{"id":27903,"date":"2012-11-27T08:00:19","date_gmt":"2012-11-27T13:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=27903"},"modified":"2014-01-09T10:11:49","modified_gmt":"2014-01-09T15:11:49","slug":"best-joan-crawford-movies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=27903","title":{"rendered":"Joan Crawford Triple Feature"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Guest blogger Rick 29 writes in with a look at three of Joan Crawford’s best-loved films<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Johnny Guitar <\/a>(1954)<\/p>\n

Director: Nicholas Ray<\/a><\/p>\n

Cast: Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, and Scott Brady.<\/p>\n

This one-of-a-kind Western is dominated by two strong-willed, pistol-packing women: Crawford as a cynical saloon owner and McCambridge as a sexually-repressed cattle rancher. The plot has been frequently described as an indictment of McCarthyism, with McCambridge inciting a \u201cwitch hunt\u201d against Crawford\u2019s progressively-minded businesswoman. However, the film\u2019s classic status can be attributed to its rich characters, the over-the-top (but effective) performances, and Philip Yordan\u2019s crackling, contemporary dialogue (one of Joan\u2019s employees comments about his boss: \u201cI\u2019ve never seen a woman who was more a man. She thinks like one, acts like one, and sometimes makes me feel that I\u2019m not.\u201d). With the exception of Crawford\u2019s lovers (Hayden and Brady), the males are portrayed as weak and ineffectual: when it\u2019s time to lynch Crawford, the men of the posse turn to McCambridge to play hangman; Brady\u2019s gang is indecisive and weak, consisting of a sick man, a hothead, and a wet-behind-the-ears punk. It\u2019s fitting that the climatic confrontation is between the women. Watch for Hayden\u2019s speech on the virtues of \u201ca good smoke and a cup of coffee.\u201d This picture and Fritz Lang\u2019s Rancho Notorious, which stars Marlene Dietrichas an outlaw leader, would make a fine double-feature.<\/p>\n

Mildred Pierce <\/a>(1945)<\/p>\n

Director: Michael Curtiz<\/p>\n

Cast: Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, and Eve Arden.<\/p>\n

Joan Crawford won an Oscar in the title role as a mother-turned-entrepreneur who dotes on her older daughter, ignores her younger one, and has little use for the men in her life. Unfortunately, older daughter Veda (Blyth) is thankless, materialistic, and focused only on herself\u2014and blames her mother for everything (\u201cIt\u2018s your fault I\u2019m the way I am!\u201d). The film\u2019s enduring popularity can be attributed to the fact that it works on several levels. It\u2019s a first-rate soap-opera with strong female characters that dominate the film (in addition to Mildred and Veda, Eva Arden has a field day as Mildred\u2019s wisecracking friend Ida). It\u2019s part murder mystery; the film opens with Zachary Scott\u2019s good-for-nothing playboy being shot four times in a shadow-filled beach house. And, best of all, it features some psychological undercurrents worthy of in-depth discussion (e.g., what was the true motivation behind Mildred\u2019s second marriage and what did she think was going to happen?). Crawford gives one of her most finely nuanced performances and gets strong supports from the rest of the cast. Carson, in a change-of-pace from his usual comedic roles, delivers the goods as a would-be wolf always interested in a quick buck. Although Mildred Pierce earned six Oscar nominations, the highly versatile Curtiz was ignored.<\/p>\n

The Women<\/a> (1939)<\/p>\n

Director: George Cukor<\/a><\/p>\n

Cast: Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Joan Fontaine, Paulette Goddard, and Mary Boland.<\/p>\n

Who needs men? Not this quintessential women\u2019s picture about female friendships, feuds, and fashions among New York\u2019s upper class. Based on Claire Booth Luce\u2019s Broadway play, The Women features an all-female cast and a screenplay adapted by Anita Loos and Jane Murfin. George Cukor, who was sometimes labeled a \u201cwomen\u2019s director\u201d, made the only significant male contribution. (It\u2019s important to note that Hollywood did not embrace female directors until a decade later, when pioneers such as Ida Lupino entered the ranks.) Norma Shearer headlines The Women as Mary Haines, whose seemingly ideal marriage takes a hit when she learns of her husband\u2019s affair with ambitious sales clerk Joan Crawford. Mary\u2019s mother tells her to forget her husband\u2019s indiscretion if Mary still loves him. But others advise her that a Reno divorce is the proper response. While many individual scenes ring true emotionally (especially the ones between Mary and her young daughter), The Women simmers dramatically without reaching a full boil. Part of the blame can be attributed to the large cast and subplots that bloat the story. For example, during the first half-hour, it\u2019s a chore just to learn all the characters and how they\u2019re related. The success of the ending also depends on one\u2019s perception of a character that\u2019s never seen nor heard\u2014Mary\u2019s husband. I didn\u2019t like the guy and, as a result, I didn\u2019t care for the film\u2019s resolution. Still, The Women is an ambitious, unique movie that was embraced by both critics and the public when originally released. In contrast, a 2008 remake starring Meg Ryan and Annette Bening, was universally panned by critics and ignored by moviegoers.<\/p>\n

Rick29 is a film reference book author and a regular contributor at the Classic Film & TV Caf\u00e9 <\/em>, on Facebook<\/a><\/em> and Twitter. <\/em>He\u2019s a big fan of MovieFanFare, too, of course!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What are the three best Joan Crawford movies? Are they Johnny Guitar (1954), Mildred Pierce (1945), and the George Cukor 1939 comedy-drama The Women,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9691,"featured_media":27911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[5590],"coauthors":[3819],"class_list":["post-27903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-articles","tag-joan-crawford"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Best of Joan Crawford: Joan Crawford Triple Feature<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The best Joan Crawford movies focusing on Johnny Guitar (1954), Mildred Pierce (1945), and the George Cukor 1939 comedy-drama The Women,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, nofollow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=27903\" \/>\n<meta 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