, daddy.
Bob: She is no comedienne. She is an artist.
Blanche: all kinds of actors are artists, daddy. Just in a different way, that's all.
Bob: She is a performer. How did she get into comedy:Exits stage right:
Freda: I'm so proud of you, Blanche. Your father is just adjusting to the fact that you are better than Jane for once. You were always smarter than her when it came to books.
Blanche: I know, but I never thought that I would get an award before she did.
Freda: When I saw you in Hamlet your senior year at Pasadena High School, I figure that you were special. Then when I saw you play Juliet in the community play, I knew that it was true. You can be whatever you want to be.
(1963)
Jane: At that time, I realized that Blanche was going to be the breadwinner in the family. She had mama make daddy do that horrid thing. She is evil, I tell you. Evil!
Cora: We're busting out tonight, toots. Take a nap.
Jane: Wonderful.
Act 2 scene 2: The beach house
:It is about 2 a.m. in the morning and Blanche Hudson is having a hard time sleeping. She hears the voice of a much younger Baby Jane as she sings a verse of I've Written a Letter to Daddy.:
Baby Jane's voice: I've written a letter to daddy…
Blanche:whispers: His address is Heav'n above. I've written 'dear daddy we miss you and we wish you were with us to love.' Instead of a stamp I put kisses. The postman says that's best to do. I've written a letter to daddy saying I love you!
(1933, the party)
:Blanche and Jane Hudson are at a party at George Water's house in Pasadena California after Blanches' last movie Curtain Call. Blanche is socializing with Lisa DeWitt, an old movie star in her forties who starred in the film with Blanche and George Water. Jane is drunk and she is making fun of Blanche Hudson and imitating her. The guest were shocked by her behavior:
Jane:slurred: and Blanche told me that she often fantasized George Water in the buff. Boy, so do I. Hey, Georgie, you got anymore scotch?
Blanche: Jane, you've had enough.
Jane:slaps: Blanche I'll let you know when I've had enough, bitch.
Blanche:rubs her cheek: Jane, it's time to go. :Grabs her hand: You're drunk and your behavior is appalling.
Jane:slurred: my behavior? You're the one with the appall-apple-applying behavior, sister.
George: Get that dame out of here!
Lisa: Oh, Blanche. It must be awful to be related to that witch!
Jane:slurred: it must be awful to be caught in the kip with Appling.
Lisa: You said that you wouldn't tell! You harlot! I think that you should be cut out of the contract! I could arrange that, Jane Hudson:Marty Coleman pulls Lisa back before she could hurt Jane, but at the same time, he wants to release her so she could beat the crap out of Jane:
Marty: Lisa, your publicity!
Lisa: Just say the word, Blanche darling! Just say the word so that me and Marty could cut her out of the contract!
Jane:slurred: What's that woman talking about, Blanche?
Blanche:tugs Jane's arm: Nothing, let's go home.
Marty: Blanche, would you talk to her when she sobers up?
Blanche: I'll try to, Marty. Thanks for inviting us, George.
George: You're quite welcome. Will you come to the get-together on the yacht next weekend?
Blanche: Sure.
Jane:slurred: no, because I have to spend time with daddy.
Blanche: He's dead, Jane. Remember? He died of a heart attack.
Jane:slurred: I know. I go to the cemetery to visit him, Blanche. I have to visit him every Sunday to show him that I still love him. What do you think I've Written a Letter to Daddy meant? Huh?
(1961)
:Blanche stares at the ceiling, waiting for morning. Then she hears the voice of Baby Jane singing She's Somebody's Girl with Bob:
Baby Jane's voice: Mark my word
Bob's voice: Have you heard?
Baby Jane's voice: It's a baby girl!
Bob's voice: She's somebody's girl!
Blanche: whispers She's got locks of gold and a good clean soul. She's somebody's girl and that somebody is me! I do not lie when I say that somebody is a girl with a heart of gold and blonde angel curls. She's somebody's girl and that somebody is me!
(1917 the Hudson's rehearsal room in their Pasadena Home)
:Six-year-old Baby Jane Hudson practices the dance with Bob while Blanche watches from the doorway:
Bob: She's a real sweetheart and a gift from heaven above
Baby Jane: All I can give you is love
Bob: She's somebody's girl.
Baby Jane: I'm somebody's girl
Bob: She's somebody's girl
Both: She's (I'm) somebody's girl and that somebody is me (he).
:Bob gives Baby Jane a kiss on the forehead:
Baby Jane: Was I real great, daddy?
Bob: Yes, you were.
Baby Jane: I really like that song. It's very nice.
Blanche:walks into the room: I-I t-think so, too.
Bob: get out of here, Blanche. Janie and I need to practice.
Blanche: Yes, sir. Leaves the room
Baby Jane: Daddy, after we get done practicing, could we go get some ice cream?
Bob: we'll see, sugar.
(1961)
:It is now 7 a.m. Blanche wearily gets out of bed to get dressed. Letta knocks on the door and then enters the room after Blanche says: "come in." Blanche did get some sleep, but it was not enough. She is tired and weary from restlessness:
Letta: Morning Miz Blanche. I came in to tell you that breakfast iz ready. :Notices how tired Blanche looks: Gee, Miz Blanche are you all right?
Blanche:yawns: no, Letta.
Letta: You didn't sleep again? Miz Blanche we've been living here 'bout a month now and you could never sleep. Why can't you forget about Miz Jane?
Blanche: Letta, that's hard to do. She's my sister.
Letta: Miz Blanche! You got to move on!
Blanche: I know I did the right thing, but I can't help it, but feel awful about this.
Letta: Miz Blanche, don't do this to your self!
Act 2 scene 3: The Old Hudson Sisters' House.
:Jane escaped from the mental institution. She is in front of her old house and sees the "For Sale" sign in the front yard. She gets angry:
Jane:Screams: Blanche:Runs into the house: Blanche! You can't sell my house! Blanche:Runs into every room before she realizes that Blanche and the furniture are not there anymore: I'll kill you!
Act 2 scene 4: Blanches' beach house that night.
:Blanche and Letta are watching an old Blanche Hudson movie. Letta is intrigued with Blanches' performance with Clark Gable:
Letta: I swear, Miz Hudson, I don't know who I like best, Mr. Clark Gable or Mr. Frank Sinatra, but I know that Mr. Fred Astaire could out act 'em and out dance 'em any ole day.
Blanche:Chuckles: Oh, Letta they are all wonderful.
Letta: I especially loved that scene when you kissed Mr. Clark Gable.
:Blanche gets this tingly feeling that something bad is about to happen to her. She looks nervous as she looked around the surroundings:
Blanche: Letta, turn the television off, please.
:Letta turns off the television:
Letta: What's up, Miz Blanche?
Blanche: I-I can feel her presence.
Letta: If you keep talking like that, they gonna send you to the funny farm.
Blanche: Letta, stop that. I think something bad is going to happen. :The phone ringing startles Blanche:
Letta: You're too jumpy, Miz Blanche. Let me get it for you. :Picks it up: Hello, Hudson residence. :Pause: Yeah, Doctor she's here. :Hands the phone to Blanche:.
Blanche:Nervously: H-hello?
Doctor's voice: Miss Hudson, I'm afraid I have some bad news about Jane.
Blanche: I-is she all right?
Doctor's voice: Physically, yes. But we just got word from a patient that she and another patient, Cora Little broke out tonight after dinner.
Blanche:cries softly: oh no:She is silent for the remainder of the conversation:
Doctor: we just sent some people over to your old house…:phone line dies and Blanche taps on the receiver, but no response:
Blanche:cries: oh no! Letta, Jane escaped.
Letta: Good lord, Miz Blanche. We gotta hide:They hear a noise from outside: Oh, Miz Blanche it's too late! She's here!
Blanche: Letta. I don't know how she found this place.
Letta: Them files them doctors have, Miz Blanche. They say everything 'bout next of kin. I know this 'cause my cousin Petey Boy is a janitor for a nut house in Palm Springs.
Blanche: That's right. I didn't think of that. :Power goes off and Letta screams: Letta, stop that or she'll find us.
Letta:sobs: I'm afraid of the dark, Miz Blanche. One time when it was dark, my daddy got lynched. I don't wanna die like my daddy!
Blanche: Letta, wheel me to the bedroom. You know the back door there, right?
Letta: Yes, Miz Blanche.
Blanche: We'll go out that way and run to the Wallace's house and stay there.
:Outside of the beach house, Mrs. Bates gets out of her car and goes up to the door. Jane sees her, but Mrs. Bates does not see Jane:
:Mrs. Bates was about to knock on the door, but Jane pins her down. Mrs. Bates is not a really strong woman, but she puts up a struggle. Jane grasps her wrist and breaks one of them. Mrs. Bates starts to scream for help, but Jane gags her with a handkerchief that fell out of Mrs. Bates' purse:
Jane: Well, Mrs. Bates. I see you haven't changed a bit. You're still just as nosey as you were when I last saw you. :Mrs. Bates puts more of a struggle to get away from Jane, but Jane is stronger than Mrs. Bates. Jane sees Mrs. Bates broken wrist and laughs to herself: I see I broke your wrist. You might want to get that nice doctor to look at it. :Then Jane breaks her ankle: You might want to get that looked at, too. :She goes through her purse and takes the cash that Mrs. Bates has: You won't be needing this anymore. Don't worry I won't kill you this time, Mrs. Bates. You still have a daughter at home who needs you. Maybe she can take good care of you. :She walks away, leaving Mrs. Bates to die. Then she goes to the door to open it, but it's locked. She then notices a window in Blanches' room is wide open. She goes to the back of the house and she meets up with Blanche and Letta. Letta screams:
Letta:Screams: That her, Miz Blanche! That her!
Blanche: Jane! W-what are you d-doing here?
Jane:To Letta: go help the nice lady in the front yard. She seemed to have fallen down and broken her ankle and then her wrist.
Letta: No! I ain't moving a step away from Miz Blanche!
Blanche: Why did you do it to her, Jane?
Jane: She got in my way, that's why.
Blanche: But that's wrong.
Jane: She tried to rob me.
Blanche: Who was it?
Jane: That no good Mrs. Bates.
Blanche:gasps: you didn't?
Jane:smiles wickedly: didn't I? Besides she was going to hassle me.
Blanche: Jane, the doctor will be on his way from the hospital any moment now.
Jane: You see, Blanche. They don't care about you at all. If they did, they would've been here by now, but they ain't. :Looks at Letta and notices that she has somewhat of a resemblance to Elvira: You're Elvira's cousin, ain't you?
Letta:quivering: y-yes, m-ma'am.
Jane: My sympathies. :Slaps Blanche across the face: You little bitch! You put me in a home, a nice place as you call it so they can look after me.
Blanche:rubs her face: Yes, but-.
Jane: There is no buts about it!
Letta: They sure is a but about it, Miz Jane. Miz Blanche done told me that if you weren't in that hospital, you would've done gone to prison. Many people thought that you should hang for what you done did to Miz Blanche. She should've had you arrested and hung:Jane beats the crap out of Letta and Blanche screams:
Blanche:screaming: Jane! Stop it! Jane! Please:Tears go down her face and after Jane gets done beating up Letta, she heads for Blanche. Blanche starts to sing I've Written a Letter to Daddy. She is quivering while she is singing this song. Jane chimes in and they sing the last verse together perfectly. They sing it again while Mrs. Bates G.I. Joe crawls into the house: Mrs. Bates! Are you all right?
Mrs. Bates:weakly: Tell Jill that I love her and my husband Jim that I know about the young blonde secretary.
Blanche: Jane, look what you did to Mrs. Bates! The poor woman used up all her energy just to come to us! You ought to be ashamed of yourself!
Mrs. Bates:Weakly: to Jane Baby Jane Hudson?
Jane:shocked that somebody finally remembered who she was: Yes! That's me!
Mrs. Bates: I knew that you looked familiar: Those big blue eyes and locks of blonde curls. I was poor growing up, but I remember when my father actually got some money to take us kids to Vaudeville. I was probably about five or six years old. My father said: "Pam, we may be poor, but at least you, Kelly, and Hailey will always have this memory of seeing the famous Baby Jane Hudson."
Jane:Innocent like: you really liked me?
Mrs. Bates: Yes, I do.
Blanche: What do you have to say for yourself, Jane?
Jane:sobs: I'm sorry, Mrs. Bates. I was fed up with the world not knowing who I was.
Blanche: Mrs. Bates and Letta need help now, Jane. I want you to go next door and call an ambulance for her right now.
Jane: Yes:Blanche kisses Blanche on the cheek. Blanche is shocked and then she rubs her cheek as Jane skips, literally skips to the nearest neighbors' house:
Blanche: Her first act of kindness in her whole life.
Mrs. Bates: If only I remembered her. If only I acknowledged her.
Blanche: Mrs. Bates, you were too young to remember her right off the bat. The sad thing is that it took her this long to show some sort of affection to me.
:Jane runs back to Blanche, Letta, and Mrs. Bates to let them know that she called the ambulance, but as soon as she gets there, the doctor and his orderlies apprehend her to take her back to the sanitarium. Jane is kicking and screaming at Blanche:
Jane:Screams: You little bitch! You tricked me again!
The End