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:

Perfection | Lawyer | Adopted Daughter | Mansion | Female Sociopath

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
Margie Stone McShirley	....	set designer
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
Dan Goldwasser	....	soundtrack producer (uncredited)

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:

Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | USA:PG (re-rating after appeal) | West Germany:12 | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | UK:15 (video rating) (1987) | UK:AA (original rating) | Sweden:15 | USA:R (original rating) | UK:12A (theatrical re-release) (re-rating) (2013)

Filming Locations:

355 S Mapleton Dr, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The lobby cards issued for the film contain scenes from several sequences that were deleted from the final cut of the film, including: - Joan driving through the MGM lot in her car, apparently just before she visits L.B. Mayer & finds out she's fired. - Joan talking to young Christina on the beach. - Adult Christina talking to Joan while wearing the same dress she wears to the awards ceremony at the film's conclusion.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When the nominees for best actress are heard over the radio, they are not named in alphabetical order, contrary to tradition.

Quotes:

Christopher:As usual, she has the last word.
Christina:Does she?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "One on One: Lost in the Headlights (#4.11)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

I'm Sitting On Top Of The World

Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

There is no doubt that Christina Crawford's scathing 1978 memoirs did much initial harm to her late mother's reputation. The subsequent 1981 film has eclipsed even the bestselling book to become the standard by which the real-life Joan is judged. However, I'm inclined to believe that those who dismiss Joan today as a psychotic harpy and nothing more never even saw the film version of "Mommie Dearest," and only heard secondhand reports of the most infamous scene ("No...wire...hangers!").

Most tellingly, Christina Crawford reportedly hated the film version of her book, and wailed upon seeing it, "They turned it into a Joan Crawford movie!" She's right. With the exception of the two most graphic scenes ("No wire hangers" and the choking scene), Joan's "abuse" of Christina is not all that much different from what passed as "discipline" in those days--just ask your parents or grandparents--and despite Faye Dunaway's full-throttle acting, Joan always somehow comes off in a strangely sympathetic light.

What we see is an insecure woman fighting for survival in an age-obsessed, male-dominated industry. Such scenes as Joan's heartless dismissal from MGM invite sympathy; while her snarling, veritable takeover of Pepsi Co. elicts cheers for her ballsiness and strength. Christina, on the other hand, is invariably depicted as either gratingly whiny or cardboard stiff. It's difficult to empathize with such an annoying character.

"Mommie Dearest"'s grandest artistic achievement is through the impeccable art direction, which truly makes the audience believe they are watching a film unfold in the 1940's and 1950's. Its lasting legacy, however, is Faye Dunaway's career-ending performance, which, depending on your point of view, is either jaw-droppingly awful or unbelievably brilliant.

Dunaway's acting "choices" are nothing if not idiosyncratic: clutching her bosom frantically as she cries, "You...deliberately...embarass me in front of a REPORTER!"; copying the real-life Crawford's facial expressions from the horror flick "Strait-Jacket" in the axe-wielding scene; and, most famously, her odd, cross-eyed pose that she strikes not once, or twice, but three times: holding baby Christina on the staircase, rubbing moisturizer on her elbows after hiding Christina's dolls, and following her wire hanger/cleansing powder attack.

It is Dunaway's nostril-flaring, hair-pulling, bosom-clutching style that really sends this film into the camp stratosphere. On paper, such scenes as Joan swatting Christina on the butt for defying her orders, or Joan insisting that Christina finish her rare steak, would seem bland. In Dunaway's hands, they become something else altogether!

Actually, Christina Crawford should thank Faye Dunaway; if not for her crazed, unforgettable portrayal, "Mommie Dearest" would have been just another trashy Hollywood memoir that eventually would've been forgotten (does anyone really care about B.D. Hyman's book about Bette Davis anymore?). And a film version without Dunaway would've been rightfully panned, forgotten, and relegated to cut-out bins at your local video emporium. Instead, Faye Dunaway has ensured its place in film immortality. It still stands alone among camp classics, but perhaps some re-evaluation of it (and of Joan Crawford herself) is due.