Mildred Pierce ***** (1945, Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Ann Blyth, Bruce Bennett)) – Classic Movie Review 375

Director Michael Curtiz’s 1945 classic Mildred Pierce is both a great ‘Woman’s Picture’ melodrama as well as a great film noir thriller. Triumphantly winning what turned out to be her only Best Actress Oscar, Joan Crawford (1906-77) is on spellbindingly splendid form in probably her all-time best performance as Mildred Pierce.

Mildred gets everything else so right but her Achilles heel is that she’s an all-too-possessive and forgiving mother who blindly dotes on her spoiled daughter Veda (Ann Blyth), who turns out to be a monster with a heart of stone. There’s a man in the love nest too of course. He’s the shifty Monte Beragon (Zachary Scott), who, rather creepily, loves them both, but eventually one more than the other.

Mildred’s cheating husband Bert (Bruce Bennett) has left her for Mrs Maggie Biederhof (Lee Patrick), leaving Mildred to pick herself, start all over again with her two daughters Veda and Kay (Jo Ann Marlowe) and prove she can become independent and successful on her own account.

With the help of realtor Wally Fay (Jack Carson), she opens a restaurant on Monte Beragon’s property, which soon becomes a hit business and the first of a chain. But there’s nothing so can do to win the heart of the conniving, money-grubbing Veda because she hasn’t got one. Then it turns out that Monte and Veda are up to something…

James M Cain’s famous source novel is responsible for the satisfyingly complex plotting, the unforgettable characters, wonderfully dark mood, bitter taste of the story and a lot of the crackling dialogue. But the movie is brilliant on its own account. Oscar nominated screen-writer Ranald MacDougall has adapted Cain’s book exquisitely, keeping all that’s best in it.

This quite splendid film noir is tautly and atmospherically directed by the great Michael (Casablanca) Curtiz, with shadowy cinematography by Ernest Haller, who was Oscar nominated. The actors and acting are just right. Blyth, Scott, Carson, Eve Arden (as Mildred’s friend Ida Corwin) enjoy themselves greatly in memorably etched portrayals. Yet, still, it is the commanding Crawford’s movie all the way, running the whole gamut of human emotions.

She is totally credible and heartrending as the woman, not unlike her real self, who starts out as a waitress and, through sheer guts and daily grind, succeeds big time in the restaurant business, only to fail in her home life through inability to connect with her daughter. The parallel between actress and character is irresistible.

Considering the film’s success, it’s ironic that Crawford’s great rival Bette Davis made the mistake of turning down the role of Mildred Pierce and so did Barbara Stanwyck. Most star actresses of the day did not fancy the part because of the implied age as mother of a teenage daughter. Curtiz did not want Crawford to play the part and desperately sought other actresses, but finally approved Crawford’s casting after seeing her screen test. But director and the star often disagreed while filming and producer Jerry Wald had to step in as peacemaker.

Blyth and Arden were both Oscar nominated as Best Supporting Actress for their excellent turns. As usual, the split vote helped to ensure neither won.

It was a big hit, costing $1,453,000 and earning $5,638,000.

There were five Oscar nominations including one win; Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress (Blyth and Arden), Best Screenplay (Ranald MacDougall), and Best Cinematography – Black-and-White (Ernest Haller).

The ever nutty Crawford wasn’t present at the Oscar ceremony and feigned illness but listened to the show on the radio. When she won, she ushered the press into her bedroom, where she finally accepted her Oscar.

Mildred Pierce is remade as a TV mini-series in 2011 with Kate Winslet.

Crawford was also Oscar nominated as Best Actress in a Leading Role for Possessed (1947) and Sudden Fear (1952).

Ironically, though James M Cain is known as a hard-boiled crime writer, his 1941 novel Mildred Pierce is mostly a psychological work with little violence. But the film-makers wanted hard-boiled and re-designed it as a thriller, introducing a murder into the plot.

The cast are Joan Crawford as Mildred Pierce Beragon, Jack Carson as Wally Fay, Zachary Scott as Monte Beragon, Eve Arden as Ida Corwin, Ann Blyth as Veda Pierce Forrester, Bruce Bennett as Bert Pierce, Butterfly McQueen as Lottie, Lee Patrick as Mrs Maggie Biederhof, Moroni Olsen as Inspector Peterson, Veda Ann Borg as Miriam Ellis, Jo Ann Marlowe as Kay Pierce, Charles Trowbridge as lawyer, and Garry Owen as policeman on the pier.

© Derek Winnert 2013 Classic Movie Review 375

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Movie Queens: Joan by Graeme Jukes.