Mother/Daughter Murder Mystery

A great film noir, the story of Mildred Pierce has everything from romance, intrigue, betrayal, and a family with scores to settle. Based on a novel of the same name by James M. Cain, the drama unfolds over a course of four years and is almost a deadly soap opera in movie form.

The film starts showing Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford ) talking to police about the murder of her husband. It then flashbacks to her life as an unhappy housewife, raising her two daughters Veda (Ann Blyth ) and Kay (Jo Ann Marlowe ) with her unemployed husband Bert (Bruce Bennett ). When Mildred discovers Bert is having an affair with Maggie Biederhof (Lee Patrick ), she divorces him and keeps custody of the two girls. Her eldest daughter, Veda, complains about how they now do not have the financial security her father once provided and Mildred works as a waitress. Veda discovers this and after telling her mother waitressing is beneath her, Mildred opens up a small restaurant. As her restaurant empire grows, real estate agent Wally Fay (Jack Carson ) gives her advice and makes unsuccessful attempts for her affects. Wally introduces her to Monte Baragon (Zachary Scott ) who sells her property help the restaurant chain grow.

Kay, Mildred's sweet daughter, dies of pneumonia, leaving her crushed. Meanwhile, Veda pretends to be having the baby of wealthy Ted Forrester to extort money out of him. Mildred tears up the check and after a fight with Veda, the girl runs off to be a singer in a nightclub. Veda will only return to her mother if Mildred can give her life in the absolute lap of luxury so Mildred marries Monte in exchange for handing over a third of her businesses to him. Monte sells the third of Mildred's business, leaving her bankrupt and it becomes apparent to Mildred that her daughter has seduced her husband. When Mildred confronts Monte and Veda at his beach house, a shot is fired, but who is the killer?

Butterfly McQueen and Eve Arden both appear in the film, adding to the stellar cast. Shirley Temple was one of the actresses considered for the part of Veda Pierce Forrester and the part of Mildred Pierce was offered to Bette Davis, Rosalind Russell and Barbara Stanwyck before given to Joan Crawford. She won the Academy Award for her performance in this film. You can read more about the film itself using this reference guide from filmreference.com, here at filmsite.org, or this article from a website devoted to Joan Crawford.

There are several different reviews of this film, but as with Witness for the Prosecution , I wouldn't read them until after watching the film because they may contain spoilers. There is a great article on the film written by Slate magazine. Other reviews can be read here, thanks to classicmoviefavorites, and here from moviezeal.com. A few other opinions on the film come from The Film Noir Net and the Movie Setal Blogspot. All in all, Mildred Pierce is a great noir film with tons of supsense, thrill, and a whodunnit that will keep you guessing.

The Women vs. The Women

Diane English has undertaken the remake of “The Women”, a new version of the 1938 version of “The Women” directed by George Cukor and based on the play by Clare Boothe Luce. Like the original, the movie has a cast of entirely women with no men, which was unheard of in the 1938 world of film. Both center around a salon where all the gossip takes place. Both movies feature a wealthy social elite who believes she has the perfect life, only to discover that her husband is cheating on her with a girl at perfume counter. Both films feature a woman who gets back at her cheating husband and simultaneously manages to preserve her dignity among a group of catty social elite acquaintances. The difference between the two films?

In 1939, divorce was unheard of. It was done, but not spoken about in polite company and only hinted around at in film. “The Women” in 1939 has much more impact as a feminist movie, showing women who take matters into their own hands and divorce their husbands rather than remaining perfect but cuckolded housewives. So far, the plots seem the same, though the modern version will definitely be more about career women than the original (since women in the 1939 weren’t really “working mothers” in the modern sense of the term). Another score for the 2008 version is Jada Pinkett Smith in a supporting actress role, since it was virtually unheard of to have a supporting actress of color in the early days of film.

Typically, I don’t like remakes of classic movies. They make me cringe, especially when I remember the famous star who was in the original role and watch modern actors fall short when they try to measure up. Also, modern filmmakers often try to “improve” the film or make it there own in a way that completely insults the memory of the original. They call them classics for a reason. Also, it would be nice if Hollywood took more risks on new, original scripts than keep remaking the same ideas and plots over and over again, as if we don’t notice.

For these reasons and more I could expound upon ad nauseum, I am particularly interested to see the modern interpretation of “The Women” and how Meg Ryan, Annette Benning, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, and Jada Pinkett Smith reprise the roles held by Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, Joan Crawford, Phyllis Povah, and Joan Fontaine. In fact, the 1939 film is basically a Who’s Who of the leading ladies of MGM at the time. These ladies have some pretty big heels to fill, especially since the 1939 version was just added to the National Film Registry in 2007 so that it can be preserved for posterity.

Altogether, “The Women” is an interesting premise from any angle: a movie by women for women. Okay, guys can come too.