HER SERENE CRAWFORDSHIP

Joan Crawford had been the quintessential movie star for over 15 years. She'd taken a pay cut and was consort to Queen Bette Davis at new studio Warner Bros. She scoured the Warner vaults to solidify a comeback and found it in a lusty, melodramatic load of shenanigans entitled 'Mildred Pierce'. This script gave Joan her next big shot and she ran a gamut of emotions as the eponymous character. Mildred was dumped by her husband and left to deal with her two children, the tomboyish Kay and nasty bitch of a teenage hell raiser, Veda (FYI Shirley Temple wanted the part but it was given to Ann Blyth). Mildred realised that life was going to be a bitch to provide for her demanding daughter so took a job as a waitress in a restaurant. She also made pies for the neighbours to earn extra cash for Veda's piano and singing lessons. Veda however is disgusted by the way her mother's started to make her money:-

VEDA : You think just because you made a little money you can get a new hairdo and some expensive clothes and turn yourself into a lady. But you can't, because you'll never be anything but a common frump whose father lived over a grocery store and whose mother took in washing.

Veda's a bad bitch to the core although Mildred gets sidetracked by the dashing and suave Monte Beragon. Mildred wants to buy his rundown property and turn it into a restaurant so she naturally screws the living daylights out of the man and gets her property, she also manages to quickly sidestep the untimely death of her younger daughter Kay to pneumonia.. Kay's quickly forgotten as Veda enjoys the luxuries of having money and taking advantage of her mother. Mildred sees red and sends her packing but she drags her back when she finds Veda singing in a seedy bar.

This turns out to be a bad move as Veda sets her sights on Monte who happily embarks on a fling with Mildred's daughter. It's all a tad sordid as Veda shoots Monte to death when he spurns her and Mildred's about to take the wrap before Veda's caught. Melodrama isn't the word for this escapade which is a gay man's wet dream if ever I saw it.

Joan Crawford looks sublime and works every scene like the pro she is, her eyebrows and lips and fuck me heels and mink coats should have special mention during the credits as they're just too too much! Ann Blyth as the nasty Veda deserves special mention for almost stealing the show from Her Serene Crawfordship. This is Joanie's show, she won the Best Actress Oscar for her turn as Mildred Pierce and this movie was the start of a new wave of Joan's movies. She continued to portray women who survived tough times to make a new life for themselves aka the shopgirl done good seen through movies like Flamingo Road, This Woman is Dangerous and The Damned Don't Cry. Because it's Joan, it's just that little bit more camp as her shoulderpads strut along the screen commanding the viewers attention and even after 50 years, Joan Crawford still manages to dominate the screen as when she's on display, no-one else really matters - it's all about Joan, as it should be!