Alternative Film Guide

Unfairly misremembered as a maternal ogress with a wire-hanger fixation, Joan Crawford (1904-1977) was actually one of the best actresses of her era, which stretched from the mid-1920s to her final film appearance in 1970.

Whether slapping or getting slapped, tearing her hair out in despair or quietly suffering in mink, Crawford was a silver-screen magnet. Even when her vehicles were poor — and there were many of those — Crawford, in her unique movie-starish way, brought honesty and verve to her roles. She was, in fact, a thespian paradox: a natural talent that manifested itself through a fully artificial personality.

Some of Crawford’s best mid-career work can be found in Warner Home Video’s The Joan Crawford Collection, which includes the following films: The Women (1939), Mildred Pierce (1945), the new-to-DVD Humoresque (1946) and Possessed (1947), and the never-released on home video The Damned Don’t Cry (1950), which comes with commentary by director Vincent Sherman.

Scheduled Region 1 DVD (Canada / U.S. / U.S. territories) release date: June 14, 2005

• Number of discs: 5
• Picture: Full frame, 1.33:1
• Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Closed captioned
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Color: Black and White

The Women (1939), directed by George Cukor, with Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard, Joan Fontaine, Mary Boland, Lucile Watson. This hilarious, all-female romp is one of the best comedies ever made. Joan Crawford is excellent as the catty, husband-stealing shopgirl, even though her role is subordinate to Shearer’s.

• Romance of Celluloid Documentaries "From the Ends of the Earth" and "Hollywood: Style Center of the World"
• Alternate Black and White Fashion Show
• Scoring Session Music Cues
• Theatrical Trailer

Mildred Pierce (1945), directed by Michael Curtiz, with Ann Blyth, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden. One of the great classic melodramas, Mildred Pierce brought Joan Crawford a best actress Oscar for her role as the suffering mother of conniving, Glendale-hating little bitch Ann Blyth. The film, Blyth, and Arden also received Oscar nominations.

• Feature-length documentary: Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star
• Crawford Trailer Gallery

Humoresque (1946), directed by Jean Negulesco, with John Garfield, Oscar Levant. No one has ever suffered with as much fashion-conscious flair as Joan Crawford in this melodrama of love and classical music. The film overdoes some of the clichés of the genre, but Crawford is outstanding as the bossy patroness of obnoxious John Garfield.

• New Featurette "The Music of Humoresque"
• Theatrical Trailer

Possessed (1947), directed by Curtis Bernhardt, with Van Heflin, Raymond Massey, Geraldine Brooks. Crawford goes nuts — literally — in this one. Hers is a superb (Oscar-nominated) I’m-losing-it performance in a visually stunning, though not fully satisfying melo. Geraldine Brooks is the young woman who gets to feel Crawford’s slapping prowess.

• Commentary by Film Historian Drew Casper
• New Featurette "Possessed: The Quintessential Film Noir"
• Theatrical Trailer

The Damned Don’t Cry (1950), directed by Vincent Sherman, with David Brian, Steve Cochran. This above average film noir-ish melodrama has Joan Crawford stuck between two men. Steve Cochran was a better (and better-looking) Clark Gable, but never quite made it.

• Commentary by the film’s Director Vincent Sherman
• New Featurette "The Crawford Formula: Real and Reel"
• Theatrical Trailer

List price: US$49.92.

Titles are available individually for US$19.97.

A Warner Home Video release.

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