Sunday, November 12, 2023
Rain
- Commentary: Under construction.
It's hard to find reviews of this film, especially by longstanding, "respectable" and respected film critics. Since I haven't seen the film, even though it's been on my radar forever, I don't have a clue, yet, as to why this is true, but that will be corrected shortly when I add it to my collection. I imagine the fact that it has been, throughout the years, so widely ignored is due to the seemingly muddled position it takes on ethical matters, which would have made it a diffcult film for critics to deal with in 1932 and, surprisingly, now.
More later.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Joan Crawford Sadie Thompson Fred Howard Hodgson Ben Hendricks Jr. Griggs William Gargan Sgt. Tim O'Hara Mary Shaw Ameena Walter Huston Alfred Davidson Kendall Lee Mrs MacPhail Beulah Bondi Mrs. Davidson
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1932
Directed by Lewis Milestone.
Labels: dramaG, joan-crawford, pre-code
Sunday, November 05, 2023
A Woman's Face - 1941
- Commentary: This movie is a United States remake of the Swedish film starring Ingrid Bergman, also titled, in the English translation of the original Swedish name, "A Woman's Face". I've ordered both. I'm so curious to see which I like better and how the story was handled by two different directors and actors. I'll be adding that version, above, when I receive it.
More later. Under construction.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Joan Crawford Anna Holm Melvyn Douglas Dr. Gustaf Segert Conrad Veidt Torsten Barring Osa Massen Vera Segert Reginald Owen Bernard Dalvik Albert Bassermann Consul Magnus Barring Marjorie Main Emma Kristiansdotter Donald Meek Herman Rundvik Connie Gilchrist Christina Dalvik George Zucco Defense Attorney Henry Kolker Judge Henry Daniell Public Prosecutor
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of this film.
Release Date: 1941
Directed by George Cukor.
Labels: dramaG, joan-crawford, marjorie-main
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
Sudden Fear
- Commentary: Under construction.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Joan Crawford Myra Hudson Jack Palance Lester Blaine Gloria Grahame Irene Neves Bruce Bennett Steve Kearney Virginia Huston Ann Taylor Mike Connors Junior Kearney Selmer Jackson Dr. Van Roan George Chan Butler Julius
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1952
Directed by David Miller.
Labels: film-noir3, goflexB, jack-palance, joan-crawford, melodramaB
Autumn Leaves
- Commentary: Under construction.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Joan Crawford Millicent Wetherby Cliff Robertson Burt Hanson Vera Miles Virginia Hanson Lorne Greene Mr. Hanson Ruth Donnelly Liz Eckhart Shepperd Strudwick Dr Malcolm Couzzens Selmer Jackson Mr. Weatherby Maxine Cooper Maxine Cooper Marjorie Bennett Waitress Frank Gerstle Mr. Ramsey Leonard Mudie Colonel Hillyer Maurice Manson Mr. Masterson
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1956
Directed by Robert Aldrich.
Labels: goflexA, joan-crawford, melodramaC, psychological2
Monday, February 05, 2018
The Best of Everything
- Commentary: What am I doing with this disgustingly dated soap opera in my collection? Why would I deign to own it? Good question. It belongs to that category of movies which includes the likes of Valley of the Dolls, the better of which is, for instance, The Group. The Best of Everything, even though in many circles it is considered a classic of the genre, it is also, in my opinion, one of the worst. And one of the most fascinating. I was not raised by this era's dictates, although I have an elder sister who got in on some of them and I remember my mother's fascination with, for instance, gloves, hats and dresses of the style featured in the movies. I escaped all that, somehow. But it is the memory of my mother's fondness for the fashion and attitudes of this era (even though she was not a classic 50's woman, or mother) that allows me to be captivated by this movie. This movie is a perfect encapsulation of what it was like to be a young woman in the 50's. It is what the women of Mona Lisa Smile imagined for themselves and often achieved. The interesting thing about this movie is that it was made, picture perfect and spot-on, as the era was waning, unbeknownst to the characters in the movie or the eager viewers in 1959. The women portrayed in this movie, a mere few years later, read The Feminine Mystique, The Second Sex (usually in that order), and catalyzed Second Wave Feminism.
I, born in 1951, announced stalwartly to my mother when I was tottering on puberty, in the early 60's, that I was not going to get married or have children because I wanted to have sex with more than one man in my life. I was too young to understand that this was not my primary reason for shying away from marriage, children, mutual housekeeping, but I got the trajectory of my life right, blessedly. Not a 50's attitude, but surely an attitude marking the era in which I came of age.
Because I saw enough of the dregs of the 50's women's lives, though, despite the fact that I was never interested in that, I was (and still am) drawn to considering the life that us young women of the 60's were eschewing. I think it has something to do with how era begets era. This movie is an encapsulation of the era that birthed mine. I think my attraction to this movie is based on that recognition. The following snippet of conversation between Mike Rice (played by Stephen Boyd), an editor-in-chief of a Fabian publication, and Caroline Bender (played by Hope Lange and possessing an interesting and appropos-to-the-period character last name), a secretary at Fabian later promoted to reader, then editor, illustrates what the era previous to mine wanted from its women:
Mike Rice: Don't you get caught, Caroline.
Caroline Bender: Caught in what, Mr. Rice?
Mike Rice: In a bind, Caroline. Or in a bottle, Caroline. In Fabian's (the publishing company for which they both work) publishers of quality, Caroline. Get out quick. Work six months or a year. Prove whatever you have to prove. Then marry the med student or the law student and "love" happily ever after.
Caroline Bender: I plan to.
Mike Rice: No business career? No fame? No fortune?
Caroline Bender: No.
Mike Rice: No ambition?
Caroline Bender: None.
Mike Rice: How Wonderful.
I remember the first time I saw this movie, when my mother was alive, I was flabbergasted at the structure of women's lives it displayed and guffawed as I told my Florida sister about the movie. I no longer guffaw when I watch it. I, rather, contemplate it and how it is, exactly, that my generation and generations since emerged from it. And wonder, are we likely to repeat it in some future incarnation?
Update 8/3/21: You'll notice, since I wrote this, I've acquired The Group and Valley of the Dolls. With pleasure. Extra credit question: What does this say about me?
Update 6/4/22: I'm telling you, everything in this movie is up for analyzation grabs. As I'm entering this in my movie journal I notice that "the boss" of Fabian Publishing is named "Fred Shalimar". Shalimar is the name of a suffocatingly heavy perfume that was popular in the late 50's and early 60's (and other periods of time). Much to my chagrin, I proudly owned a bottle when I was a young teenager; saved my own money for it; loved it so much I took it on vacation, one year. It broke under the lack of pressurization in the airplane baggage hold (and stunk up everything in my suitcase, by the way, which was fine with me). I immediately replaced it at our first vacation stop, Honolulu, HI.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Hope Lange Caroline Bender Stephen Boyd Mike Rice Suzy Parker Gregg Adams Martha Hyer Barbara Lamont Diane Baker April Morrison Brian Aherne Fred Shalimar Robert Evans Dexter Key Brett Halsey Eddie Harris Donald Harron Sydney Carter Louis Jourdan David Savage Joan Crawford Amanda Farrow Ted Otis Dr. Ronnie Wood
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1959
Directed by Jean Negulesco.
Labels: 20th-century-chick-flicks1, drama4, joan-crawford, popcorn-and-soda2, romance1
Sunday, October 09, 2005
The Women (1939) - The Joan Crawford Collection
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: *1* *2*
- 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). I've watched this movie three times, once, the first, on TCM. The link, by the way, will take you to TCM's "article links" page for their website, where you can access even more information on the movie.
Mom and I continue to be transfixed by this movie, especially the clothes and the in-color fashion sequence. Joan Crawford is a riot as the seductress. The opening credits alone are worth seeing over and over.
Update 9/23/21: I just want to mention, I remain, since Mom's death, a staunch fan of Joan Crawford and this movie. You might notice that I also have the remake of this movie, The Women - (2008). Although I enjoy Annette Bening's performance in it, I love Bette Midler as The Countess, I'm glad they included a lesbian and I salute the attempt not to pay fealty to the catch phrase on the cover of this version, "It's all about men!", still, the comedy isn't quite as heightened in the 2008 version and the showing of Mary Haine's clothing designs is kind of a letdown. During that scene it's hard not to be distracted by the thought, "Couldn't they have gotten a better designer for this movie?!?"
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Norma Shearer Mary Haines Joan Crawford Crystal Allen Rosalind Russell Sylvia Fowler Mary Boland The Countess De Lave Phyllis Povah Edith Potter Paulette Goddard Miriam Aarons Phyllis Povah Edith Potter Joan Fontaine Peggy Day Virginia Weidler Little Mary Haines Lucile Watson Mrs. Morehead Marjorie Main Lucy Dennie Moore Olga, the manicurist
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up on this movie.
Release Date: 1939
Directed by George Cukor.
Labels: 20th-century-chick-flicks1, joan-crawford, marjorie-main, me-favorite3, popcorn-and-soda5, romance3, satire2, women's-movie1
Possessed - 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). Yet another in the we haven't watched, although it sounds as tantalizing as the rest.
We finally watched this film and it had the same effect on us as The Damned Don't Cry. It's not only fascinating to watch Joan Crawford emote her way through this movie, the breadth of this movie is huge, which makes it treacherously engaging. I mean, if you think you can watch bits of it here and there, forget it. Once you start this picture, you will be cancelling whatever activities you had planned to interrupt the film into sections.
Update: 9/23/21: I've watched this film many times since Mom's death. For some reason I find the old style psychiatric babble spewed as Louise is being diagnosed fascinating. It's pretty much old school, now, but it's, hmmm, educational, I guess, to listen to. In addition, Louise's murderous rage seems likely to this day, and, yes, Louise, David is surely a cad, you should have given him up, but it's hard, isn't it, when you love someone and even you can't explain why, because he's a cad. Plus, there's all the drama going on with the man she marries, Dean Graham, and his daughter, who is maturing before her eyes and becomes an imaginary threat to Louise. Such a delectable movie! So full of Louise's internal histrionics! This one's a keeper!
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Joan Crawford Louise Howell Van Heflin David Sutton Raymond Massey Dean Graham Geraldine Brooks Carol Graham Stanley Ridges Dr. Willard Nana Bryant Pauline Graham Peter Miles Wynn Graham Griff Barnett Coroner
Here you can find a link to the Wikipedia write-up on this film. The first link attached to the title of this post will take you to TCM's article on this film. In addition, if you move your cursor through to the second link in the title above, you will find DVD Savant's review of this movie in second place on the page.
Release Date: 1947
Directed by Curtis Bernhardt.
Labels: dramaA, film-noir2, joan-crawford, melodramaA, van-heflin
Mildred Pierce 1945 film - The Joan Crawford Collection
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: *1*
- 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). Each of us had seen this at least once before we acquired it. Both of us are fascinated by the emotional violence in the film.
Update 9/23/21: I often watch this version and Kate Winslet's Mildred Pierce mini-series back-to-back. They both feature terrific actors in all parts. The actors who play Veda are both equally electrifying. Despite the fact that Joan Crawford has a penchant for playing "bad women", she was equally effective in this movie as a good woman, a woman who values her cohorts, a woman who expects nothing but the same from her husband but is not devastated when he fails, and a woman who over-values a talented but uncompassionate daughter. Granted, the daughter in this version isn't really much to hang one's hopes on, while Kate Winslet's daughter Veda is promising. And, in the mini-series, no one gets killed. But, the overall effect is the same, and quite delicious to watch!
An added delight with this version is Eve Arden as Ida Corwin, the role Mare Winningham plays in the miniseries. Eve Arden is sassy and smart as Ida Corwin, but we don't get a lot of her character development in the movie. In the mini-series, Ida's trajectory expands and becomes a mini-story in its own right.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Joan Crawford Mildred Pierce Jack Carson Wally Fay Zachary Scott Monty Beragon Eve Arden Ida Corwin Ann Blyth Veda Pierce Bruce Bennett Bert Pierce Lee Patrick Maggie Biederhof Moroni Olsen Inspector Peterson
The link to the Wikipedia write-up of this film can be found here.
Release Date: 1945
Directed by Michael Curtiz.
Labels: dramaA, film-noir2, joan-crawford, me-favorite3, melodramaA, mystery2
Humoresque - The Joan Crawford Collection
- Who's watched: M & G
- 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). Both of us were surprised at the drama and melodrama. I enjoyed Joan Crawford's performance. It was much more vulnerable that I expected. As usual, Mom and I loved the clothes of the period. Mom hasn't seen the movie all the way through but has seen all of it in fits and starts.
I'm beginning to think that this collection, alone, has turned me into a staunch Joan Crawford fan! This movie is one of the most rapturous and elegant she did that I've seen. John Garfield's performance is stellar. The inclusion of Oscar Levant as the deadly comical Sid Jeffers is perfect for alleviating what could have been a smothering disaster. Instead, this film is quite blatant in its description of the patron and the artist on all counts. I think the lesson of the movie is that patrons simply cannot expect the same devotion from their artists as they give to their artists. My guess is that this is a lesson that continues to be played over and over in the art world, which means this movie, which has already stood the test of time, despite, or, perhaps because of, being pilloried, the object of satire and misunderstood will remain a spectacular referent of a potent object lesson for years to come. And, the music! Oscar Levant and Isaac Stern! Who couldn't love this combination?
For DVD Savant's review of this movie, click down the page connected to the second link in the title, up there, and you'll find his review as the first of three Joan Crawford movies reviewed on that page. TCM also has an informative write-up about the movie that you can access by clicking on the first link in the title above.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Joan Crawford Helen Wright John Garfield Paul Boray Robert Blake Paul Boray child Tommy Cook Paul Boray child J. Carrol Naish Papa Rudy Boray Ruth Nelson Mama Esther Boray Peggy Knudsen Florence Boray Tom D'Andrea Phil Boray Joan Chandler Gina Oscar Levant Sid Jeffers Richard Gaines Bauer John Abbott Conductor Bauer
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1946
Directed by Jean Negulesco.
Labels: dramaA, film-noir2, joan-crawford, melodramaD, romance3
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
