Mildred Pierce (1945)

Directed by Michael Curtiz. Starring Joan Crawford, Zachary Scott, Jack Carson, Ann Blyth, Eve Arden, Bruce Bennett, Lee Patrick, Butterfly McQueen, John Compton, Veda Ann Borg.

Crawford left MGM for Warner Bros. and finally won the Oscar she so desperately wanted (the only one of her career). She plays the title role, a divorced woman working as a waitress-turned-entrepreneur while raising two children, the eldest (Blyth) being an insufferable brat who makes life more than a little difficult for her mother, especially when she sets her sights on the man (Scott) that Mildred marries for the sake of financial security. Story plays out largely in flashback after the opening sequence sees Scott getting gunned down in his beach house—but who pulled the trigger? Based on crime fiction writer James M. Cain’s novel, it’s more a study of character than a whodunit thriller, but the character it focuses primarily on (Mildred) suffers from a case of semi-ironic casting; Crawford’s stressed gal is practically a push-over at times, while the daughter is the bossy she-devil that Crawford usually portrays, and Blyth barely sinks her teeth into the role deep enough to leave bite marks. Supporting cast includes stuffed-shirt Carson even more glaringly miscast as a sleazy businessman, sassy Arden as Mildred’s friend and co-worker, and squeaky McQueen as a maid.

68/100