US 111m Dir: Michael Curtiz Key Cast: Joan Crawford
Based on: Mildred Pierce by James M. Cain (Novel)
Mildred Pierce transcends several genres that were popular at the time. It's got elements of film noir (it's largely told in flashback, there's a murder at the centre) but also elements of the 'weepie'.
Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford) is interviewed by police after the murder of her second husband Monte Beragon (Zachary Scott). She recounts the story of divorcing her first husband Bert (Bruce Bennett) and ending up penniless before becoming a waitress and then starting up her own restaurant. She is desperate to please her troublesome daughter Veda (Ann Blyth) and marries Monte in the hope of being able to provide the upper-class life Veda is so desperate for.
Mildred is a great character played fantastically by Crawford in her first lead role. This is a woman who is independent and will do anything to get what she wants. The amount of stuff this woman has to deal with and still she keeps going and thriving.
The male characters here are fascinating as one way or another they are exploitative of Mildred. Her first husband cheats on her, her second husband only agrees to marry her for the money and her 'friend' Wally (Jack Carson) continually propositions her in a way that feels hugely problematic today.
It's daughter Veda who is the most awful character though, becoming a proper villain who seems to go out of her way to destroy Mildred's life. Poor Mildred literally spends the whole film trying to earn money for Veda and generally keep her happy but Veda turns out to be utterly awful. A great antagonist even if it often feels like she has no reason to be the way she is.
I really enjoyed this, a film which has a great female lead played brilliantly by Crawford whose story isn't simply about the men she is with.
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