Mildred Pierce [4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Blu-ray] [Criterion Collection]

Overview

Joan Crawford won an Academy Award for her bravura portrayal of the titular heroine in Mildred Pierce. The original James M. Cain novel concerned a tawdry waitress who slept her way to financial security so as to provide a rosy future for her beloved daughter, only to be rewarded by having her true love stolen away by that selfsame daughter. Ranald McDougall's screenplay tones down the novel's sexual content, enhancing its cinematic value by adding a sordid murder. The film opens with oily lounge lizard Monte Beragon (Zachary Scott) being pumped full of bullets. Croaking out the name "Mildred," he collapses and dies. Both the police and the audience are led to believe that the murderer is chain-restaurant entrepreneur Mildred Pierce (Crawford), who not only confesses to the crime, but takes the time to relate her life story. As the flashback begins, we see Mildred unhappily married to philandering Bert Pierce (Bruce Bennett). She divorces him, keeping custody of her two beloved daughters, Veda (Ann Blyth) and Kay (Jo Anne Marlowe). To keep oldest daughter Veda in comparative luxury, Mildred takes a series of jobs, culminating with a waitressing position. With the help of her wisecracking coworker Ida (Eve Arden), Mildred turns the restaurant into a genuine moneyspinner. She seduces slimy real estate agent Wally Fay (Jack Carson) in order to afford her own establishment, which grows into a chain of "Mildred Pierce's" throughout Southern California. When youngest daughter Kay dies, Mildred smothers Veda in affection and creature comforts. She goes so far as to enter into a loveless marriage with wealthy Monty Beragon in order to improve her social standing. In return, the caddish Beragon enters into several shady business deals which bankrupt Mildred. He caps this misbehavior by carrying on an affair with stepdaughter Veda.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/07/2023
UPC:	0715515282413
Original Release:	1945
Source:	Criterion Collection
Language:	English
Time:	1:51:00
Format:	Blu-ray
Sales rank:	8,144

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Joan Crawford	Mildred
Ann Blyth	Veda
Jack Carson	Wally
Zachary Scott	Monty Beragon
Bruce Bennett	Bert
Eve Arden	Ida
Moroni Olsen	Insp. Peterson
Lee Patrick	Mrs. Biederhof
Manart Kippen	Dr. Gale
Butterfly McQueen	Lottie
Veda Ann Borg	Miriam Ellis
George Tobias	Mr. Chris
Barbara Brown	Mrs. Forrester,Waitress
John Compton	Ted Forrester,Waitress
John Trowbridge	Mr. Williams,Mr. Williams
Jo Ann Marlowe	Kay Pierce
Garry Owen	Policeman
Clancy Cooper	Policeman
Tom Dillon	Policeman
Charles Jordan	Policeman
James Flavin	Detective
Jack O'Connor	Detective,Detective
Larry Rio	Reporter
George Anderson	Peterson's Assistant
John Walsh	Delivery Man
Robert Arthur	High School Boy
Lynne Baggett	Waitress
Marion Lessing	Waitress
Doria Caron	Waitress
Marjorie 'Babe' Kane	Waitress
David Cota	Pancho
George Meader	Man
Harold Miller	Man
Robert Lorraine	Man,Woman
Joan Wardley	Wife
Don Grant	Bartender
Chester Clute	Mr. Jones
Robert Evans	Sailor
Wallis Clark	Wally's Lawyer
Perk Lazello	Attorney's Clerk
Angela Greene	Party Guest
Betty Alexander	Party Guest
Ramsay Ames	Party Guest
Helen Pender	Party Guest
Joan Winfield	Piano Teacher
John Christian	Singing Teacher
Leah Baird	Police Matron
Paul Panzer	Waiter
William Alcorn	Soldier
John Sheridan	Clerk
Richard Kipling	Personnel Man
Wheaton Chambers	Personnel Man
William Ruhl	Personnel Man,Personnel Man
Mary Ellen Meyran	Woman
James Lono	Houseboy
Mary Servoss	Nurse
Thomas P. Dillon	Actor
Bob Locke Lorraine	Man
Max Steiner	Composer

Technical Credits

Ranald MacDougall

Michael Curtiz	Director
Ranald MacDougall	Screenwriter
Jerry Wald	Producer
Willard Van Enger	Special Effects,Special Effects
Todd Haynes	Director
Jack Warner	Executive Producer
Oliver Garretson	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

One of the greatest Hollywood movies about mother love -- rivaled only by STELLA DALLAS -- MILDRED PIERCE is a triumph for both Joan Crawford, who earned an Academy Award for her portrayal of the title character, and director Michael Curtiz, who elevated a gritty B-movie tale to truly artful melodrama. Based on James M. Cain's novel, the plot unfolds in a seamless weave of mystery and melodrama as Mildred tells her life story while confessing to a crime she may or may not have committed. Her unique rise and fall -- from waitress to restaurateur to socialite to murder suspect -- is fueled by her blinding love for her daughter, Vera, who constantly rejects her. Under the great Curtiz, who gave the world CASABLANCA, MILDRED PIERCE is a taut melodrama that blends film noir with elements of the "women's" film. Full of noble feelings and snakes in the grass, this pulpy soap opera is swift, vicious, and full of pungent energy. The excellent cast also features Eve Arden as Mildred's tart-tongued business associate and Zachary Scott as the louche playboy who sets Mildred up in the restaurant business.

Barnes & Noble - Rachel Saltz

Adapted from James M. Cain's novel, and allegedly noir-ed up after Double Indemnity's 1944 box office success, Mildred Pierce (1945) became a striking hybrid of film noir and maternal melodrama, rejuvenating Joan Crawford's then-faltering stardom. Under the direction of top Warner Bros. helmer Michael Curtiz, Crawford's glamorously fur-clad Mildred initially appears to be a femme fatale as she walks down a dark, rain-slicked pier after a murdered man dies uttering her name. Evenly lit flashbacks, however, reveal Mildred as an upwardly mobile working mother, bonding with wisecracking co-worker Ida and trying to make a good life for her daughters after her weak husband Bert cheats on her. Ace Warner cinematographer Ernest Haller's noir shadows and skewed angles begin to encroach on Mildred's story as her relationship with hellacious daughter Veda and effete second husband Monte approaches its fateful climax. Crawford's first film for Warners after the end of her MGM contract became her first hit in several years, as she garnered accolades, and eventually a Best Actress Oscar, for her forceful performance. The film was also nominated for Oscars for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Supporting Actress for Eve Arden's scene-stealing Ida and Ann Blyth's sublimely witchy Veda.

All Movie Guide - Lucia Bozzola