Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star

This is an engrossing and faultlessly researched documentary with excellent movie clips. (The montages are GREAT!) I especially liked seeing the bit where you can actually glimpse Crawford playing for a fleeting second with Norma Shearer as her double in LADY OF THE NIGHT in 1925, and the sound clip from her radio recording of Ibsen's classic drama A DOLL'S HOUSE. (It's intriguing that some of her contemporaries have said elsewhere she was surprisingly effective in the plays she mounted with husband Franchot Tone in their little home theater, making us wonder if she might have actually been able to pull off classic stage roles if she'd taken it further.)

I do have to take issue with this comment from the review below, though:

<< I noticed Christina seemed all too eager to bring forth the darker side of Joan -- how she forced the children to do the cleaning, the wire hanger incident, taking over her role in "The Secret Storm" and all I sense from Christina is an incessant need to repeat to the public how nasty Crawford was. The damage has been done already with the book and MOMMIE DEAREST, isn't it time to move on?...It's the only headache in the entire documentary >>

We don't know how much tape the producers shot with Christina Crawford or what else she was asked, all we know is what they finally chose to use. To say that Christina is "still" focusing on that aspect of Crawford's life and should "move on" is like saying that Cliff Robertson is "still" focusing on AUTUMN LEAVES and should do likewise.

When the 20th Anniversary edition of her memoir MOMMIE DEAREST was released, Christina gave many interviews in which she praised her mother's career and effective performances. Those professional issues have never been in dispute, though, and what Crawford's daughter has to offer that's unique is insight into what the star's home life was like at specific periods of time.

Again, this is an extremely well done documentary, giving an excellent overview of Joan Crawford's life.

JOAN CRAWFORD: THE ULTIMATE MOVIE STAR is far from being a glowing tribute to the film star, as most of these comments seem to suggest. It shows just how sad, how tragic her life really was behind all the glamorous facade of Hollywood phoniness.

Like Bette Davis, her personal life was a mess. Both of them had bad relationships with their fathers resulting in a lifelong distrust of men, which killed any chance for happy marriage relationships. Joan went about choosing men to marry based on her own insecurities as a woman from a dubious background who wanted to learn from the men she married and cultivate herself with knowledge she otherwise would not have.

We learn that her marriage to DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS, JR. was an open marriage that lasted about four years; her marriage to FRANCHOT TONE was happy as long as they stayed in the Hollywood limelight and again she was educating herself because he was a worldly, sophisticated mate, but again the marriage fell apart because of infidelities in another open marriage; she had torrid romances with most of her leading men, including director VINCENT SHERMAN, always willing to talk about his affairs with the many actresses he directed.

Nor are the comments about her--not just those by Christina Crawford--on the positive side all the time. I'd say half and half. A word of praise followed by the "but she always had to be in control" kind of statement, from people who knew her, like LIZ SMITH, BETSY PALMER, CLIFF ROBERTSON, MARGARET O'BRIEN and others.

Far from being a paean to her glory as "the ultimate movie star", it's really more of a "warts and all" confessional that fans of Crawford seem to be in denial about. Her life off screen was full of venom and hateful feuds with just about every co-worker, all the while giving the viewers a few chuckles about how she slapped everyone in films because--well, "because I do that in all my films".

So you have to take the good with the bad, all the way through this documentary, which is essentially a tribute to Crawford's longevity as a name above the title film star. The only one who looks worse than Crawford is Bette Davis, whose cruelty during the aborted filming of HUSH...HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE reached new lows, even for Bette. Those two divas really hated each other.

It's definitely a monument to her longevity, but can't exactly be looked at as a glowing tribute to the actress or her thespian abilities. The kindest, most perceptive comments on the real Joan seem to come from Hollywood columnist BOB THOMAS.

Almost painful to watch are the clumsy dancing sequences showing how she made her start in early MGM films, just about the clunkiest exhibition of dancing ever performed on camera. She looks like a dancing windmill. It's a howl.

But, hey, it's the Joan Crawford we all remember from the '40s that really counts. She left a rich legacy of film noir/soap opera stuff that became legendary: MILDRED PIERCE, HUMORESQUE, POSSESSED and some of the lesser Warner films (FLAMINGO ROAD, THE DAMNED DON'T CRY) in which she came into her own.

But behind all that glory, it's really an awfully sad success story when it comes right down to it.

Trivia note: I loved the perceptive comment by BETSY PALMER who admits feeling sorry for children in any marriage involving actors/actresses. "Beware. We're a different species," she says with a mischievous grin.

This is a highly entertaining, fascinating, outrageous, and sad documentary about Joan Crawford. Say what you want about her, Crawford was an amazing woman who came from nothing and with loads of ambition pushed her way to the top. Twice after her career sank to the bottom, she was able to rebuild it. Vincent Sherman, her daughter Christina, Cliff Robertson, Betsy Palmer, Liz Smith and others held nothing back when talking about the star: the multiple affairs she had with directors, her treatment of her children and husbands, and the antics that went on during the filming of Baby Jane, which were mind-boggling. Also touched on were her alcoholism, which caused her problems in later life, and her miserable childhood, which was the cornerstone of all of her problems.

Crawford's only self-identification seems to have been that of a film star, and her self worth was tied to it as well. She was smart, hard-working, glamorous, and, with the exception of her daughter, those who knew her and appeared in this documentary admitted there was something likable and even vulnerable about her. Ultimately, though, her life played out like a bad B movie. You could see the end coming from a mile away.

Lucille Fay LeSueur was born in March 1906, had a troubled childhood, and never really knew her biological father. Despite these things, she was fated to become one of the most iconic actresses of the golden age of cinema: Joan Crawford. This documentary, originally aired on TCM in 2002, goes over her life, both on and off the screen, how she had a surprising amount of films that were considered awful, and how she did not stop being part of the movie business even when things didn't look good for her. Joan started off dancing in revues, which eventually got her noticed by Hollywood producers looking for fresh talent. Late in 1924, she signed a contract with MGM and had her first role in the film Lady of the Night the following year. In it, she still has her birth name and only appears as a double for Norma Shearer; basically the queen of MGM and wife of production chief Irving Thalberg. Joan got on his bad side a few times, and came to see Norma as a rival. She also co-starred with silent film legend Lon Chaney in The Unknown, playing his assistant in a carnival while Chaney works as a performer who apparently has no arms. Joan felt than maybe her marriage to Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Would make her be seen more seriously, but she didn't hit critical acclaim until the release of Our Dancing Daughters in 1928, after which she got paired up with Clark Gable a few times. By the early 30s, she was up there with Jean Harlow, Norma and Greta Garbo as one of MGM's leading ladies. In the pre-code era, she was cast in Grand Hotel, the first movie to feature a cast made up entirely of stars. Also included were Garbo, both the Barrymore brothers, and Wallace Beery. However, things slowly began to change. By the late 30s, her films were still regarded well, but her place at the box office slipped dramatically for no discernible reason. In an effort to get her fame back on track, MGM cast her in The Bride Wore Red, opposite her real life husband at the time, Franchot Tone. The movie bombed. Mannequin featuring her and Spencer Tracy didn't fare much better. Soon, Joan was said to have the ability to turn any movie she appeared in into trash. Joan is then told she's physically incapable of having children, so she adopts a daughter in 1940 from an agency (she was found mentally unfit to be a mother because of her drinking). Christina Crawford, originally named Joan, maintains the view that her mother was abusive to this day. Throughout much of the Second World War, Crawford worked at the Hollywood Canteen, a place where actual soldiers would congregate and be entertained by movie stars. It was hosted by none other than Bette Davis, who devoted a large part of her life to knocking Joan down a peg or two. By now, Joan had voluntarily asked her MGM contract to be terminated, and shortly after signing with Warner Brothers, she starred in one of the best movies ever made: 1945's Mildred Pierce. Ironically, Bette Davis was who the studio had in mind for the title character, but she turned it down. Because of this decision on Davis' part, Joan had the opportunity to shine in what I consider the peak of noir. The success of the movie revived her stardom and for the rest of the 40s, she continued to be cast in good films. However, by 1952, she appeared in This Woman is Dangerous, which she felt was the worst movie she ever did up until then. She could sense Warner was getting bored with her as the scripts they were giving her weren't that strong, so she left that studio as well. Luckily, she did end up winning an Oscar for Mildred Pierce but didn't attend the ceremony. Joan's life took a turn for the bizarre when in 1955, she married Al Steele, president of Pepsi. Because of this, she was allowed to attend board meetings without anyone saying anything, but he died unexpectedly 4 years later. Meanwhile, Bette Davis had not forgotten her hatred of Joan. While the latter was busy starring in a slew of well received films from the mid 40s on, Davis was having the opposite experience with her pictures concurrently. In 1962, the event which shocked the entire film industry came when Joan and Bette were cast together in the same movie, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? In it, Joan is a disabled former movie star bound to a wheelchair and lives in constant fear of her sadistic sister played by Davis. The movie makes it seem that Bette really hated her, but she did. During one scene, Bette kicks her on the floor after she attempts calling her doctor, and Joan had to get two stitches in her head. Even worse, Davis was nominated for best actress and Crawford wasn't. This film was to be Crawford's last hit, as her career once again floundered and she began to take part in some pretty terrible horror movies, most notably Strait Jacket and Trog, the latter being the last (and worst) movie she ever did. When a young Steven Spielberg worked with her in the pilot episode for Rod Serling's Night Gallery, she was insulted that someone would send a novice to direct a queen like her. By the early 70s, the writing was on the wall for Crawford's career. She last appeared in a public space in 1974 at a Manhattan party and thereafter confined herself to an apartment. She died in May 1977 of a heart attack, and allegedly said "Don't you dare ask God to help me" when she heard her caretaker praying next to her. Even her last words epitomized noir. Overall, this documentary was well done and should be watched by anyone who takes an interest in old movies or those involved with them. We'll never see someone like Joan again, and while her image is no doubt tainted by the allegations of her being a horrible parent, I won't get into that since it kind of discredits everything else she did. The point is that Joan made some films that will never be replicated, and decades from now, people will still probably hear about their influence.

My first thought upon finishing this post "Mommie Dearest" bio/doc of Ms. Crawford was, "Man, could this gal have used the services of a good shrink!" My second thought was, "She sure was gorgeous". Third was, "And sexy too". Last musing was, "And a darn good actress." And therein lies the main problem with this film, for me. There simply was not enough about her work. Specifically, the films. And what there is tends toward the superficial and unbalanced. I mean, many of her good later ones, like "Autumn Leaves", "Humoresque", "Daisy Kenyon" and "Flamingo Road", are glossed over or omitted while twice the amount of time is devoted to the campy "Baby Jane" as is given to "Mildred Pierce", by far her finest piece of acting and arguably one of the top one hundred Hollywood films of the twentieth century. And the argument that greater analysis of Crawford's movies would make this film excessively long does not wash since it's only eighty seven minutes, as is.

Still, I'd be lying if I wrote that I was bored while watching. Ms. Crawford was just too interesting and contradictory a person for ennui to set in. And this doc captures all her various permutations, including neurotic, diva, hellcat, seductress, shrewd businesswoman, abusive mom and great acting talent. If only it had had delved more into the last. Give it a B minus.