Jane and Blanche Hudson reside in a decaying Hollywood mansion and are trapped in faded memories of their careers as actresses. Blanche is now a wheelchair bound invalid, the result of a mysterious 1930s automobile accident. Alcoholic and demented Jane dresses grotesquely as the vaudeville child star she once was and insanely plans a show business comeback. Fearful that Blanche means to sell their house and institutionalize her, Jane constantly terrorizes her sister and brutally murders their cleaning woman, Elvira. Dying of malnutrition and dehydration, Blanche confesses that she, and not a drunken Jane, caused the long ago car accident. Fearful of the police because of her murder of Elvira, Jane shoves Blanche into their car and drives to the beach. Having lost all connections with reality, Jane frolics before an audience of bewildered onlookers as police discover her and Blanche on the beach.