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This week, we're heading into the wonderfully unsettling world of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), the psychological thriller that brought two of Hollywood's greatest stars together for a spectacularly uncomfortable family reunion.
With Bette Davis as the grotesquely theatrical former child star Baby Jane Hudson and Joan Crawford as her wheelchair-using sister Blanche, it's a film packed with jealousy, resentment, faded glamour and some truly extraordinary performances.
But is it really a story about two sisters who hate each other, or does it reveal something much more troubling about Hollywood's treatment of ageing women?
And, naturally, could you get away with it today?
First, we're travelling back to Britain in 1963 for our regular Culture Corner.
It's a year of scandal, satire and enormous social change.
The Profumo affair exposes the secrets of Britain's political establishment, the Duke and Duchess of Argyll's divorceprovides sensational headlines, and a new generation of satirists begins challenging the country's traditional deference to authority.
Meanwhile, Beatlemania is sweeping the nation, Dr Beeching's railway proposals threaten the future of Britain's branch lines, National Service is coming to an end, and nuclear anxieties continue to fuel the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
At the cinema, James Bond returns in From Russia with Love, while television prepares to introduce a mysterious traveller called Doctor Who.
And, of course, we'll be taking a look at what Britain was listening to as the pop revolution gathered pace.
Then it's time to enter the Hudson household.
We revisit the making of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, its extraordinary success, its Academy Award recognition and the performances that transformed two established Hollywood stars into icons of psychological horror.
But behind the famous make-up, costumes and deliciously theatrical dialogue lies a rather uncomfortable question.
Why was Hollywood so terrified of women getting older?
We explore the industry's double standards, the limited opportunities available to ageing actresses and the emergence of the genre sometimes labelled hagsploitation — a term we're rather less enthusiastic about than grande dame guignol.
And what about that legendary feud between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford?
Was their rivalry really as extraordinary as Hollywood folklore suggests, or have decades of publicity, gossip and dramatisation turned a complicated professional relationship into something far more sensational?
We separate the mythology from the better-documented incidents, including that unforgettable Academy Awards episode.
We also examine the film's more problematic elements, including its treatment of disability, the character of Elvira and the racial stereotypes associated with the so-called “magical Negro” trope.
Then there's the film's extraordinary afterlife.
From its influence on later psychological thrillers featuring older female stars to its status as a beloved piece of queer camp cinema, Baby Jane has become far more than simply a horror film.
Is it a cruel spectacle built around ageing women, a surprisingly sharp criticism of Hollywood, or a glorious combination of both?
And how much of its appeal comes from the fact that Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were quite simply magnificent?
With Fontaine the poodle keeping us company, we revisit the film, its stars, its cultural legacy and the uncomfortable questions that still make it fascinating more than sixty years later.
Was Baby Jane the real monster, or was Hollywood itself the villain?
Join Dr Lee Arnott and Dave Moore for another affectionate, irreverent and occasionally horrified look at a classic film through modern eyes.
GAZER HOMEWORK: Nest week were watching two episodes of Tales Of The Unexpected: The Flypaper and Lamb To The Slaughter
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