The Real Joan Crawford

As we leave Ms. Crawford for awhile, we ended our viewing with Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star, a TCM production from 2002. The documentary, narrated by the wonderful Angelica Huston, looks at Crawford's life, through the lens of her films.  It does not shirk the issues that came from Joan's daughter's autobiography, Mommie Dearest. In fact, Christina is interviewed, and at times does shed some insight into her mother. Of course, Christina's bitterness towards the difficult mother-daughter relationship is quite obvious. The documentary also looks at the issues that resulted from Joan's inclusion in the notorious "box office poison" list.  Luckily for us all, Ms. Crawford managed to prove that she was far from being a has-been - some of her greatest roles, of course, came after that horrid incident.

It was a treat to see clips of some of the films we were unable to see, like Crawford's early silents, and films like Mannequin (which I personally have wanted to see for awhile).  The documentary presents, in a 90 minute slot, a real look at the many faces of Crawford - the flapper, the party girl, the romantic lead, the melodrama actress, and the scream queen.  It also demonstrates the breath of her work; she really covered a wide range of film genres.  Taken over several months, one can lose track of how versatile she was.  Seen in such a short time, her talent is even more evident.

We thought that some comment on the whole Mommie Dearest controversy deserved some notice here.  Having read her autobiography, I had no doubt that Christina was abused.  However, I think that, on some levels, she vilified her mother for things that, in another circumstance, would not be looked at twice.  Take Crawford's determination to not overindulge her children with Christmas gifts.  The children publicly opened all the gifts they were sent (by fans, co-stars, fellow film studio workers, family); afterwards, the gifts were taken away. Most were given to charity. Is this cruelty? When one thinks of the number of gifts these kids probably received, probably not? Did Crawford take it to extremes? I think probably she did.  And then, there is the incident of the 60ish Crawford replacing her 30ish daughter on a soap opera, when Christina took ill.  Did Christina never consider that it is possible that her mother saved her job? Crawford stepped out when Christina recovered.  How many other actresses on soaps lost their roles to their successors? Luckily, Christina never found out.

So, for a look at the real woman, keep an eye out for this excellent documentary.  And join us next week as we view another film.

Joan Shines (Well, not quite)

Our film this time is Crawford's 1938 melodrama The Shining Hour. Crawford is Olivia (Maggie) Riley, a nightclub singer who weds Harry Linden (Melvyn Douglas) and moves with him to his farm (really big, wealthy farm) in Wisconsin.  The new couple moves in with Harry's brother David (Robert Young), sister-in-law Judy (Margaret Sullavan), and much older sister Hannah (Fay Bainter).  Unfortunately, what we have here is not one big, happy family - it rather more resembles the Ewings of Dallas - lots in infighting, jealousy, and sexual tension.  It seems that David, who is one of these guys who is never satisfied with what he has, develops an infatuation of Olivia. She begins to respond, but fights it, by urging her husband to build them a new home away from the family mansion, which he does.  And then there is Hannah, who hates this competition for her brother's affection, and makes it perfectly clear that Olivia is not welcome.  Moving out seems like it should be the perfect solution, however, problems pursue them to their new abode.

The real problem with the movie is that the characters just don't ring true, especially our supporting characters.  Judy is just WAY too sweet and self-sacrificing.  Our group felt that David needed a good swift kick - or the corned Judy demanding BIG alimony.  And then there is Hannah. Without giving too much away, her bitchy treatment of Olivia, her domineering attitude towards her brothers and her home were one thing, but then there is a scene close to the end where she gets, well, VERY strange indeed.  We won't even talk about the last scene.  We wondered if the character had had a brain transplant; we though manic-depression medications might actually be in order.  As to Robert Young, whom we all like as a general rule, he is annoying and self-centered  throughout the film. Then again, David is supposed to be annoying and self-centered, so Young is doing his job. 

Douglas and Crawford are good here, but the script makes it hard to really sink ones' teeth into anything.  What we really enjoyed was the relationship between Crawford and Hattie McDaniel (here playing Belvedere, Maggie's maid and confidante).  One thing that really surprised us was a scene in which Olivia leaps out of her car, runs to Belevedere and embraces her.  1938, and a white woman is hugging a black woman!  It was lovely, genuine and somewhat astounding.  And, of course McDaniel makes YOU want to hug Belvedere as well.

Next  time, we'll be doing a film that is slightly different from our norm.  Join us then. In the meantime, here is a trailer:

Joan Visits Montana

This time, we visit with a VERY early Crawford talkie, Montana Moon.  Released in 1930, Montana Moon immediately calls up images of Singin' in the Rain with all the scenes of the beginning of talkies that we think of in that movie.  Joan plays Joan Prescott, a party girl who abandons her friends while in Montana.  Her sister has fallen in love with Jeff (Ricardo Cortez), but he keeps making advances on Joan, so she escapes, planning to return to New York.  However, she runs into local cowboy Larry, lives his free and easy outdoor life, falls in love, and marries him.  Then, she tries to convert him to her wild, party ways.  Of course, Larry is a fish out of water; and then there is Jeff, who is still in hot pursuit of Joan, regardless of her marital status and his relationship with her sister Elizabeth (Dorothy Sebastian).

The movie tries to be a little bit of everything. We have a love story, a cowboy yarn, dancing (Cortez and Crawford to a mean tango), singing (Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards, better known as the voice of Jiminy Cricket), comedy (banter by Edwards and Benny Rubin), and drama. In a sense, the movie really doesn't KNOW what it wants to be.  But, we know that the film is also testing its talking "legs" here.  A little bit of everything, one suspects, will help the studio to understand just what the public expects from a talking film.

The fact that the actors are just out of silents is very obvious here. We still have some of the grand hand gestures and facial emphasis that we are used to in silent films.  An early scene between Crawford and Sebastian is a case in point, as they seem to flail around to make their point.  You can see this scene here:

Gestures that in silents were used to good purpose seem out of place here, when the words are telling us the story.  Crawford would quickly learn how to better use her body when she was speaking. In this film, you can see her practicing.  The film will also introduce you to future cowboy star, Johnny Mack Brown.  Brown would spend most of his long (40 year) career in westerns.  Another actor to watch is Ricardo Cortez; born Jacob Krantz.   He was introduced to the public as a "Latin Lover", but had a decent career well into talkies (finally retiring to his roots - Wall Street, where he had started as a runner).

This isn't a great movie, but we enjoyed it for it's historic value.  It's a glance into a period we've all experienced in other films.  It is nice to see the results of the change to sound.

Joan Gets Jilted

Based on a play which starred Tallulah Bankhead, Forsaking All Others (1934) is an absolutely delightful film.  With an exceptional cast, which includes Ms. Crawford, Clark Gable, Robert Montgomery, Billie Burke, and a brief appearance by Rosalind Russell; and a screenplay by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, the viewer is given a delightful 84 minutes of great acting and witty dialogue.  Joan's Mary Clay is preparing for her long-anticipated wedding to her childhood friend Dillon Todd (Robert Montgomery).  The day before her wedding, unsuspecting Jeff Williams (Clark Gable) returns from Spain, with enough money to propose to Mary, whom he has loved since they were children.  His disappointment is palpable when he discovers he is too late, but rather than burden the ecstatic Mary, he agrees to give away the bride.  Come the day of the wedding, however, Mary learns that Dill has eloped with his former paramour Connie Barnes (Frances Drake).  Mary tries to start over without Dill, but when he renews his pursuit of her, she begins to succumb to his charms.

The script is just full of little bon mots, like "I saw [a fan dance] with electric fans once, it was awful" that keep you giggling through the movie, along with sight gags like Robert Montgomery sound asleep in a lacy nightie.  And you can't do better than this cast.  Gable is just commanding as Jeff.  He conveys so much by just LOOKING; all his hurt and love shine out of his eyes.  And Crawford was never more endearing.  Even when she is about to mess up her life totally by returning to Dill, you still adore her, and just want her find her way to Jeff.  Robert Montgomery, a versatile actor who played everything from the love interest, lunatic, war hero, and second banana, walks a very thin rope here. He manages to keep Dill appealing, while you still want him to lose the girl. A hard job, but Montgomery is more than up to the task.

Finally, a word about another performance: that of Billie Burke as Mary's dear friend, Paula. One is so used to seeing Ms. Burke as a ditz, that it is a pleasure to see her play someone with some sense.  Yes, Paula is still a bit of a nut, but she is sensible and loving. Her regard for Mary know no limitation, and she does everything in her power to protect this girl who is nearly her own child.

This film is not shown enough. It should be shown more.  Next time it is around, do see it.

Joan is Possessed (for the First Time)

Joan Crawford made two movies named Possessed. We already looked at the 1947 film (with Van Heflin); this time we look at an interesting pre-Code film of the same name (from 1931), co-starring Clark Gable.  Crawford is Marion, a factory worker with an eye towards bigger thing. When she meets a New York playboy while his train is laying over in her town, she accepts his invitation to come and see her in NYC,  and follows him to the big city. Here, we see their meeting:  

Of course, Wally Stuart (Skeets Gallagher) is not in the least serious about wanting to see her.  Constantly drunk, he barely remembers her, but he decides he owes her some "good" advice - meet a rich man, and take him for all he is worth. Though, he - Wally - will not introduce her to any of his friends.  Marion, however takes his advice immediately to heart, and maneuvers herself back into his apartment, where he meets Mark Whitney (Clark Gable), a wealthy lawyer, with visions of a political future.  Whitney is immediately smitten with Marion, but, the victim in a bad marriage, he has no intention of wedding again.  Instead, he sets Marion up as a wealthy divorcee, Mrs. Moreland, and she becomes his hostess and lover.

Crawford's Marion is so very likeable in this film.  Even her machinations to meet Mark are down with a down-to-earth honesty that makes you truly like her character.  The same is true for Gable's Whitney.  He is a man who has been burnt, but his regard for Marion is true. He does love her, treats her with respect and love, but is unwilling to risk losing her - he says - by marrying her.  

Another fairly interesting performance is that of Wallace Ford as Al Manning, Marion's small-town boyfriend.  He is most interesting when we meet him again in the film, after he has become a success.  Watch for the confrontation between the two of them, and then watch his reaction when he realizes that she has the ability to make or break him.  It is a fascinating turn.  We also liked the brief appearance by Marjorie White as the mistress of one of Mark's associates.  It is a wonderful part, but the way Crawford and Gable interact with her is just lovely and subtle.  Kudos especially to Crawford here - her silent training - especially her ability to use her eyes to tell you so much more than the words of the story reveal, are easy to see.

Join us next time for another early film.

Joan Runs

Two years after Clark Gable followed Claudette Colbert to Jericho, he was again portraying a reporter in pursuit of an heiress in 1936's Love on the Run.  Gable plays Michael Anthony, an eager reporter in competition with his best friend and roommate Barnabas Pells (Franchot Tone).  The men are unimpressed with the two stories that they need to cover (an interview with an aviator, or the wedding of an heiress) - they flip a coin, and Michael loses.  Donning top hat and tails, he heads off to cover the wedding of Sally Parker (Crawford) to expatriate Prince Igor.  However, what begins for Michael as a bore, becomes an adventure as he watches the bride run OUT of the church, sans groom, and barricade herself in a hotel room.  Michael convinces her he is NOT a reporter, and the two dash off in a series of fairly silly adventures, with Barnabas in hot pursuit.

This is nowhere as good a movie as It Happened One Night (which is what it wants to be.  One can almost see L.B. Mayer growling that he wants Gable reproducing the story for HIM - after Mayer loaned Gable to Columbia as a punishment!!), but it is fun and Gable and Crawford are a delightful pairing.  Adding to the amusement is the knowledge that Crawford and TONE were spouses, but clearly - on film - the spark is with Gable.  When they are on screen together, you really can't take your eyes off them.

One really outstanding supporting performance here - Donald Meek as the caretaker of the Palace of Fontainbleau.  Having lived alone for many years, the caretaker delights in his imaginary dog, Bismark and looks forward to visitations from ghosts.  Crisp is an absolute riot, and Gable and Crawford especially join in the fun with him.  (Plus, you get Gable dancing in costume. You can't beat that). We won't go into the fact that three people are able to break into the Palace and sleep for the night.  It is just a little too outlandish.

All in all, this is a film well worth your time if you would like a little laugh.  Here's a trailer to get you started:

Joan Teaches the Blind (and Deaf)

None of us had ever seen 1957's The Story of Esther Costello before this viewing and it was definitely a pleasant surprise. Ms. Crawford plays Margaret Landi, a wealthy American woman on a visit to the town of her birth to make a donation to the village church in Cloncraig, Ireland,  Father Devlin (Denis O'Dea), however, has other ideas, and introduces Margaret to Esther Costello (Heather Sears), a local girl being raised in squalor after her mother was killed and Esther was left deaf and blind.  With some reluctance, Margaret agrees to have some tests run to confirm the severity of Esther's condition.  The tests show no physiological reason for Esther's condition, but also emphasize the need to get her some training, to enable her to live a more normal life.  Again, Margaret is reluctant to go further, but Esther's eagerness to learn impresses her.  Ultimately, she bring Esther back to America with her, becoming not only her patron, but her teacher and dearest friend. 

The movie's portrayal of the education process for the deaf-blind is extremely interesting, especially the way in which Esther is taught to lip read, and to communicate with those who cannot do sign language.  Esther's education covers the beginning of the movie; the second part of the movie is devoted to Margaret's attempts to raise money for Esther's school, a process that becomes badly corrupted when Margaret's estranged husband, Carlo (Rossano Brazzi) reappears on the scene.  Brazzi is properly slimy, as he uses sex to reclaim Margaret, then begins to cast his eye in the direction of the innocent Esther.

Some interesting guest appearances in this movie: Bessie Love has a brief scene with Brazzi as an art gallery patron; John Loder appears as a friend of Margaret's (we never see him after Esther goes to school. A shame really).  His voice did not sound the same as we remembered - we wondered if it had been dubbed for some reason?  Lee Patterson as reporter Harry Grant, Esther's love interest, was a pleasant surprise for some of our viewers - they remembered him from his later work in One Life to Live.

But the person who really steals the movie is Heather Sears as Esther.  She manages to convey so much in a part that is not only mute, but limited in the use of her eyes (Esther, after all is blind as well).  Ms. Sears (who won the Best Actress award from BAFTA for her work here) is marvelously expressive.  She had a limited film career, appearing in film and on television in the U.K. 

This is also a surprisingly adult movie.  Without giving too much away, watch for the scene, towards the end, when Crawford finds a nearly comatose Sears on the floor of her bedroom.  Then watch as Crawford tries to get the traumatized girl back to bed.  Your mind will tell you what she is actually seeing, while the screen shows you something else.  A tasteful, and telling, piece of film direction.

All in all, another Crawford film that is underrated and worth your time. Next time, we go to a much earlier film.  In the meantime, here is a trailer from our movie this week:

Joan Goes to Greece

Thanks to TCM's latest "Summer Under the Stars", we've been able to assemble a number of Joan Crawford (and Carole Lombard) movies that we had none of us seen before.  We look forward to sharing them with you in the coming weeks.  This week, we again visited with Ms. Crawford in her 1935 film I Live My Life. Joan is a young society girl Kay Bentley , on a cruise through the Greek Islands with her father (played beautifully by Frank Morgan).  While riding her rented donkey on Naxos, she stumbles (literally) on the archeology site that is being excavated by Terry O'Neill (Brian Aherne). It doesn't take long for Terry to fall head over heels for Kay (though he thinks she is a secretary on the yacht), but Kay resists his charms. For awhile.  When he follows her to New York, she is truly smitten.  But complications, as they say, ensue.  The course of true love is rather rocky, especially with two such wonderfully headstrong people.

Crawford is gorgeous here, and the chemistry between her an Aherne fairly smokes.  As we know from Ann Blyth's introduction to Ms. Crawford on TCM, Joan was a small woman - barely 5 feet tall. Mr. Aherne, however, was 6'3" - together, they make a fairly arresting couple. Crawford's gowns, by Adrian, are lovely; we rather drooled to try some of them on! (And the sight of the attractive Mr. Aherne in a tuxedo was nothing to sneeze at!).  Crawford pokes fun at herself in one scene, commenting on the amount of money she spends on her manicures and on her eyebrows.  She doesn't mention her EYELASHES! She could dust the windows with those eyelashes.

We enjoyed Frank Morgan as Crawford's loving father.  It seems at first that he will betray her, but he is impressive in his affection for his daughter - ready to give up everything he has to make her happy.  And, while you will have to wait awhile for her to show up, it is worth the wait to see Jessie Ralph as Joan's grandmother, the frightening Mrs. Gage.  She is an absolute hoot, and you will enjoy her tremendously.

All in all, this is a fun film, with a great cast and a really nice script.  If you get a chance, see it. You won't regret it. In the meantime, we can direct you to a scene from the film:

Cougar Joan

This time, we are going forward in Ms. Crawford's career to her 1956 film Autumn Leaves.  Joan plays a lonely spinster, Milly Weatherby, who works from her home as a typist, and has given up on finding someone with whom to share her life.  One day, as she eats alone in a crowded restaurant, she is interrupted by a young man - the restaurant is crowded, could he eat with her, rather than wait for a table.  Though Millie is reluctant, she agrees, and finds herself drawn to the rather odd Burt Hanson (Cliff Roberson).  They date; she breaks it off - primarily because she is in her early forties, while Burt is about 30.  Burt however, will have none of this, and continues to pursue her, finally convincing her to marry him.  Though happy with him, Millie finds that Burt is lying to her, first about small things (like the daily presents he brings her) and finally a huge one - revealed when his ex-wife (Vera Miles as Virginia Hanson) shows up at their door.

In the hands of a different director, we felt this little melodrama could have been quite touching.  But directed by Robert Aldrich, famous for action pictures like The Dirty Dozen and the ultimate in horror camp, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, this film goes WAY over the top.  Witness Cliff Robertson's performance, as Burt becomes ill.  Had it been AFTER 1960, we would have said he was (badly) aping Anthony Perkins in Psycho.  However, we can't use that excuse here; Robertson is all but required to froth at the mouth to portray Burt's descent into madness (gee, couldn't Aldrich have watched such subtle performances as the Olivia de Havilland in The Snake Pit, and Ray Milland in The Lost Weekend?)  Poor Joan is left trying to make Milly sympathetic - which she does do, but it is a lot of work!

We did enjoy seeing Vera Miles, even though the part is small. Ms. Miles is catty, manipulative, and having a relationship with her father-in-law that is quite sickening. Here she is meeting Milly for the first time:

And watch for Lorne Greene, pre-Bonanza, already playing older than his years. Like Ms. Miles, his character is totally reprehensible, more than he really needs to be.  

On the plus side, it was a genuine pleasure to hear the title song sung by Nat King Cole! And Ms. Crawford really is able to make the most of minimal script to give a well-rounded character.

More Crawford coming up soon - and some Carole Lombard (we hope), thanks to Summer Under the Stars!

Mogel Joan

This week, we were able to get hold of 1942's They All Kissed the Bride.  In it, Joan Crawford plays Margaret J. Drew, the head of a trucking company. She is a stern boss, with a passel of rules for her employees, which makes her despised and dreaded by her truck drivers. Enter Michael Holmes (Melvyn Douglas) who is publishing articles on her tyrannies, much to her ire.  Michael meets her (though she doesn't know who he is) when he crashes the wedding of MJ's younger sister Suzie (Mary Treen).  Rapidly, MJ and Michael become involved as he tries to loosen up this very up-tight lady.  She, however is immediately attracted to this unknown man.

This is a particularly odd little movie.  First of all, the title has NOTHING to do with the plot. We barely see the bride, in fact, we see more of her groom as the action progresses.  Also, the film can't decide if it wants to be a screwball comedy or a romance.  Clearly filmed (at some point) after the start of World War II, it makes only passing reference to the war, and there is no implication that all the male characters will soon be deep into the fighting.  And Crawford's MJ is rather annoying.  She WANTS to be the head of her father's company, but she acts like a total idiot when she meets Michael.  Oh, sure, love at first sight and all that, but really!! There is no way anyone could efficiently run a conglomerate like MJ does, yet be such a blithering moron.  Poor Melvyn Douglas doesn't get to do much better, really.  Michael is pretty much as silly - and he KNOWS who MJ is. At least she has the excuse of ignorance.

Some good supporting actors here - Billie Burke is very sweet (and of course, addled) as MJ's mother;  and Roland Young is rather likeable as MJ's business associate, Mr. Marsh.  Here's a scene where she meets Allen Jenkins:

 But in the long run, one rather wishes the authors and director had made a decision about which direction they wanted the picture to take.  Instead, they end up with a mishmash that never does find its genre.