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Mildred Pierce (1945)
Joan Crawford's Oscar-winning performance is the anchor of a stylish and adult melodrama called Mildred Pierce which examines a mother's unconditional love for an unworthy daughter and what it does to both of them.
Based on a novel by James M. Cain (The Postman Always Rings Twice), we are introduced to Mildred, a housewife and mother of two daughters whose husband walks out on her for another woman. In order to support her daughters, Mildred takes a job as a waitress and eventually opens her own restaurant, working herself to the bone to give her spoiled rotten teenage daughter, Veda, anything she wants and destroying her relationship with a handsome playboy who helped her start her business in the process.
This riveting melodrama, despite some dated story elements, still has a lot going for it, other than the most memorable performance of Crawford's career, which was on the verge of crumbling at the time. Ronald McDougal's impressive screenplay presents a compelling melodrama under the guise of a crime drama. The film opens with a murder and it is the investigation into said murder that leads to an unexpected story of a mother who would do anything for a daughter who so doesn't deserve the mother she has. I also enjoyed watching the evolution of the main character, from housewife to independent business woman, a rarity for cinema in the 1940's. On the other hand, it was sad watching this smart businesswoman be so foolish regarding her personal life.
There were certain story elements that smacked of convenience and would never happen in this day and age. I was bothered by Mildred's reluctance to divorce her first husband Bert even though staying married could threaten her business. The guy left her for another woman, divorce should have been a no-brainer. I was also bothered that after years of the slimy Monte taking money from her, that she would not only pay him to get him out of her life, but then beg him to marry her later in an attempt to win back the teenage bitch that she spoiled.
It's been at least 20 years since my first viewing of this film and I was impressed at how well it held up. Crawford effectively underplays as Mildred and I guess I understand her Oscar win, but I'm not sure if she was better than Gene Tierney in Leave Her to Heaven, who was also nominated that year. Ann Blythe received a supporting nomination for her nasty Veda as did Eve Arden as Mildred's wisecracking BFF who had the film's best line: "Veda makes me think alligators have the right idea...they eat their young." I also loved Jack Carson as Bert's former business partner who always had a thing for Mildred and eventually becomes her business partner. Can't believe I was so riveted to the screen by a film that is 73 years old, but I was. A classic that earned and maintains its status as such.
Joan Crawford's Oscar-winning performance is the anchor of a stylish and adult melodrama called Mildred Pierce which examines a mother's unconditional love for an unworthy daughter and what it does to both of them.
Based on a novel by James M. Cain (The Postman Always Rings Twice), we are introduced to Mildred, a housewife and mother of two daughters whose husband walks out on her for another woman. In order to support her daughters, Mildred takes a job as a waitress and eventually opens her own restaurant, working herself to the bone to give her spoiled rotten teenage daughter, Veda, anything she wants and destroying her relationship with a handsome playboy who helped her start her business in the process.
This riveting melodrama, despite some dated story elements, still has a lot going for it, other than the most memorable performance of Crawford's career, which was on the verge of crumbling at the time. Ronald McDougal's impressive screenplay presents a compelling melodrama under the guise of a crime drama. The film opens with a murder and it is the investigation into said murder that leads to an unexpected story of a mother who would do anything for a daughter who so doesn't deserve the mother she has. I also enjoyed watching the evolution of the main character, from housewife to independent business woman, a rarity for cinema in the 1940's. On the other hand, it was sad watching this smart businesswoman be so foolish regarding her personal life.
There were certain story elements that smacked of convenience and would never happen in this day and age. I was bothered by Mildred's reluctance to divorce her first husband Bert even though staying married could threaten her business. The guy left her for another woman, divorce should have been a no-brainer. I was also bothered that after years of the slimy Monte taking money from her, that she would not only pay him to get him out of her life, but then beg him to marry her later in an attempt to win back the teenage bitch that she spoiled.
It's been at least 20 years since my first viewing of this film and I was impressed at how well it held up. Crawford effectively underplays as Mildred and I guess I understand her Oscar win, but I'm not sure if she was better than Gene Tierney in Leave Her to Heaven, who was also nominated that year. Ann Blythe received a supporting nomination for her nasty Veda as did Eve Arden as Mildred's wisecracking BFF who had the film's best line: "Veda makes me think alligators have the right idea...they eat their young." I also loved Jack Carson as Bert's former business partner who always had a thing for Mildred and eventually becomes her business partner. Can't believe I was so riveted to the screen by a film that is 73 years old, but I was. A classic that earned and maintains its status as such.