Une femme diabolique

The producers of "Mommie Dearest" clearly took copious notes

from the real-life Crawford canon; traces of everything from

"Mildred Pierce" to "Harriet Craig" to "Strait-Jacket" show up in that

biopic-from-hell, but the film it most closely resembles is the 1955

cult classic, "Queen Bee."

Scenes of an imperious Crawford being served coffee in bed;

destroying a bedroom with a riding crop (wire hanger?); and her

children crying out in the dark are lifted directly from this movie;

and Crawford's stunning appearances in various Jean Louis

gowns--descending a grand staircase, posing in a doorway,

preening in front of a mirror--are a harbinger of the demented

fashion show Faye Dunaway would put on in her Crawford

assasination.

Like her rival, Bette Davis, Crawford is best-known for villanous

roles like this, although neither she nor Davis often played bitches;

but the times they did, the performances were so over-the-top, it's

what we remember them for. "Queen Bee" is the ultimate

late-period Crawford vehicle; she dominates every scene, even

when she doesn't directly appear in it, and her elegant bitchery is a

marvel to behold. No one, but simply no one, could throw a fur

stole over her shoulder like Joan Crawford, and certainly no one

could top her as an obsessive-compulsive, castrating shrew.

Crawford herself was happier playing heroines (like the "young"

widow of "Female on the Beach," or the brilliant playwright in

"Sudden Fear"), but she clearly was even more compelling in

full-on bitch mode. As cruel, evil and thoughtless as her character

may be, Crawford handles it with such glamour and panache, you

secretly find yourself rooting for her.

So sayeth Barry Sullivan in "Queen Bee" referring to Joan Crawford, the ruler of a southern household in this 1955 drama, which also stars John Ireland, Barry Sullivan, Betsy Palmer and Fay Wray. Cousin Jennifer Stewart (Lucy Marlow) arrives for a visit and immediately senses there are a few problems in the home - at first, she feels these problems are unfairly blamed on Eva (Crawford). She soon learns what the audience has known from Eva's first appearance.

The lovely and somewhat shy Carol Lee Phillips (Palmer), sister of Eva's husband (Sullivan), is about to marry one of Eva's hand-me-downs, Judson Prentiss (Ireland) but doesn't realize that Eva hasn't quite decided to let him go. Complicating things, cousin Jennifer finds herself attracted to Eva's husband. In real life, Ireland and Crawford were having an affair, and Palmer screamed "WHAT??" into the telephone when she was invited to Crawford's wedding to Alfred Steele. At the reception, she took Crawford aside and asked what was going on. "Oh, well," Crawford said, "We were in our cups and Alfred asked me to marry him, and I said yes."

This is one of those southern dramas we saw a lot of in the '50s and early '60s - "The Long Hot Summer," "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," and "Desire in the Dust," to name a few. "Queen Bee" is a little over the top. It's a tour de force for Crawford, who has some very biting lines which she delivers in her inimitable style, and her wardrobe is sensational, especially the last gown. She plays the kind of bitch we always imagine she was in real life, the woman depicted in "Mommie Dearest." She couldn't have been - too many people, from Ann Blyth to Betsy Palmer, truly liked her. A little too much of a disciplinarian at home and with a voracious sexual appetite, she certainly brought those edges to many performances. Crawford also was one of the great screen presences with a face made for film.

Highly enjoyable film particularly for Crawford fans, though everyone in it is very good.

Joan Crawford is in her element here! As a deceitful, manipulative woman with the Medusa touch she's in her glory. You get the feeling she's enjoying herself immensely. Hell, you even get the feeling she's enjoying the costumes! She tears into the part of Eva Phillips as if it were her last meal, and takes the rest of the cast along for the ride. They don't make movies like this anymore and it's a shame. It's good, clean, sinister fun with Joan in control every step of the way.

There's only one real reason to see this film, and it's for Joan Crawford, who is a hoot in nearly every scene she is in. Though there is no real depth to any of the characters here, it does feature a pretty good supporting cast: Barry Sullivan, John Ireland...even Fay Wray turns up. Joan dishes out one nasty one-liner after the next...shredding apart the people around her. You can tell she must have had a lot of fun "playing" this role. Lucy Marlow is a little annoying as Jennifer, but her character gradually changes. Betsy Palmer as Carol, is pretty good. I wasn't too fond of the ending, it just seemed like it was tacked on, but that didn't keep me from enjoying the rest of the film. I'd watch it again, just because of Joan.

Maybe I'm going out on a limb here, but having seen a great many of her movies, I would say that Joan Crawford was at her bitchiest in this picture. That is to say, bitchier than usual! She tears at the scenery, she tears at the script, and brother I feel sorry for her co-stars, because even though they are also a talented group, they of course don't stand a chance when Crawford's on the screen, which is basically every scene. Although her character doesn't appear right away, it's still obvious from the very start that this is a very, very Crawford movie. The film just instantaneously gives off that omen. The gist of the story is this: Crawford is a glamorous socialite who dominates her Southern family and takes great pride in doing so. Yes, we've seen Crawford play this type of role before(HARRIETT CRAIG), but I personally never tire of seeing Crawford getting the upper hand. Though they didn't get along too well in real life, Joan Crawford and Bette Davis had much in common when it came to choice of movie scripts. They both specialized in playing catty, indomitable females, and they both clearly relished doing so. Crawford is at her best in this one. Sure, the script isn't the greatest she's been given, and frankly it's pretty sleazy stuff, but Crawford does wonders with it and manages to turn in her finest performance. She clearly works at the part and isn't simply clawing and nailing at everyone around her. Even though her character is an absolute horror of a human being, Crawford does her best to make her a sympathetic one, and she just about pulls it off! Some people will discard this one as pure camp, but this is a movie that serious Joan Crawford fans like myself will treasure, and no doubt watch over and over again. Terrific!!!!!