You know, I probably like Joan Crawford more than your average straight dude born in 1975. Thanks to Faye Dunaway's performance in
Mommy Dearest, the Joan Crawford of legend has superseded the Joan Crawford who shows up in her movies. But watching those movies, you can see why folks decided maybe Joan was a little on the intense side. And, her personal reputation as one tough lady did nothing to soften that edge (look up her rise within PepsiCo some day. Absolutely bad-ass.).
To get real, Joan Crawford was a great beauty in the 20's and 30's when she hit Hollywood, and as she aged, maybe some of that slipped on her. She remained attractive, but there's only so attractive someone can be when anger seems to their default setting, and you can see it set in somewhere in their resting face. Here's where this boomerangs back - because Joan Crawford said "screw you, I'm still playing the sexy dame in middle-age", and did not just disappear into motherly, unsexed roles - and it kind of flips back on itself that the iron will in there somewhere is attractive all on its own.
Probably the first Joan Crawford movie I saw was
Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?, which is a crazy movie to start to get to know Crawford. I love that movie, and she's great in it, but
Mildred Pierce, which I saw next, is still my favorite Crawford movie. She's so damn good in it, and it's such a weirdly excellent movie for a movie about a lady making pies.
It turns out
Possessed (1947) is sort of Yin to the Yang that is
Mildred Pierce. And I have new second favorite Joan Crawford movie (move over,
Johnny Guitar). It's not a mother and daughter coming up together in a tough world with lay-abouts for men and fried chicken joints as cash cows. It's a woman on her own, trying to find love, witha complicated relationship with her step daughter. Oh, and she has schizophrenia.