Mildred Pierce (1945)

After her cheating husband leaves her, Mildred Pierce proves she can become independent and successful, but can't win the approval of her spoiled daughter.

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Ranald MacDougall (screenplay), James M. Cain (novel),

Stars:

Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott

Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joan Crawford	...	Mildred Pierce
Jack Carson	...	Wally Fay
Zachary Scott	...	Monte Beragon
Eve Arden	...	Ida Corwin
Ann Blyth	...	Veda Pierce
Bruce Bennett	...	Bert Pierce
Lee Patrick	...	Mrs. Maggie Biederhof
Moroni Olsen	...	Inspector Peterson
Veda Ann Borg	...	Miriam Ellis
Jo Ann Marlowe	...	Kay Pierce

Storyline

Mildred Pierce dotes on her daughters while husband Bert looks to Maggie Binderhof for affection. They separate leaving Mildred to raise the girls on her own. Elder daughter Veda goads her mother about their lack of money and in response Mildred proposes opening a small restaurant. Realtor Wally Fay advises her while making numerous rebuffed passes and introduces her to Monte Baragon whose property becomes the first of a chain of restaurants. Mildred has an affair with Monte. Meanwhile, money-hungry Veda pretends to be pregnant by wealthy Ted Forrester in order to bilk his family of $10,000. Mildred tears up the check, is slapped by Veda, and orders her daughter to leave. After time away, Mildred returns to find Veda singing in a cheap club. Veda will return only if Mildred promises luxury, so Mildred agrees to marry Monte in exchange for a third of her businesses. It soon becomes clear that something is going on between Veda and Monte. Mildred learns of this only after Monte has sold...

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Plot Keywords:

restaurant | promise | girl | money | beach house | 

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Taglines:

A mother's love leads to murder.

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Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 October 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alma em Suplício

Filming Locations:

1100 N. Jackson Street, Glendale, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,453,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shirley Temple was originally considered for the part of Veda Pierce.

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Goofs

Mildred's house on Corvallis Street in Glendale is shown as a one-story Spanish-style bungalow, however the interior has a staircase leading to the bedrooms.

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Quotes

Wally: You know, this is a pretty big night for you.
Policeman #1: Yeah?
Wally: Yeah, lots of excitement. There's a stiff in there!
Policeman #1: Is that so? Oh and I suppose you were running right down to the station to report it?
Wally: [forced laugh]
Policeman #1: Yeah...
[to partner]
Policeman #1: Say, he say's there's a dead guy in the house.
Policeman #2: You never saw a deader.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits are presented with a background ocean scene that "washes" the credits on the screen.

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Connections

Referenced in L.A. Noire (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Please Think of Me"
(uncredited)
Written by Murray Mencher, Russ Morgan and Benny Davis
Played on the jukebox at Mildred's restaurant
Sung briefly by Jack Carson

User Reviews

Melodramatic and proud of it...

The story that unfolds in Mildred Pierce is complicated and dark, and at its darkest, is a chilling portrait of a mother so devoted to her children (well, child, really) that she would go to any and all lengths for them. Although some of the situations and scenes suffer from the passage of time (the modern audience in the cinema, myself included, couldn't help laughing at some of the more ludicrous things said/done), the film as a whole worked, mostly on the strength of the performances.

Joan Crawford won her only Oscar for her role, and it was well-deserved--she held the film together with a confident performance that ranged from charming and sassy, to desperate and almost frightening. The final scenes of the film, especially, captured Mildred at her most pathetic, and Crawford looked utterly despondent in the telephone scene. Ann Blyth is utterly convincing as the spoilt, deeply disturbed Veda, narcissistic and unrelentingly manipulative of her mother. And the best supporting performance had to come from Eve Arden, who played Mildred's friend Ida--Arden saunters across the screen, stealing scenes left and right, before disappearing from view again. She was excellent!

The film is well worth the watch--not brilliant, but definitely very good. I also like the story-telling technique and the direction (the director made quite clever and frequent use of shadows and mirrors), and it's good that the darkness and melodrama was frequently mitigated by the well-written dialogue. 8/10.