Flamingo Road [Blu-ray]

Flamingo Road Crawford Glamor Shot as Lane

A screen legend in every sense of the word, Miss Crawford was born Lucille LeSueur in San Antonio, Texas on March 23, 1904. As a teenager, she left home to be in show business, arriving in New York where she found work as a dancer, and was soon spotted by an MGM producer. In 1925, MGM put her under contract and changed her name to Joan Crawford. After modest roles, Joan starred in OUR DANCING DAUGHTERS (1928) and cemented her screen stardom. Soon, she was one of Metro’s most popular leading ladies, easily transitioning to talkies and starring in such hits as GRAND HOTEL and THE WOMEN. In 1943, she left MGM for Warner Bros. where she was cast as MILDRED PIERCE (1945) and won the Best Actress Oscar. A string of hits at WB followed, until she left the studio in 1952 to go independent. In 1956, Crawford left the screen to wed Pepsi-Cola executive Alfred Steele. After his death in 1959, she took on an active role at Pepsi, while taking on occasional screen work.

Flamingo Road - Joan Crawford and Zachary Scott

Born on February 21, 1914, in Austin Texas, Zachary Scott planned to follow in his father's footsteps practicing medicine, but instead dropped out of College and pursued a career on the stage. He made his Broadway debut in a revival of "Ah, Wilderness" in 1941. Several productions followed, one of which found Jack L. Warner in the audience. Warner signed Scott to a studio contract, and his performance in "The Mask of Dimitrios" (1944) was a fortuitous first stop in his screen career. Other roles to follow at Warner included playing the lothario Monte Beragon opposite Joan Crawford in "Mildred Pierce" (1945) which only propelled his good fortune on the big screen through the rest of the decade. Scott made occasional films in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and he even returned to the Broadway stage in 1959, and again in 1963. Soon thereafter, Scott was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, and he moved back to Austin, to be with his mother. He died on October 3, 1965 at the age of 51

Michael Curtiz directing Flamingo Road

Born on Dec. 24, 1888 in Budapest, Hungary, Michael Curtiz first began his career working in theater, and soon found work in the local film industry. He later moved to Vienna where he directed several releases for Sascha Films in the 1920s. He soon came to the attention of Jack Warner, who signed him to come to Warner Bros. after viewing a Curtiz film while in Europe. Within a few years he directed his first major hit: “Noah’s Ark” (1928). Curtiz' career flourished at WB with his directorial credits including "Captain Blood" (1935) "The Adventures of Robin Hood"1938), "Angels With Dirty Faces" (1938), "Dodge City" (1939), "The Sea Wolf" (1941),"Yankee Doodle Dandy" (1942), "Mildred Pierce" (1945), and "Flamingo Road" (1949). Curtiz left WB in 1952 to freelance at other studios, returning only once to make “The Helen Morgan Story” (1957).

Flamingo Road - A triangle of Stars _ Joan Crawford with David Brian and Zachary Scott

Flamingo Road - Joan Crawford and David Brian

Flamingo Road - Joan Crawford dancing as Lane Bellamy.

Flamingo Road - Publicity shot of Joan Crawford and director Michael Curtiz.

Flamingo Road - Sydney Greenstreet as Titus Semple

Flamingo Road Belgian film poster