Joan Crawford: Essential Films

Today she is remembered as the dastardly Mommie Dearest, an abusive mother with extreme OCD but Joan Crawford was also one of Hollywood's biggest stars. With a career spanning from the roaring '20s to the swinging '60s, Crawford remained relevant and adaptable to the changing times.

She began her career as the fun flapper girl of the '20s in films such as Our Dancing Daughters; the '30s saw her embrace her working girl persona in Grand Hotel, long before Melanie Griffith strutted on the scene; the '40s ushered in Joan's most iconic persona, the wronged woman. The '40s were indeed the peak of Crawford's career, resulting in her only Oscar win for Mildred Pierce in 1945. By this time Crawford was a Hollywood veteran, following her win with memorable performances in The Damned Don't Cry and Possessed.

Crawford in a promotional photo for Queen Bee (1955)

The '50s saw her often as the experienced 'been there and done that' pro, her projects differing more at this time as she worked outside the studio system. Going independent she gave some memorable performances in Queen Bee (1955) and the cult western Johnny Guitar (1954); but the '60s saw a radical change as she established herself as one of the first Scream Queens of horror starring opposite her long standing rival Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) which resulted in a short resurgence in her career, with horror roles in Berserk! and Trog.

The latter sadly proved to be Joan's final movie performance, a sad note in a long and memorable career. Crawford herself became a victim of ageism, thrown to the wolves by the very institution she helped build. A not uncommon story for many women; Crawford retired from public life after seeing an unflattering photo of herself in a newspaper.

Despite this Crawford left behind a legacy in cinema, her talent often overlooked by her star persona by critics for many years. Yet there were indeed a few standout films that proved she had the acting chops to hold her own. Here are - in my opinion anyway - 5 movies everyone should see in order to truly appreciate Joan Crawford as an actress.

1. Mildred Pierce - Of course Mildred Pierce is here! It is Crawford's most iconic role after all. But it is also a unique movie within the noir genre for it embodies what film noir is all about: obsession. Double Indemnity and The Maltese Falcon are prime examples that set the bar high in storytelling but the domestic setting isolates Mildred Pierce, about a woman who's love for her daughter borders on obsessive; Mildred claws up from poverty and a broken marriage to become an astute businesswoman in order to give her daughter the best of everything. Unfortunately the one thing Mildred really desires is her daughter's love but Veda never reciprocates any real feeling towards her mother, instead her behaviour borders on sociopathic in her need for money and self satisfaction, even sleeping with her mother's new hubby just because she can. In the end, just as with Fred MacMurray in Double Indemnity, Mildred's love for Veda is the key to her downfall.

It is a rare movie within the noir genre and at the time no actress would touch the role, not even the great Bette Davis. Crawford on the other hand saw the potential and fought tooth and nail for it, even auditioning before director Michael Curtiz (Casablanca); a feat that paid off as Curtiz was blown away despitethe fact he didn't want her at all. The role even led to Joan's first oscar nomination in the history of her career, despite working in Hollywood for 20 years. It was the first of three nominations she would receive and her only win. It was also one of the few times the academy got it right.

2. A Woman's Face - This was one of Joan's later projects while still at MGM. It was a remake of the Swedish film starring Ingrid Bergman. Of course it is a melodrama yet it is a great understated performance from Joan as Anna Holm. Crawford herself was well known for her beauty so it was a surprise at the time when she vied for the role of a disfigured criminal.

The film begins with Crawford's character being led into a courtroom where she faces a charge of murder in the first degree. The story then proceeds to play out in flashback through the testimonies of all the witnesses, including Anna herself, where we learn of the events that led Anna to murder her lover, played by Conrad Veidt, Hollywood's go-to villain. All actors involved are really well cast but Crawford really shines through as she goes from a bitter and bullied criminal to being acknowledged as a beautiful and loved woman. As she speaks her peace to the judge you can't help but be mesmerized by her performance.

This is also due to director George Cukor, famously known as a woman's director he filmed many of Hollywood's leading ladies at their best. Prime examples of his work include Joan again, with Norma Shearer in The Women (1939) and Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story (1940). But he was also known for being a hard task master, often making them act the same scene, take after take, until he was satisfied they were no longer "acting" but instead inhabiting the character. It was a tactic that paid off for in the courtroom scenes with no hint of melodrama in Joan's performance, she is a woman worn down by her experiences and finds it tiring to tell her story anymore.

3. Possessed - Joan received her second Oscar nomination for her performance here and she deserved it. Joan worked hard to capture her character's mental break down, visiting hospitals and sanitariums in order to do justice to the role.

Her character here is a nurse who has a passionate affair with architect David (Van Heflin), who then throws her aside without a second thought. So she moves on with her life only to fall apart when he comes back, offering marriage to her new step-daughter, pushing the woman over the edge.

While it can be entertaining watching someone go over the edge, it is also scary. She attempts to reach out but it doesn't succeed in time to save her from hurting the person she has come to see as the source of her pain. You know she's becoming mentally unhinged and it is a terrific feat on Joan's part because you feel so sorry for her. Crawford worked hard to do justice to the role, researching her character's condition by visiting mental hospitals and speaking with medical professionals and patients in order to bring as much realism as possible.

4. Rain - This is one of Crawford's riskiest projects. Released in 1932 before the Hayes Code really cracked down on morality it follows Joan's character, Sadie Thompson, a prostitute from San Francisco who is trapped in a cheap motel on a tropical island during a storm. While there she entertains the local soldiers and the motel owner, proving popular for her snappy one liners and flapper girl attitude.

But for all her admirers there are plenty who condemn her sinful ways, including the maniacal preacher played by the great Walter Huston. They finally come to blows in a superb scene where Sadie calls him out on his hypocrisy while he recites the Lord's prayer, all the while the rain beats down around them like the beat of a drum.

Sadie breaks, succumbing to the words of the preacher, reciting the prayer along with him. It leads to her shocking transformation as she is brainwashed into believing that she must return to San Francisco to atone for her sins. But in the end it is the Preacher who proves the real sinner, becoming exactly like all the other men who abused Sadie in the past.

It is a terrific performance, but it was not well received at the time of its release and the negative response from her fans left Joan convinced it was one of her worst performances. But I have to disagree. Joan's Sadie is a damaged soul and it not only comes across through the dialogue but through her actions, and especially through her eyes. She conveys sheer desperation and heartache in a profound way that you can't help but see her as the wronged party.

5. The Women - From the title it is obvious that this was a film for the ladies. But it is such a fun one, with memorable performances from the ensemble cast which included a young Joan Fontaine and Rosalind Russell as comedic counterparts to the two rivals of the screen Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer, the undoubted queen of MGM.

This film was a huge deal at the time for it was only the second film that featured both Joan and Shearer whose disdain for one another was legendary throughout Hollywood. But while Shearer is the official star of the picture Crawford manages to steal the film as waspish man eater Crystal Allen. With her clever one liners it becomes clear that Joan is in her element, relishing the role of the bitch.

Even when the two stars finally come face to face it is Crawford you can't take your eyes off. And when she's not on screen the film feels like it drags a little. Joan comes across as someone not to be messed with and portrays the villainous vamp with delicious perfection, again playing a role that no other actress would dare touch, paying off as she showed her mettle with the MGM bosses as well as with the critics who had deemed her box office poison along with Hepburn and Dietrich.

So there you have it, my five movies to watch to really see Joan shine as the talented actress she was. Of course this list is opinion based for there are so many movies to see so check out her IMDB page for a complete filmography.