.We're in 'Baby Jane' territory, or at least the title would like us to think we are. Having hit pay dirt with those Bette Davis pot-boilers "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane" and "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte", Robert Aldrich may have though 'third time lucky' but while he took the producer's credit, directing duties were handed to the decidedly third-rate Lee H. Katzin. The movie, of course, is "What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?" and it's another showcase for a couple of ageing actresses in full diva mode.
This time Geraldine Page is the super-bitch who resorts to murdering elderly ladies for their savings so she can live in the style to which she was accustomed before her husband died leaving her with nothing but debts and a stamp album. Things seem to be going her way until Ruth Gordon shows up. We, of course, know that Ruth is never quite as innocent as she appears even if Geraldine doesn't, (didn't she see "Rosemary's Baby" released the year before?).
It's nonsense, of course, and not a patch on its predecessors but Page and Gordon are always a fun watch and together they make this a very juicy entertainment. Others in the cast include the underrated Rosemary Forsyth and Robert Fuller, he of 'Laramie' fame. It may have the look of a 'made-for-tv' movie and you don't have to be much a sleuth to figure out what's going to happen next but it's very enjoyable nevertheless.
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