Mommie Dearest (1981)

Director:

Frank Perry

Writers:

Christina Crawford (book)
Robert Getchell
(more)

Release Date:

18 September 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

To my darling Christina, with love...Mommie Dearest

Plot:

Mommie Dearest, best selling memoir, turned motion picture, depicts the abusive and traumatic adoptive upbringing of Christina Crawford at the hands of her mother...screen queen Joan Crawford.

Plot Keywords:

Adopted Daughter | Lawyer | Perfection | Mansion | Film Industry

Awards:

8 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Faye Dunaway	...	Joan Crawford
Diana Scarwid	...	Christina Crawford (adult)
Steve Forrest	...	Greg Savitt
Howard Da Silva	...	Louis B. Mayer
Mara Hobel	...	Christina Crawford (child)
Rutanya Alda	...	Carol Ann
Harry Goz	...	Alfred Steele
Michael Edwards	...	Ted Gelber
Jocelyn Brando	...	Barbara Bennett
Priscilla Pointer	...	Mrs. Chadwick
Joe Abdullah	...	Captain
Gary Allen	...	Jimmy
Selma Archerd	...	Connie
Adrian Aron	...	Wedding Guest
Xander Berkeley	...	Christopher Crawford (adult)
Matthew Campion	...	Actor in Soap
Carolyn Coates	...	Mother Superior
Jerry Douglas	...	Radio Interviewer
Margaret Fairchild	...	Mother Superior
Phillip R. Allen	...	Pepsi Executive #1
James Kirkwood Jr.	...	Master of Ceremonies
Michael Hawkins	...	Pepsi Executive #2 (as Michael Gainsborough)
Matthew Faison	...	Pepsi Executive #3
Peter Jason	...	Pepsi Executive #4
Ellen Feldman	...	Ginny
Robert Harper	...	David
Cathy Lind Hayes	...	Nurse
Victoria James	...	Photographer
Dawn Jeffory	...	Vera
Virginia Kiser	...	Beth Simpson
S. John Launer	...	Pepsi Chairman
Russ Marin	...	Funeral Director
Nicholas Mele	...	Assistant Director #2
Belita Moreno	...	Belinda Rosenberg
Warren Munson	...	Lawyer
Alice Nunn	...	Helga
Norman Palmer	...	Male Guest
David Price	...	Tony
Jeremy Scott Reinbolt	...	Christopher Crawford (child)
Michael Talbott	...	Driver
Arthur Taxier	...	Decorator
Joe Warren	...	Mr. Dodd (as Joseph Warren)
Erica Wexler	...	Susan
Dick McGarvin	...	Tour Bus Driver
Brent Dunsford	...	Fan
Joseph Dypwick	...	Fan
Wendy Pitzer	...	Fan
David Sanderson	...	Fan
Ian Bruce	...	Assistant Director
Peter Eastman	...	Doctor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Josh Gans	...	Boy on carousel (uncredited)

Directed by
Frank Perry

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Christina Crawford		book
Robert Getchell
Tracy Hotchner
Frank Perry
Frank Yablans

Produced by
David Koontz	....	executive producer
Neil A. Machlis	....	associate producer
Terence O'Neill	....	executive producer
Frank Yablans	....	producer

Original Music by
Henry Mancini

Cinematography by
Paul Lohmann

Film Editing by
Peter E. Berger

Casting by
Nancy Klopper
Lynn Stalmaster

Production Design by
Bill Malley

Art Direction by
Harold Michelson

Set Decoration by
Richard C. Goddard

Costume Design by
Irene Sharaff

Makeup Department
Kathryn Blondell	....	hair stylist: Ms. Dunaway
Claude Díaz	....	wig maker: Faye Dunaway
Lee Harman	....	makeup artist: Ms. Dunaway
Charles H. Schram	....	makeup artist
Vivienne Walker	....	hair stylist
Sylvia Nava	....	hair technician (uncredited)

Production Management
Neil A. Machlis	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alan B. Curtiss	....	second assistant director
Michael Daves	....	first assistant director
Robert J. Doherty	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Matty Azzarone	....	assistant property master
Kent H. Johnson	....	property master
Eugene S. Kelley	....	construction coordinator
Peter Van Zyl	....	greensman

Sound Department
Clint Althouse	....	boom operator
David E. Campbell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Denis Dutton	....	sound effects editor
Cecelia Hall	....	sound effects editor
Sean Hanley	....	dialogue loop editor
David J. Hudson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Larry Jost	....	sound mixer
John T. Reitz	....	sound re-recording mixer
George Watters II	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Joseph P. Mercurio	....	special effects
Ken Speed	....	special effects assistant

Stunts
Sherry Peterson	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Doug J. Campbell	....	dolly grip (as Douglas J. Campbell)
R.B. Garig	....	dolly grip
J. Michael Marlett	....	gaffer
John C. Moulds	....	second assistant camera
Leo J. Napolitano	....	first assistant camera
Ralph Nelson	....	still photographer (as Ralph Nelson Jr.)
Guy Polzel	....	key grip
Timothy E. Wade	....	camera operator

Casting Department
Deborah Brown	....	casting: New York

Costume and Wardrobe Department
James P. Cullen	....	costumer
Bernadene C. Mann	....	costumer: Ms. Dunaway
Eric Seelig	....	costume supervisor: men
Andrea E. Weaver	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Greig McRitchie	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
June Edgerton	....	music editor
James Thatcher	....	musician: french horn

Transportation Department
Joel Marrow	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Mauri Syd Gayton	....	production coordinator
Ileen Maisel	....	assistant: Mr. Yablans
Marshall Schlom	....	script supervisor
Jonathan A. Zimbert	....	technical advisor

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1981) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1983) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• CIC Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• La-La Land Records  soundtrack (limited edition)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

129 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:AA (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | UK:15 (video rating) (1987) | UK:AA (original rating) | Sweden:15 | USA:R (original rating) | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | USA:PG (re-rating after appeal) | West Germany:12 | Australia:M | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

355 S. Mapleton Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

In an interview in the Hollywood Royalty DVD, Rutanya Alda says she once looked in Christina Crawford's real closet, and she did have wire hangers.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Mayer fires Crawford, she is standing in front of a large portrait featuring a group of MGM stars. This scene is supposed to be taking place circa 1943. The portrait clearly features Esther Williams standing at the end of the front row in her Roman costume for JUPITER'S DARLING, which was filmed in 1955, 12 years after Joan left Metro.

Quotes:

Joan Crawford:Why must EVERYTHING be a CONTEST?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Glass House: The Good Mother (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Im Sitting On Top Of The World

Oh, God.

This one actually goes half and half with me so its good and bad (or should I say it's so bad that it's good). I am a living witness (Hallelujah!) that whenever you are feeling down or depressed, watch "Mommie Dearest". But, word to the wise, don't watch it expecting good acting and wonderful relevance to the book, because you surely will not get it. The thing that makes the movie float above the rest of camp classics is the fact that it is based on an informative book by Joan's daughter, Christina. Therefore, it is to be dramatic and realistic like say "Guyana Tragedy" or "The Josephine Baker Story". But this movie is so unrealistic, it is funny. "And if you really want to roll over on the floor and have the mortician come to your house because you died laughing, I would recommend that you watch the whole thing on DVD and with French language (especially the wire hanger sequence). Hell, it doesn't matter if you don't speak the language, Mommie Dearest is like the opera, the emotions and movement will tell all you need to know, without understanding of the language. If I were giving an Oscar to Mommie Dearest, It would be for the beautiful silver dress Faye Dunaway has on... to take Christina's rancid, awful meat to the freezer, just so she can make the little snot eat it the next day. But as for the acting, no way! Faye goes over the top in her hammy performance as Joan, the poster-child for goggle eyed takes, shoulder pads, ankle-strapped shoes, and hypochondriac cleanliness. Diana Scarwid is so bland and uninteresting as Christina. and the rest of the cast... well, they are OK considering the parts they were given. But the only factors that could have made or broke Mommie Dearest were the two main characters therein, Joan and Christina Crawford. Scarwid broke the movie by vice of her apathy to the role she played (I would have thought in all accounts that if a child was abused, they would come out of it with a newfound understanding of their own inner strength and fight like hell to survive, which is what the real Christina did, according to the book. But, Scarwid is so unmotivated. She reminds me of my junior year Biology teacher, inane and in it for the paycheck. I think this performance is what caused Scarwid's Tinseltown demise. On the other hand, Dunaway hams it up and made the picture pass that thin line between drama and camp. Watch the movie. You will not think it Oscar Material but you will not be bored either.