Blanche Hudson

Infobox character
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name = Blanche Hudson


caption = Joan Crawford as Blanche Hudson in the year 1962 film adaptation "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?". In background Bette Davis as Baby Jane Hudson.
first = "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?"
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gender = Female
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occupation = actor
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portrayer = Joan Crawford
creator = Henry Farrell

Blanche Hudson is a fictional character in the thriller novel "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" by Henry Farrell and in two films which are based on it. The role has been interpreted by three actors: Joan Crawford in the 1962 film directed by Robert Aldrich, Gina Gillespie in same movie as young Blanche Hudson and Vanessa Redgrave in the 1991 TV remake.

Fictional character biography

As a child, Blanche lives in the shadow of younger sister Jane, a vaudeville star known as "Baby". Their father favors Jane and builds a vaudeville act around her "Baby Jane" persona. When the sisters grow up, Blanche becomes a respected screen actress, while Jane degenerates into an alcoholic has-been who is given roles only because Blanche's studio contract demands that her sister be kept on the books.

A car accident at the gate of the mansion they share leaves Blanche paralyzed from the waist down, and completely dependent on Jane for her care. Jane, blamed for the accident, slides deeper into alcoholism and mental illness and keeps her sister a prisoner in the house, subjecting her to such tortures as killing her pets and serving them to her.

A television revival of Blanche's films triggers a sharp decline in Jane's stability. She murders their housekeeper and takes the weakened Blanche on the lam with her. With her dying breath, Blanche confesses that she was at fault in the incident that crippled her; she had been trying to run over Jane, and Jane had been too drunk to remember the truth.

See also

* Baby Jane Hudson
* What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
* What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (film)
* What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1991 film)
* Joan Crawford
* Gina Gillespie
* Vanessa Redgrave