Mildred Pierce

Pros: Great acting, well shot, wrapped in suspense
Cons: None

By 1940, Joan Crawford’s career looked like it was all over. She had been labeled “box office poison” by the Independent Film Journal and her contract with MGM had been terminated by mutual consent. She signed on with Warner Brothers, ...

Pros: acting, directing, noir cinematography
Cons: none

Joan Crawford was not the first choice for the title role in the 1945 Warner Brothers release, Mildred Pierce. Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan and Barbara Stanwyck had all passed on the film. But, for Crawford, this was the vehicle she needed to make...

Pros: Joan Crawford yearned for an Oscar. And, by God, she earned it.
Cons: Like many films of its era, there's plenty of corn-sap in the script

There’s not a wire hanger in sight in Mildred Pierce, but that doesn’t stop Mommie Dearest Joan Crawford from turning in a fierce (though admirably underplayed) performance. This 1945 film earned Crawford a well-deserved Best Actress...

Pros: Mildred Pierce is an extremely smart film . . .
Cons: probably smarter than most viewers will give anything so soap operatic credit for being.

Before we have any idea what's going on in Mildred Pierce, we see Mildred herself (Joan Crawford) contemplating suicide by drowning. Just as her hands clench the railing between her and the water into which she intends to plunge, however, a...

Pros: Classic Hollywood Drama. Great Cast.
Cons: A bit sappy sometimes.

This 1945 film is a powerful drama about human relationships and life choices. Based on a novel by James Cain, this screen adaptation was directed by Michael Curtiz and stars Joan Crawford in a comeback role. She ultimately earned a well-deserved Best ...

Pros: High melodrama and very soapy. Fantastic acting from both Crawford and Blyth
Cons: Blyth's character, the daughter, is too disturbing. Mixing genres.

"Sharper than a serpent's tooth; an ungrateful child"--King Lear

Well, maybe a bit too ungrateful, bordering on evil. I'm taking off one star because I think Veda, the thankless, ungrateful daughter of the Joan Crawford character in "Mildred...

Pros: Joan Crawford in an Oscar winning performance.
Cons: Depends on your tolerance for soap opera.

BACKGROUND:

Mildred Pierce (1945) is an unusual entry for film noir. The twist is that the protagonist, for once, is a woman. Soap opera elements or melodrama are mixed with the signatures of the noir form--the...

Pros: cast, direction, script, cinematography
Cons: sometimes melodramatic

Joan Crawford's long, successful run at MGM finally came to an end in 1943. Fortunately, she was signed by Warner Brothers, where she would get better scripts anyway. She turned down several projects, waiting for a part that would cement her comeback....

Pros: Wonderful Performances and Story
Cons: None

"Mildred Pierce" is one of the best films in film history portraying a strong woman and a strong woman's role. The part of Mildred Pierce is one that Joan Crawford fought for tooth a nail. Crawford, already having been a star for years, was...

Pros: Solid drama
Cons: None

Every time I see his movie I enjoy it all over again. Although one of the underlying story lines deals with the triumph of a hard-working woman who rises from near poverty to become a successful business owner, there is also a sub-plot that explores the...