Review of Mildred Pierce (1945) by James G — 23 Dec 2007
"My mother...a waitress!" Superior melodramatic fare with one of Joan Crawford's best performances. Bette Davis turned the role down, so you can only imagine how pissed off she was when Joanie walked off with Best Actress at that year's Oscars.
Ann Blyth - a mezzo-soprano singing star for MGM in her 20s - is superb as the bitch-daughter from hell, and it's refreshing to see Jack Carson, the beefy comedy sidekick in a couple of Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers movies, in a 'straight' role.
The real star of the film is Max Steiner, once again contributing a rich, melodramatic orchestral score, up there with other successes such as Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, Now Voyager and Gone With The Wind.
Camp soap opera writ large.
This review of Mildred Pierce (1945) was written by James G on 23 Dec 2007.
Mildred Pierce has generally received very positive reviews.
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