STEVE HAYES: Tired Old Queen at the Movies - MILDRED PIERCE (1945)

MILDRED PIERCE (1945)
In 1945 Joan Crawford's career at Warner Brothers was in trouble and producer Jerry Wald came to the rescue. He hired screenwriter Ranald MacDougall to tailor MILDRED PIERCE, a sordid novel of mother love by James M. Cain, into a vehicle for the star. Following the success the previous year of "Double Indemnity," also based on a book by Cain, MacDougall added a murder, thus combining two genres, "The Woman's Picture" and Film Noir. This resulted in a gripping story of mother love mixed with murder and brought Crawford her only Oscar as Best Actress.
Sixteen year old Ann Blythe makes a vivid screen debut as the vicious daughter Veda and Eve Arden scores as Ida, Mildred's friend and confidante, who's wisecracks bring some much needed levity to the proceedings.
The lighting, the pacing and the editing are classic noir, while the story is a typical "self-sacrificing mother yarn" with a dash of Freud. Mildred is the kind of mother who is willing to do anything to give her child what she doesn't have. Not knowing that what her daughter lacks most is a heart and a conscience. It's fast paced, loaded with melodrama and most of all; it's Joan, doing what she does best. It's "Classic Crawford"!

Tag Lines:
"Don't tell what Mildred Pierce did!"
"The kind of woman most men want, but shouldn't have."

FAMOUS LINES:

MILDRED:
"Veda, I think I'm seeing you for the first time and you're cheap and horrible."

VEDA:
"You think you can get yourself a new hat and some expensive clothes and turn yourself into a lady, but you can't. Because you'll never be anything but a common frump!"

IDA:
"Personally Veda's convinced me that alligator's have the right idea, they eat their young!"

MILDRED:
"Get out, Veda. Get your things out of this house before I throw them into the street and you with them! Get out before I kill you!"

OSCARS WINS
Best Actress in a Leading Role - Joan Crawford

OSCARS NOMINATIONS
Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Eve Arden
Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Ann Blyth
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White - Ernest Haller
Best Writing, Screenplay - Ranald MacDougall
Best Picture

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Joan Crawford
• Eve Arden
• Ann Blyth
• Oscars
• Academy Award
• Best Actress
• MILDRED PIERCE
• Warner Brothers
• Mother
• Gay
• Steve Hayes
• Tired Old Queen
• John Bixler
• Hollywood.
• Movies
• Oscar

[bbath7]

Steve, Did you see the HBO miniseries of Mildred Pierce with Kate Winslet? What was your take on it?

[STEVEHAYESTOQ]

@bbath7

The acting was great, but Ranald McDougall who wrote screenplay in 1945, was wise enough to put in the murder of Monty, which raised the stakes of the story and moved it along faster. I also thought that combining the two female wisecrackers into the Eve Arden character worked better.

[moviefan19S]

Hey Steve! I love your reviews and you have such panache when talking about them! I just finished a biography on Joan Crawford and I seriously love her (I'm team Joan, not Bette by the way!). I love Mildred Pierce TO DEATH and I got my mom to see it and she was so swept into the story and really taking in all the drama! I saw your review of Sudden Fear and I'm seeing it soon hopefully! I love Barbara stanwyck too, and I'd love it if you could review "Ball of Fire"! Thanks!

[STEVEHAYESTOQ]

@moviefan19S YOU'RE SO WELCOME! "BALL OF FIRE" IS OFFICIALLY ON MY TO DO LIST!

[emmers57]

Hey Steve, any chance of your reviewing the weirdest western ever made "Johnny Guitar"? I just remember that during one whole scene Joan Crawford refused to blink.

[STEVEHAYESTOQ]

@emmers57

It's on my list! I love MERCEDES McCAMBRIDGE!!! They hated each other though! Joan got drunk on night and threw Mercy's torn up wardrobe into the highway by moonlight. Imagine THAT! Thanks for watching.



[LaSerpentaCanta]

Mildred Pierce is a MASTERPIECE.

[aauber1]

Love your reviews as always! Miss ya

Anne

[IngridBergmanRocked]

YEP-YEP!!!!!!

LOVE ya Steve and this film. Joan Crawford and Company at their very best:D

[moviefan19S]

@STEVEHAYESTOQ : Thanks Steve! I'm doing some reviews on my favourite movies this summer, and I'm sure going to include Ball of Fire in my reviews very soon! You'd be so fab if you reviewed "Now Voyager" with Bette Davis, that's also a powerhouse chick flick from that era!