Sunday, October 09, 2005
The Damned Don't Cry - The Joan Crawford Collection
- Who's watched: Neither
- Mentions: None
- Commentary: This came as one of five in a Joan Crawford Collection (Click the part of the title that says "The Joan Crawford Collection" for a different summary and review), only two of which either of us had seen. The name, alone, causes us to mention reminders to each other to watch it.
When we finally watched this movie, we were both mesmerized. My mother's comment after watching it was: "My goodness, she's good at playing desperate characters! I can't take my eyes off her, no matter what she does!" My sentiments, exactly.
The DVD Savant's review of this film can be found by scrolling down to the last movie review on the page connected to the second link in the title of this post. In addition, at the first link in the title to this post you can find links to two TCM articles loaded with information about this movie.
Update 9/29/19: An argument can be made for not including this in my "gang-movie" category, but, it is a gang movie, just from a mid-20th-century woman's perspective. As well, Joan Crawford is stupendous in the role of a gangster's moll.
Update: 9/23/21: This movie expertly portrays the heat (both physical and emotional) and the brittleness of Las Vegas. It's not a wonder that it does this so well. There's an umbilical link between Las Vegas and Hollywood that has existed for decades. It also well accentuates what might cause someone seeking their fortune to seek out either of these places and do what they have to do to succeed. It does this not through just Joan Crawford's character, but through many others, major and minor. The end is raw and devastating, as it shows what happens when the last good character has to make bad choices.
Update: 5/12/22: I've included Strother Martin in the table, below, because, although it's a walk-on, dive-off part which probably refuses any on-film recognition to the actor, he became ubiquitous as a character actor in both film and television after this and a few other parts (this part was his very first on-film part) and is generally celebrated as a premiere character actor. Check out his credits in his Wikipedia write-up, to which I've linked above. He's instantly recognizable. The guy was everywhere, in everything, for good reason. He died too young, but he made the absolute most of his time. Thank you, Strother. Do they make them like this, anymore? Let's hope so.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Joan Crawford Ethel Whitehead/Lorna Hansen Forbes David Brian Joe Cavany/George Castleman Steve Cochran Nick Prenta Kent Smith Martin Blackford Selena Royle Patricia Longworth Morris Ankrum Mr. Whitehead Richard Egan Roy Whitehead Strother Martin Springboard Diver
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1950
Directed by Vincent Sherman.
Labels: dramaA, film-noir2, gang-movie, joan-crawford, melodramaD
