| Mildred Pierce | |
|---|---|
 Original theatrical poster |
|
| Directed by | Michael Curtiz |
| Produced by | Executive Producer: Jack L. Warner Producer: Jerry Wald |
| Written by | Novel: James M. Cain Screenplay: Ranald MacDougall William Faulkner Catherine Turney |
| Starring | Joan Crawford Ann Blyth Jack Carson Zachary Scott Eve Arden |
| Music by | Max Steiner |
| Cinematography | Ernest Haller |
| Editing by | David Weisbart |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | September 24, 1945 |
| Running time | 111 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Mildred Pierce (1945) is a Warner Bros. feature film starring Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, and Eve Arden in a noir-ish tale about a long-suffering mother and her ungrateful daughter. The screenplay by Ranald MacDougall, William Faulkner, and Catherine Turney was based upon the 1941 novel Mildred Pierce by James M. Cain. The film was directed by Michael Curtiz and produced by Jerry Wald with Jack L. Warner as executive producer. Mildred Pierce was Crawford's first starring film for Warner Bros. after leaving MGM and won her the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Contents |
Plot
While the novel is told by a third-person narrator in strict chronological order, the film uses voice-over narration (the voice of Mildred). The story is framed by the questioning of Mildred by police after they discover the body of her second husband, Monte Beragon.
The film in noir fashion opens with Beragon (Scott) being shot. He murmurs the name "Mildred" as he collapses and dies. The police are led to believe that the murderer is restaurant owner Mildred Pierce (Crawford), who under interrogation confesses to the crime. She then relates her life story in flashback.
We see housewife Mildred unhappily married to a newly unemployed Bert Pierce (Bruce Bennett). He was originally a real estate partner of Wally Fay (Carson), who propositions Mildred after learning that she and Bert are about to divorce. Mildred keeps custody of her two daughters: Veda (Blyth) and Kay (Jo Anne Marlowe).
Mildred's principal goal is to provide for eldest daughter Veda, who longs for possessions the family cannot afford. Mildred needs a job and the best she can find is as a waitress — a fact she hides from Veda. One day, Veda gives their maid Lottie (Butterfly McQueen) Mildred's waitress uniform, thinking nothing of it, until Mildred admits that she is a waitress, infuriating Veda, who thinks it a lowly employ.
Mildred's younger daughter Kay contracts pneumonia and dies; to bury her grief, Mildred throws herself into opening her own restaurant on the coast (next to what appears to be the Santa Monica beach). With the help of her new friend and former supervisor, Ida (Arden), Mildred's new restaurant is a success. Wally helps her buy the property, and then it expands into a chain of "Mildred's" throughout Southern California.
Mildred continues to smother Veda in affection and worldly goods, but Veda is nonetheless appalled by Mildred's common background and choice of profession. Mildred goes as far as entering into a loveless marriage with the formerly wealthy Monty Beragon in order to improve her social standing and impress her daughter. Beragon lives the life of a playboy but needs to sponge off her, much to Mildred's dismay and potential ruin. Mildred ends up losing business thanks to Monte's manipulation and Veda's greed.
When Veda takes up with the scheming Monty, a showdown ensues at the beach house where the film began. We discover what really happened: that Veda, furious over Monte's unwillingness to take her seriously, is the one who shoots him. Mildred can cover for her daughter no more, and Veda is led off to jail.
Cast
- Joan Crawford as Mildred Pierce Beragon
- Jack Carson as Wally Fay
- Zachary Scott as Monte Beragon
- Eve Arden as Ida Corwin
- Ann Blyth as Veda Pierce Forrester
- Bruce Bennett as Albert ('Bert') Pierce
- Lee Patrick as Mrs. Maggie Biederhof
- Moroni Olsen as Inspector Peterson
- Veda Ann Borg as Miriam Ellis
- Jo Ann Marlowe as Kay Pierce
Critical reception
The staff at Variety liked the film, especially the screenplay, and wrote, "At first reading James M. Cain's novel of the same title might not suggest screenable material, but the cleanup job has resulted in a class feature, showmanly produced by Jerry Wald and tellingly directed by Michael Curtiz...The dramatics are heavy but so skillfully handled that they never cloy. Joan Crawford reaches a peak of her acting career in this pic. Ann Blyth, as the daughter, scores dramatically in her first genuine acting assignment. Zachary Scott makes the most of his character as the Pasadena heel, a talented performance."[1]
Critic Jeremiah Kipp gave the film a mixed review: "Mildred Pierce is melodramatic trash, constructed like a reliable Aristotelian warhorse where characters have planted the seeds of their own doom in the first act, only to have grief-stricken revelations at the climax. Directed by studio favorite Michael Curtiz in German Expressionistic mode, which doesn't quite go with the California beaches and sunlight but sets the bleak tone of domestic film noir, and scored by Max Steiner with a sensational bombast that's rousing even when it doesn't match the quieter, pensive mood of individual scenes, Mildred Pierce is professionally executed and moves at a brisk clip."[2]
Comparison to novel
The adaptation was designed as a thriller and a murder was introduced into the plot.[3] The novel Mildred Pierce spans a period of nine years (from 1931 to 1940), whereas the action of the film is set in the 1940s and spans only four years. Accordingly, in the film, the characters do not really grow older: Mildred does not change her appearance, she does not put on weight and become matronly; Veda ages only four years, from around 13 to around 17. Generally speaking, Mildred is more of a tycoon in the film; her restaurants are glamorous places, and she owns a whole chain ("Mildred's") rather than just three. All references to the Depression and the Prohibition era were removed.
The plot is simplified and the number of characters reduced. For example, Veda's training and success as a singer (including her performance at the Hollywood Bowl) were dropped in the film and her music teachers merely mentioned in passing. Lucy Gessler, a key character in the novel and Mildred's good friend, is not present in the film, while Mildred's numerous domestic servants are reduced to a single young housemaid.
DVD release
Mildred Pierce is available on Region 2 DVD in a single disc edition which includes an 86-minute documentary into the career and personal life of Joan Crawford with contributions from fellow actors and directors including, Diane Baker, Betsy Palmer, Anna Lee, Anita Page, Cliff Robertson, Virginia Grey, Dickie Moore, Norma Shearer, Ben Cooper, Margaret O'Brien, Judy Geeson and Vincent Sherman, Mildred Pierce is also included in a Region 2 release a signature collection of Joan Crawford's films together with the films, Possessed, Grand Hotel, The Damned Don't Cry! and Humoresque.
The Region 1 edition is flipper single disc with "Joan Crawford; The Ultimate Movie Star" documentary and a series of trailer galleries on the reverse of the film.
Awards
| Classic-era film noirs in the National Film Registry | |
|---|---|
| 1940-49 |
The Maltese Falcon | Shadow of a Doubt | Laura | Double Indemnity | Mildred Pierce | Detour |
Wins
- National Board of Review: Best Actress, Joan Crawford; 1945.
- Academy Award: Best Actress in a Leading Role, Joan Crawford; 1946.
Nominations
- Academy Awards: 1946
- Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Eve Arden
- Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Ann Blyth
- Best Black-and-White Cinematography, Ernest Haller
- Best Picture, Jerry Wald
- Best Screenplay Writing, Ranald MacDougall
Honors
- In 1996 the drama was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected for preservation in the United States Library of Congress National Film Registry.
See also
References
- ^ Variety. Film review, 1945. Last accessed: February 7, 2008.
- ^ Kipp, Jeremiah. Slant, magazine, film review, 2005. Last accessed: February 8, 2008.
- ^ Mildred Pierce at Allmovie.
External links
- Mildred Pierce at the TCM Movie Database
- Mildred Pierce at the Internet Movie Database
- Mildred Pierce at Allmovie
- Mildred Pierce at Filmsite.org by Tim Dirks
- Mildred Pierce at Film Noir of the Week (includes film trailer)
- Mildred Pierce at DVD Beaver (includes images)
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