#860: CURTIZ, Michael: Mildred Pierce (1945)

CURTIZ, Michael (United States)
Mildred Pierce [1945]
Spine #860
Blu-ray

Melodrama casts noirish shadows in this portrait of maternal sacrifice from Hollywood master Michael Curtiz. Its iconic performance by Joan Crawford as Mildred, a single mother hell-bent on freeing her children from the stigma of economic hardship, solidified Crawford's career comeback and gave the actor her only Oscar. But as Mildred pulls herself up by the bootstraps, first as an unflappable waitress and eventually as the well-heeled owner of a successful restaurant chain, the ingratitude of her materialistic firstborn (a diabolical Ann Blyth) becomes a venomous serpent's tooth, setting in motion an endless cycle of desperate overtures and heartless recriminations. Recasting James M. Cain's rich psychological novel as a murder mystery, this bitter cocktail of blind parental love and all-American ambition is both unremittingly hard-boiled and sumptuously emotional.

111 minutes

Black & White
Monaural
1:37:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2017

Director/Writers

Based on the novel by James M. Cain.

Screenplay by Ranald MacDougall.

Michael Curtiz was 56 when he directed Mildred Pierce.

Other Curtiz films in the Collection:

#889: The Breaking Point (1950)

The Film

“Mildred!”

An unidentified man’s last word — the screenplay’s “Rosebud!” equivalent.

The opening scenes present the viewer with a red herring par excellence, and will keep them guessing until the very end. Sign of a good screenplay, noir or not.

Joan Crawford (Mildred) was more a movie star than a stellar actress; although in this — her only Oscar-winning role — she pulls back the overacting for which she is justifiably famous — and delivers a restrained performance wearing a simple housewife’s frock (or the equivalent as she moves up the social ladder).

**

Cain’s novel covers a decade (1931-41), but the screenwriters dispense with that in favor of a flashback structure which quickly moves the plot along. For a more complete taste of what Cain really wrote about, see the six-hour 2011 mini-series, starring Kate Winslet.

Kudos to the supporting actors, Jack Carson (Wally Fay), Zachary Scott (Monte Beragon), Eve Arden (Ida Corwin), 16-year-old Ann Blyth (Veda Pierce) — who steals the film away from Crawford at times — and Bruce Bennett (the loyal first husband, Bert).

The film — released just after the war’s end — was a big hit. It must have resonated strongly with both men and women, who could chuckle or bristle (the newly unemployed “Rosies,” one might think) at the problems of this middle-class family from Glendale.

All in all, a superb piece of 40’s cinema.

Film Rating (0-60):

55

The Extras

The Booklet

Twelve-page wraparound featuring an essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith.

“Curtiz is never distracted by style; his power as a storyteller comes from the simplicity and stinging clarity he can give the most dramatic moments. Mildred Pierce has its flourishes of operatic excess … but its most painful scenes are quiet and pitilessly straightforward …”

“Challenging the false assumption that noir always takes the male point of view, this film finds in women’s dilemmas the essence of noir’s you-can’t-win pessimism. Mildred gets everything a woman can have — marriage, children, a high-powered career, a passionate love affair, a fur coat — yet none of it brings her happiness. She wants only the one thing she lacks, her daughter’s love.”

Commentary

None.

Conversation

With critics Molly Haskell and Robert Polito.

A riveting discussion of the film and Crawford’s performance.

Excerpt

From a 1970 episode of The David Frost Show featuring actor Crawford.

Frost: “Tell us about the manliness of Clark Gable.”

Crawford: [bleeped]

Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star

A 2002 feature-length documentary.

Great doc, covering her career from start to finish; the late period is simply a sad recitation of desperate failures — and of course Christina Crawford is along for the spiteful ride, dishing out the sad truth which one will find in her famous tell-all Mommie Dearest.

Q&A

With actor Blyth from 2002, conducted by film historian Eddie Muller.

Blyth watches the film with an adoring audience, and Muller asks her the usual questions.

Segment

From a 1969 episode of the Today show featuring Mildred Pierce novelist Cain.

Hugh Downs interviews the great author, who seems discombobulated by the younger generation with their facial hair and rebellious nature. Downs asks him a prescient question about what the kids will be protesting after Vietnam fades away — the environment, perhaps?

“No, I doubt it,” Cain responds.

Trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

35

55 + 35 =

90

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