“CAIN, CURTIZ, AND CRAWFORD”

By Raymond Benson

Mildred Pierce is one curious piece of cinema. As film critics Molly Haskell and Robert Polito point out in their fascinating conversation that is a supplement on this beautifully-presented Blu-ray release from The Criterion Collection, Pierce is a movie that almost doesn’t know what it wants to be. In many ways it is a woman’s picture, that is, a melodrama, but it’s disguised inside a manufactured film noir.

This reasoning is sound, for in spite of novelist James M. Cain being known for terrific pulp crime fiction (Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice), his 1941 novel Mildred Pierce is not a crime story, unless you want to say that a young woman having an affair with her stepfather is “criminal.” The book is indeed hardboiled and pulpy, but there is no murder in it.

On the other hand, Michael Curtiz’s film version of Mildred Pierce actually begins with a sensational murder—that of the stepfather—and the rest of the picture is something of a journey to reveal who the killer is. This retooling of the story must have been ordered by the studio to capitalize on the success of Billy Wilder’s 1944 film adaptation of Double Indemnity, and these types of crime pictures—what would later, in the 50s, be termed film noir—were starting to pour out of Hollywood. The noir trappings are all there—an Eastern European director, highly contrasting black and white photography, a look steeped in German expressionism, cynicism and angst, unstable alliances, and even a femme fatale—this time in the form of the daughter character.

Mildred (Joan Crawford) is a divorcee with two children. She still sees her ex-husband, but also his best friend, Wally (Jack Carson), who hits on her every chance he gets. Mildred struggles to make ends meet but eventually finds some success running a small chain of bakeries (“Mildred’s”). Her bratty oldest daughter, Veda (Ann Blyth), however, constantly complains about their social position in the class structure, and is determined to tear her mother down. Mildred soon marries somewhat-wealthy Monty (Zachary Scott), who is the man killed at the beginning of the picture. The story is told as a flashback, as many films noir are.

It all works, I suppose, although the more recent HBO adaptation of the novel starring Kate Winslet is a much more faithful rendition of the story. Still, the motion picture has top notch entertainment value, and it also contains several powerhouse performances. Crawford deservedly won the Best Actress Oscar for playing Mildred, and newcomer Blyth earned a Supporting Actress nomination as the truly evil Veda. Eve Arden, as Mildred’s spunky friend Ida, also scored a supporting nomination. Butterfly McQueen deserves mention as the family’s maid—her presence always lights up the screen. The men in the movie are fine but nothing special—this is definitely a film dominated by the women. Ranald MacDougall was nominated for his screenplay, and the picture itself was nominated for the top award. Curtiz, who won his Oscar for directing Casablanca, was left out this time around; but there is no question that his work is always exemplary. He was a consummate studio helmsman who could make any kind of picture.

As with most Criterion releases, the visual and sound quality are near-perfection. The new 4K digital restoration looks sharp, and the uncompressed monaural soundtrack is full-front. Supplements include the aforementioned new interview between Haskell and Polito; an excerpt from a 1970 episode of The David Frost Show with guest Joan Crawford; TCM’s 2002 feature-length documentary, Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star (which also appeared on the original DVD release); an entertaining Q&A with Ann Blyth at a 2002 screening of the film, conducted by film noir historian Eddie Muller; a worth-the-price-of-admission interview with author James M. Cain from a 1969 segment of The Today Show; and the theatrical trailer. The booklet contains an essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith.

There is much to recommend in this new Criterion Blu-ray release—a must-have for fans of Cain, Curtiz, and Crawford, although not necessarily in that order!

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON