Review of Harriet Craig (1950) by Richard O — 07 Jan 2009
Crawford's character is so monstrous that it's hard to watch sometimes. Kind of like in Queen Bee but this movie isn't quite as good as that. It's campy but there's something sort of offensive about it so you can't really enjoy it.
You almost feel like the filmmakers are being unfair to her character. It seems like it should have been handled as a tragedy but it comes across more as a tract against women who fail to toe the line as expected by American men in the 1950s, come hell or high water.
I don't see why they even bothered to give her a backstory. Maybe they meant well but floundered in the execution. The movie seems mean. I mean, she's so terrible you want to see her get her comeuppance in the end and the comeuppance isn't even so bad but there was just this sour note in there.
She's cold and she's conniving but there is no credible alternative on offer. Only sexism, classism, and moralizing.
This review of Harriet Craig (1950) was written by Richard O on 07 Jan 2009.
Harriet Craig has generally received very positive reviews.
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