Happy 106th birthday to the sensational Joan Crawford. (March 23, 1906 - May 10, 1977) NOTE: Although birth years of 1904, 1905, and 1908 have all been mentioned for Miss Crawford, I am going with the birth year of 1906 based on information obtained from The Legendary Joan Crawford website (HERE).
Born Lucille Fay LeSueur, Miss Crawford began her career as a dancer and, among other "gigs," was part of a chorus line. After getting her start in silent films, she successfully made the transition to "talkies" and was one of the biggest female stars of the early-to-mid 1930's.
The Academy Award-winning Joan (who, by the way, just upset top seed Barbara Stanwyck in the All Good Things Classic Movie Actress Tournament) is one of those stars for whom I have only recently developed an appreciation. Though I had seen two or three of her films a couple years ago, it's only been in the last eight months that I have really come to love her. So in the past eight months, she's gone from not even being on my radar to being in my top 15. Definitely...a gal on the move!! Since I lean to dramatic films over comedic ones---and since Joan excelled at high drama---it is natural that I would enjoy her works.
Of the dozen or so Joan Crawford films I've seen, my all-time favorite is Mildred Pierce...the film for which she received her Best Actress Academy Award.
Rounding out my list of five favorite Joan Crawford films are:
2. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (with Bette Davis)
3. Possessed (with Van Heflin and Raymond Massey---reviewed HERE)
4. Humoresque (with John Garfield---reviewed HERE)
5. Female on the Beach (with Jeff Chandler---reviewed HERE)
Since Miss Crawford has only recently come onto my "favorites list," there are many of her films I haven't seen yet; therefore, this list of favorites will probably change as I see more of her works. I am especially intrigued to see her eight collaborations with Clark Gable and her seven with one-time husband, Franchot Tone.
So, Miss Joan Crawford, here's to you on your 106th birthday! You were a terrific actress, and I'm really enjoying the opportunity of seeing all your wonderful films.
Hmmm, I don't think I've seen or even heard of Female on the Beach, I'll have to keep my eyes open for that one. I adooooore Joan, I think she was fabulous. You've got to see "The Women" Patti, she's so good at being bad in it! She and Norma Shearer had a big rivalry, she wanted a lot of the roles that were given to Norma and she accused Norma of marrying Irving Thaling just to get ahead in her career. Juicy stuff!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, THE WOMEN is one film I haven't seen yet. All the classic movie blogs I read rave about it, so I know it's a must-see.
DeleteOh, BTW she and Norma Shearer were in "The Women" together and in the book I'm reading it said it may have been planned because it brought out Joan's actual dislike for Norma.
ReplyDeleteYou are discovering so many interesting things from your reading!!
Delete"Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" is one of my favorite movies even though it scared me when I first saw it. I'm going to see if we can get some of Jane's movies on Netflix.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend.
Best,
Bonnie
I am quite the "fraidy cat," so I avoid scary movies. For whatever reason, BABY JANE didn't frighten me; however, the first time I saw it was about 4 years ago. I was a full-fledged adult then! If I had seen it as a kid, it might have scared me, because all my irrational fears began as a result of a Vincent Price movie my parents took me to when I was about 8.
DeleteThat's a lot of candles to blow out Joan!!!
ReplyDeleteBaby Jane is scary...I was never a fan of Jeff Chandler either! thanx for another informative post Patti :D BEAR HUGS xxx ~victoria~
You will laugh at this, but BABY JANE is a 5-star movie to me. I LOVE it!! One of my faves of both Bette and Joan. The acting is completely off the charts high drama. I DO have to look away at the "bird on the plate" scene, but for the most part, I don't find it scary...which is weird, because I generally frighten pretty easily.
DeleteI never saw a single Jeff Chandler film until FEMALE ON THE BEACH. Not a fave by any means, but he is rather virile and very manly in that film.
I have not seen hardly any of her films, either. I've always thought she was beautiful and had such an amazing presence ~ you can't help but notice her.
ReplyDeleteOh,and wasn't Casablanca WONDERFUL on the big screen? I so enjoyed it. :)
ReplyDeleteI think many people automatically think MOMMIE DEAREST when they think of Joan Crawford. So they picture a cold, harsh, mean woman. But, I agree with you, she really was quite beautiful.
DeleteAnd, yes, "Casablanca" was wonderful. That film was MEANT for the big screen!!
Patti, if you ever get the chance to see the classic film, "The Women". I think that you will enjoy it very much. "Mildred Pierce", is also a favorite of mine..
ReplyDeleteI just checked my library's catalog, and "The Women" is in the system, so I put a hold on it. (I could use Net Flix, but if my library has something, I prefer to get it there and keep my NF discs available for films I can't get at the library.)
DeleteHave you seen Torch Song? Not a great film but I love it. :)
ReplyDeleteRuth, I tried "Torch Song" about a year ago. I couldn't get into it and gave up after about 20 minutes...however, that was before I had really developed an appreciation for Miss Crawford, so now that I like her as much as I do, I think it's time to try that film again.
Deletehm.. don't know why I missed this post.. that's unforgivable.. Sorry.. I do so agree about your favourite films of her! Well.. besides FEMALE ON THE BEACH - which happens to be still on my to-watch-list.. Very, very glad that you like Joan Crawford too, Patti!
ReplyDelete