Mildred Pierce

Rating:
Summary: Exceptional Melodramatic Noir. Unforgettable Performances.
Review: This melodramatic film noir is one of the most decorated films of the genre, nominated for 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and winner of the Best Actress Oscar for Joan Crawford's portrayal of the title character. Like several of film noir's most famous examples, "Double Indemnity" among them, "Mildred Pierce" is based on a novel by James M. Cain. In this case, the novel was adapted by Ranald MacDougall, with some uncredited assistance from William Faulkner. As the film opens, Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford), a sophisticated woman, obviously distraught, makes an apparent attempt to frame a business associate for her husband's murder. She is taken to the police station, where she recounts the events of the past few years to an investigating officer. We see, in flashback, her split from her first husband, her preoccupation with providing an aristocratic lifestyle for her eldest daughter, her business success, and eventual marriage to her now-deceased second husband.

"Mildred Pierce" was Joan Crawford's first film for Warner Bros. Studios, after a pronounced lull in her career. Crawford's depiction of Pierce's ambition and pathological indulgence of her spoiled, selfish daughter Veda (Ann Blyth) is extraordinary. She makes Mildred Pierce one of the most thoroughly captivating characters ever to grace the screen. Crawford's performance is so fascinating that it might be easy to overlook the film's supporting performances. But "Mildred Pierce" wouldn't have been so great a success without the strong, sometimes slimy, characters that surround Mildred. Ann Blyth's performance as Veda Pierce, Zachary Scott's as rakish second husband Monty Baragon, Eve Arden (who earned an Academy Award nomination) as business manager Ida, and Jack Carson as businessman Wally Fay are all unforgettable in themselves. Truly exceptional performances, writing, and direction by Michael Curtiz (of "Casablanca" fame) make "Mildred Pierce" a must-see if there ever was one.

The DVD: The flip side of the disc contains an hour-and-a-half long documentary entitled "Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star", produced by Turner Classic Movies. Angelica Huston narrates this film that follows Joan Crawford's career and personal life from her arrival in Hollywood in 1925 as an MGM contract player, through 2 studios, 4 marriages, and over 90 films, until her death in 1977. It includes interviews with historians, friends and family. There is also a "Trailer Gallery" of theatrical trailers for 7 of Crawford's Warner Bros. films.

Rating:
Summary: A classic!
Review: Here is the story of your average post-World War II housewife who believes that nothing is too good--or too much--for her two precious daughters. By the time this great soap opera is over, she has buried one child, experienced the murder of a cheating, mooching sleazeball of a husband, sent the other daughter off to prison, and gone into bankruptcy. But at least Eve Arden's character is good for a few laughs. At the end, though, she seems to reconcile with her first husband, whom she kicked out of the house in the first reel for losing his job. It's nice to know one can sometimes start out all over again.