Mommie Dearest

Director: Frank Perry Frank Perry

Overview

When her adoptive mother Joan Crawford died in 1977, erstwhile actress/author Christina Crawford was left out of Crawford's will. Christina then penned a scathing autobiography. According to this film (and the book that preceded it), Joan Crawford was a licentious, child-beating behemoth, who stalked and postured through life.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/25/2017
UPC:	0032429273765
Original Release:	1981
Rating:	PG
Source:	PARAMOUNT
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:08:00
Sales rank:	1,740

Special Features

Closed Caption; Commentary by Filmmaker John Waters; The Revival of Joan ; How the sensational biography was brough to the screen; Life with Joan; The making of the film with exclusive behind-the-scenes stories; Joan Lives On; The film's cult following with John Waters and Joan Crawford Impersonator Lypsinka; Photo Gallery

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Faye Dunaway	Joan Crawford
Diana Scarwid	Christina Crawford (adult)
Mara Hobel	Christina Crawford (child)
Steve Forrest	Greg Savitt
Howard da Silva	Louis B. Mayer
Rutanya Alda	Carol Ann
Harry Goz	Al Steele
Michael Edwards	Ted Gelber
Jocelyn Brando	Barbara Bennett
Priscilla Pointer	Mrs. Chadwick
Gary Allen	Jimmy the Photographer,Executive
Selma Archerd	Connie
Adrian Aron	Woman Guest
Xander Berkeley	Christopher Crawford as an Adult
Matthew Campion	Bruce, Actor in Soap
Carolyn Coates	Mother Superior
Jerry Douglas	Interviewer
Margaret Fairchild	Mother Superior at Orphanage
Ellen Feldman	Ginny
James Kirkwood Jr.	Master of Ceremonies
Virginia Kiser	Beth Simpson
Michael Gainsborough	Executive,Pepsi Executive #2
Matthew Faison	Executive
Robert Harper	David
Cathy Lind Hayes	Nurse
Victoria James	Photographer
Dawn Jeffory	Vera
S. John Launer	Chairman of Board
Russ Marin	Funeral Director
Nicholas Mele	Assistant Director
Belita Moreno	Belinda Rosenberg
Warren Munson	Lawyer
Alice Nunn	Helga
Norman Palmer	Male Guest
David F. Price	Tony
Jeremy Scott Reinbolt	Christopher Crawford at Age 5
Michael Talbott	Driver
Arthur Taxier	Decorator
Joseph Warren	Mr. Dodd
Erica Wexler	Susan
Harry Goaz	Al Steele
Peter Jason	Pepsi Executive #4
Dick McGarvin	Tour Bus Driver
David Sanderson	Fans
Ian Bruce	Assistant Director
Henry Mancini	Composer

Technical Credits

Frank Perry

Frank Yablans

Tracy Hotchiner

Christina Crawford

Robert Getchell

David Koontz	Executive Producer
Terence O'Neill	Executive Producer
Frank Perry	Director,Screenwriter
Frank Yablans	Producer,Screenwriter
Tracy Hotchiner	Screenwriter
Christina Crawford	Screenwriter
Robert Getchell	Screenwriter
Neil Machlis	Producer
Larry Jost	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

One of the most difficult roles for an actor to take is that of another actor. The problems that type of role entails are exponentially greater when a movie star plays another movie star. How does someone who has become famous for having a particular persona effectively communicate some other famous person's persona? Faye Dunaway plays Joan Crawford like a woman who is not playing a public persona, but has so contorted herself in order to be famous that she has no idea who she really is. While there is a fascinating psychological problem to play with in that conception, the direction and screenplay are so over-the-top, so full of the prurient thrill of Hollywood Babylon gossip, Dunaway is left out to dry. Very few times in history has an actress worked this hard and been given no help from the director or the other actors. The film is not interested in a character, it is interested in a freak show, and Dunaway so commits to the performance that she elevates the film from forgettable mess into one of the all-time classic turkeys. Many people find it easy to laugh at Mommie Dearest, but Faye Dunaway probably is not one of them.