Rating: 
Summary: Queen Joan at her finest!
Review: Queen Bee comes out of Joan's own world behind the camera, so her daughter Christina told us in the Gospel of dysfunctional diaries of kids, Mommie Dearest. Here Joan poses on steps and then descends, says things to people that render them speechless, powerless, and (on occasion) lifeless.
She sweeps things off mantle pieces with a riding crop, steps on plans others have for a new house, scars her husbad(before the film opens) and calls him "Beauty." Joan flirts with the doctor caring for her sick child, and enslaves an in-law, dominates a niece and makes everyone serve her in some capacity that takes up most of their lives. The finale is surreal and surefire entertainment. Sometimes hilarious, always camp in the extreme, and yet you cannot take your eyes off Joan as she buzzes through lives and stings them to death. Buy this one and thrill to the extrvagant things within the DVD's chapters.
Rating:
Summary: "ANY man's my man if I want it that way."
Review: So sayeth the Legend, Queen Joan. "Queen Bee" is prototypical middle-late era (or is it late-middle era?) Crawford. She's so deliciously good when she's so wickedly bad! Joan "vogues" her way to screen immortality in this one, sashaying around in wildly inappropriate attire, using a riding crop to destroy someone else's room, and uttering snide, catty remarks that cut her co-stars down to size: "Darling, parties are to women what a battle is to men...oh, I'd forgotten, you weren't in the army, were you? Something about drinking, wasn't it?" Joan gives a much more spectacular performance in this than in "Mildred Pierce," the film for which she won an Oscar. See "Queen Bee" and be amazed and delighted that this Woman Among Women actually walked among us mere mortals only 50 short years ago.
Rating:
Summary: Wrong!
Review: There are two basic ways you can look at Joan Crawford's character, Eva, in Queen Bee. You could see the obvious - that she sleeps around on her husband and hurts the people around her. Or you could look deeper and see that Eva is trapped in a loveless marriage to an alcoholic! It comes as no surprise to me that she would want Judd.. The sympathy that Joan generates for her character - near the very end when she loves Avery again, after he begins to at last show affection towards her - was probably not written into the script at all. It certainly wasn't in the book by Edna Lee. Joan takes some of the implications of the story and molds sort of a tragic character...a woman who does wrong because (1) she is surrounded by people who don't care about her and (2) her husband doesn't love her. It's true that the character was designed to be a femme fatale, but I believe Joan didn't view this character as all black and she added a little bit of her artistry to the performance. As for the film, Queen Bee is a class A production. Certainly there are some contrived moments but the overall effect of the movie is very powerful. There is a surreal, larger-than-life quality to its excesses and could be in a genre all its own, thanks mostly to Joan's performance - which is one of her greatest and most memorable. It really proves why Joan is often remembered as the most glamorous star ever - and she had the guts, ambition, talent, and heart to back it all up. I agree with a reviewer who once wrote that Joan treated this film like one of her silents...her eyes convey more emotion than possibly any actress I've ever seen before. Just watch the mirror scene with the cold cream (a scene that has been copied many times but never equalled) or the scene where Joan tells Carol, "Any man's my man if I want it that way." The look in those sad, haunting Crawford eyes is priceless!
Rating: 
Summary: Emasculating Fun!
Review: This film has me squirming almost as much as "Aliens". Crawford looks really, really scary. She is literally 'queen bee' and proves it scene after scene. Not much of a plot, but good enough just to watch Crawford overact (WAY OVERACT!) and to see her reduce men to sniveling wimps! I almost felt like wearing a male chastity belt during viewing! Yes, the acting is as bad as the plot, but Crawford didn't have much more time in "leading actress-land" so she goes for broke. Warning! Do not take hallucinagens during film!
Rating:
Summary: Joan Crawford as you always wanted to see her!
Review: This film offered a solid 90 minutes for Joan to play the ultimate b****. Her costumes were amazing. She was caustic, controlling, manipulative and catty. The more of this film you watch, the more you learn to hate her character, Eva. In the beginning of the film you are introduced to her husband, "Beauty". His reaction to her entering the room makes the viewer wonder why he hates her so much. By 30 minutes into this film you start to realize why. I won't give away the ending but Eva definitely gets what she deserves. On the other hand, if you REALLY want to see Joan as a terrible woman I'd recommend "Harriet Craig". This film is what I thought Queen Bee would be. Queen Bee is a definite thumbs up and it's always a pleasure to watch Joan chew the scenery. Watch it and watch it soon!
Rating:
Summary: Bee with an Itch!!
Review: This is a great movie and as one other reviewer put it, Joan stands there acting furiously in every scene! Believe it or not I have known manipulative, bitchy women exactly like Joan was in this movie and it wasn't pleasant ... was she really playing herself? I think so. Trouble was that there were a lot of women who imitated her. In any case this movie is a great period piece, and I'd also recommend the noir classic Sudden Fear also with Joan Crawford.
Rating:
Summary: Joan at her bitchy best!
Review: This is a must-have for every Joan Crawford fan. Her star was beginning to fall by this time but she does a bang-up acting job as the evil Eva Phillips. (One wonders if the character was given that name purposely - Eva, evil, get it?) Everyone else in the film, with the exception of John Ireland as the tormented Judson, pales in comparison with Joan. Certainly, the plot is pure soap opera (but if you know that at the outset and just take it for what it is, you'll find it enjoyable and a nice escape from reality). Joan is in fine form as the Queen Bee in her little Southern mansion hive, ruling her unhappy family with an iron stinger. Particularly, the targets of Joan's ire are the other women of the mansion, whose men Joan is always determined to steal, as summed up in her classic line, "Any man's my man if I want it that way." And Joan usually succeeds in what she sets out to do. Plus, Joanie excels at emasculating the men of the mansion (such as her long-suffering husband Avery, who withdraws into an ocean of alchohol to escape his misery). Of course, she eventually gets her comeuppance as punishment for all the unhappiness she's caused (a nice coda that doesn't happen nearly often enough to rotten people in real life). Long story short, this DVD's very worthwhile. Joan fans get to see her in a superbly over-the-top performance, and it's a feel-good type story because Eva at long last gets exactly what she deserves, and the last laugh is on her. I won't give away the ending, but suffice it to say that if you like to see good triumph over evil, you'll be very pleased at how things turn out.
Rating:
Summary: JOAN CRAWFORD IS THE QUEEN BEE...
Review: This is a stagey drama in which Joan Crawford is cast as the villainess. She plays the role of Eva Phillips, a manipulative, rich witch, who thrives on making those around her as miserable as is possible. She is married to Avery, well played by a brooding and dour Barry Sullivan. Avery is a wealthy mill owner who is bitterly unhappy in his marriage and drowns his sorrows with alcohol. Eva is the queen bee and autocratically rules over her hive, and, boy, has she got some sting! Whatever Eva wants, Eva gets, and the hell with anybody else. She is the character that the viewer loves to hate. Betsy Palmer winsomely plays the role of Carol Lee, Avery's sister. She is engaged to marry her brother's right hand man, Judson Prentiss, played with appropriate melancholic angst by John Ireland. What Betsy is about to find out from Eva about Judson is calculated to hurt her. What Eva does not count on is the fallout that will ultimately encompass her own precious self with tragic results. Lucy Marlow plays the role of the ingenue, Eva's cousin who has come to stay with her. At first, she is fooled by Eva, but quickly realizes just what a piece of work Eva is. Avery and Eva's cousin fall in love, however, and end up having the last laugh on Eva. This is a well acted drama that will delight all Joan Crawford fans, as well as those who love classic films.
Rating:
Summary: JOAN -5, MOVIE-1
Review: This is not a classic 50's movie by a long shot, but it is a showcase/vehicle for noneother than Joan Crawford herself. She's in practically every scene and the film itself is her slave. As a neurotic, dominating manipulator she ruins everyone's life because she "can't help it". Her character, Eva, believes it's not her fault but everyone elses' that she's the way she is. As per her contract, Crawford is given the "star treatment" and her costumes border on gaudy drag queen ensembles. And her dialogue? "I don't know when I've been in such a temper!" she tosses off after demolishing a room with a riding crop in front of a horrified guest. Frankly, I like this movie. Crawford is ultra-camp any way you slice it and this movie is prime 50's Crawford.
Rating:
Summary: Any Man Is Her Man, If She Wants It That Way!!
Review: This is quite possibly the b**chiest film Joan has ever done (aside from the excellent 'Torch Song'). Joan goes from scene to scene tearing everyone to shreads, while wearing the most stunning outfits! If you watch "Mommie Dearest", you will see that they have used alot of elements (and outfits) from this film. Joan was over 50 when this was filmed and she looks damn good for her age (or any age for that matter!) I would recommend this film for anyone interested in Joan Crawford. Also of note: watch for a young Betsy Palmer (who plays Mrs. Voorhees in the 'Friday the 13th' horror films!)
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