JOAN CRAWFORD
QUOTES:
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Hollywood is like life, you face it with the sum total of your equipment.
Joan Crawford
I am just too much.
Joan Crawford
I believe in the dollar. Everything I earn, I spend!
Joan Crawford
I have always known what I wanted, and that was beauty... in every form.
Joan Crawford
I love playing bitches. There's a lot of bitch in every woman - a lot in every man.
Joan Crawford
I need sex for a clear complexion, but I'd rather do it for love.
Joan Crawford
I never go outside unless I look like Joan Crawford the movie star. If you want to see the girl next door, go next door.
Joan Crawford
I think that the most important thing a woman can have - next to talent, of course - is her hairdresser.
Joan Crawford
I think the most important thing a woman can have - next to talent, of course - is her hairdresser.
Joan Crawford
I was born in front of a camera and really don't know anything else.
Joan Crawford
I, Joan Crawford, I believe in the dollar. Everything I earn, I spend.
Joan Crawford
If you have an ounce of common sense and one good friend you don't need an analyst.
Joan Crawford
If you've earned a position, be proud of it. Don't hide it. I want to be recognized. When I hear people say, 'There's Joan Crawford!' I turn around and say, 'Hi! How are you!'
Joan Crawford
It has been said that on screen I personified the American woman.
Joan Crawford
Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your hearth or burn down your house, you can never tell.
Joan Crawford
Recently I heard a 'wise guy' story that I had a party at my home for twenty-five men. It's an interesting story, but I don't know twenty-five men I'd want to invite ta a party.
Joan Crawford
Women's Lib? Poor little things. They always look so unhappy. Have you noticed how bitter their faces are?
Joan Crawford
You have to be self-reliant and strong to survive in this town. Otherwise you will be destroyed.
Joan Crawford
"You and your rabbit-faced wife can go to hell!" exclaims a pissed-off Joan Crawford, in just one of the many precious moments this big-screen soap has to offer. As publishing executive Amanda Farrow, Joan steals the show in what was her first supporting role since becoming a star. And what a show it is!The Best of Everything, from 1959, is one of the last "three chicks seeking dicks" flicks, a genre that came crashing to an end with Valley of the Dolls. Both movies were based on popular and trashy novels, yet whereas the latter film is nothing but trash, Best of Everything maintains the decorum that the 1950s demanded. That said, it must have been considered rather daring back in the day.
Director Jean Negulesco never reaches the melodramatic heights that Douglas Sirk specialized in; there's little symbolism and no arty pretensions. Direction and screenplay are straightforward and without subtlety. Any nuances are provided by the large and able cast. The under-rated Hope Lange grows f
rom simple secretary to cold, calculating career woman; Diane Baker is perfectly cast as a naive, small-town girl who learns some hard lessons; and the fabulous Suzy Parker adds a touch of glamour and psychosis that is a joy to watch. Of the men, gorgeous Stephen Boyd charms as a dreamy alcoholic; even more gorgeous Louis Jourdan is, well, Louis Jourdan; and Robert Evans, in his last onscreen role, plays a smooth and heartless cad. Then there is La Crawford, who is simultaneously hurtful and hurt.Very much of its day, The Best of Everything is a perfect time capsule, capturing mid-century American ideals before they all imploded. The themes, sets and costumes, acting styles, even the smarmy title song (crooned by Johnny Mathis) make this all one could want in a fifties movie. Whether taken on its own terms, or enjoyed strictly for camp value, in many ways it really is the best of everything.
posted by Thombeau of FABULON
PEPSICO
1950s: The Steele and Crawford Era
Walter Mack was appointed company chairman in 1950, and a former Coca-Cola vice-president of sales, Alfred N. Steele, took over as president and chief executive officer, bringing 15 other Coke executives with him. Steele continued the policy of management decentralization by giving broader powers to regional vice-presidents, and he placed Herbert Barnet in charge of Pepsi's financial operations. Steele's outstanding contribution, however, was in marketing. He launched an extensive advertising campaign with the slogan 'Be Sociable, Have a Pepsi.' The new television medium provided a perfect forum; Pepsi advertisements presented young Americans drinking 'The Light Refreshment' and having fun.
By the time Alfred Steele married movie star Joan Crawford in 1954, a transformation of the company was well underway. Crawford's adopted daughter, Christina, noted in her best-seller Mommie Dearest: '[Steele had] driven 
Pepsi into national prominence and distribution, second only to his former employer, Coca-Cola. Pepsi was giving Coke a run for its money in every nook and hamlet of America. Al Steele welded a national network of bottlers together, standardized the syrup formula ..., brought the distinctive logo into mass consciousness, and was on the brink of going international. ' In fact, Pepsi-Cola International Ltd. was formed shortly after Steele's marriage.
Joan Crawford became the perso
nification of Pepsi's new and glamorous image. She invariably kept a bottle of Pepsi at hand during press conferences and mentioned the product at interviews and on talk shows; on occasion she even arranged for Pepsi trucks and vending machines to feature in background shots of her movies. The actress also worked hard to spread the Pepsi word overseas and accompanied her husband, now chairman of the board, on his 1957 tour of Europe and Africa, where bottling plants were being established.
Steele died suddenly of a heart attack in the spring of 1959. Herbert Barnet succeeded him as chairman and Joan Crawford was elected a board member. Pepsi-Cola profits had fallen to a postwar low of $1.3 million in 1950 when Steele joined the company, but with the proliferation of supermarkets during the decade and the developments in overseas business, profits reached $14.2 million in 1960. By that time, young adults had become a major target of soft drink manufacturers and Pepsi's advertisements were aimed at 'Those who think young.'
Al Steele and Joan Crawford had been superb cheerleaders. ..
directed by David Miller 1952 (RKO)
This high tension thriller from 1952, with Joan Crawford (in her high garish period) as an heiress who discovers her husband (Jack Palance, the perfect iconic match) is planning t
o kill her. The film was a product of RKO desperation and was the studio's most successful release in years, earning Producer / Star Crawford plenty of money. Unseen for thirty years because of rights litigation, a revival (in 1987, in 35-millimeter restoration) seemed largely a matter of fidelity to archetype (as a clear-lined suspenser) and kitschy iconographic tastes, though Charles Lang's glossily noirish cinematography may have had something to do with it, too.
Excerpt of Pat Graham's review at the Chicago Reader located HERE
"I was just wondering what I had done to deserve you."
Joan Crawford bought the rights to Edna Sherry's novel as a vehicle to leave Warner Bros. and cross the threshold of self-production at RKO in 1952.
Joan Crawford plays Myra Hudson, a wealthy and famous playwright. Producers are anticipating another lightning bolt when, while casting the main roles for the new drama, Hudson insists that Jack Palance is all wrong for the role of male lead; she insists that he be fired. "He doesn't have the umph that every woman wants to feel when they see him", she says. Before we know it, the play has been successfully launched and she is on a train back to San Francisco. Who should kind of turn up on this train but Palance? He and Crawford play poker , eat, drink and... she falls in love with him. OK, it seems: He wasn't right for a Broadway Don Juan. But for an unmarried lady of a certain age like her, he has just what it takes.
The fact that Crawford and Palance (the actors) have no chemistry isn't a problem. In a way, it works in the movie's favor. We know he hasn't forgotten the humiliation she put him through. We know she thought him not so hot to begin with.Gloria Grahame is used well as his girlfriend. This was her triple threat year: "The Greatest Show On Earth", "Sudden Fear" and an Academy Award for "The Bad And The Beautiful". They're k
ind of rough with each other too. He speaks of breaking all her bones, rather casually and almost endearingly.
Bruce Bennett is adequate and Touch (later Michael) Connors shows capability. But the real stars are Crawford and Palance.Once Crawford and Palance have married, the suspense heats up. It's a highly suspenseful film -- well written and well directed. Palance is nimble in his role and Crawford is at her very best too. In fact, Crawford is masterful in this suspense environment.......Well directed by David Miller, who typifies the Hitchcock touch here.
"Sudden Fear" seems, for whatever reason to have more than a usual number of close-ups of its stars stockinged feet and her shoes.) No one has ever seen anyone so beautiful as Crawford in this movies. Crawford was around 46 when this film was made. She is rich and successful but it doesn't seem that we're meant to view her as a great beauty. What we have instead is a beautiful movie -- quite possibly her best
Kino Video has rediscovered this classic several years ago and issued it on VHS and DVD.
We’re twenty-four minutes into the film Sudden Fear when we realize that the main male character, actor Lester Blaine played by Jack Palance is rotten, and it’s this knowledge that acts as a suspense builder in this taut noir film—a tale of greed, adultery and murder. Up to this point, we’ve just suspected Lester’s intentions, but now our doubts are proved correct. Sudden Fear, a woman-in-jeopardy noir is the tale of a woman who may meet a foul end at the hands of her deceptive, less-than-loving husband, Lester. For a large chunk of the action, Myra is oblivious to her husband’s evil intentions, but since the plot lets the audience in on the threat, we are committed to the suspense from the start. As spectators, we know that Myra is in danger, and so we are riveted to Lester’s devious plan to rid himself of a wife he so obviously loathes. Sudden Fear brought Crawford her third and final Oscar nomination for Best Actress. . For noir fans, Sudden Fear showcases Crawford in one of her most powerful roles.
Lester seems to be the perfect lover, and he certainly has perfected the symptoms of an enamored man. He’s attentive, sensitive and gentle, and Myra, who’s smitten by the romance, seems oblivious to the differences in their ages and social status.Myra may be swept along with Lester Blaine’s smooth style, but for audience members, that niggling doubt remains. At this point, however, Lester’s game may be mean-spirited revenge, or perhaps he’s a pathetic loser after her money. But one brilliantly constructed scene clarifies Lester’s manipulation and Myra’s vulnerability. Lester fails to show up for an evening at Myra’s splendid home, and Myra ditches her guests to seek out her missing beau. While she dashes to his hotel, we see Lester pacing back and forth, waiting only for Myra’s arrival to begin a performance that involves his pride, a suitcase and a one-way trip back to New York. It’s with this scene and its clever camera shots that Lester is revealed as the center of power in the relationship, less-than-sincere and dangerously manipulative in his professions of love.After we become aware of Lester’s true intentions, the suspense moves away from the question of what Lester is capable of to when and how Myra will have an “accident.” The plot plays with scenes at Myra’s gorgeous coastal cliff top home. The steep stairway to the ocean, carved into rock offers the perfect location for a nasty.....Well you just have to see the film!
Sudden Fear is a stylish noir melodrama with outstanding performances by its grouping of talented actors.
What makes Mildred Pierce a great film noir? You don’t have to go too far into the film to find out. Right after the Warner Bros. logo fades off the screen an amazing group of scenes are threaded together to help introduce the viewer to the characters, a rainy beach location and most importantly – a murder.
Mildred Pierce was directed by famed Hungarian-born director Michael Curtiz – a director of an amazing amount of film classics (The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Angels With Dirty Faces (1938), Dodge City (1939), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), The Sea Hawk (1940), Casablanca (1942), and Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) in five years!). Curtiz had a touch of gold and executives hoped he could repeat his success especially since James M. Cain’s racy novelwas considered unfilmable by many. The screenplay was cleaned up due to pressure from the Production code and the story was trimmed to be less complicated than the novel. Even though the film took place in sunny California by the beach, Curtiz used German Expressionistic style to make Mildred Pierce’s world appropriately dark and gloomy. Check out the great use of shadows when Zachary Scott’s body is found by Jack Carson during the opening scene. I think the cinematography and Max Steiner’s dramatic score (and not because of the melodramatic story) is what makes this one of the best film noirs made. Another example is the shocking confrontation between Scott and Crawford at the end of the film. Of course the performances by Scott, Carson, Ann Blyth and Crawford certainly helped elevate the film from soap opera to a gripping drama.
It’s hard to believe today but Joan Crawford wasn’t wanted for the role. She was considered washed up as a box-office draw not to mention she had a reputation for being difficult. Only after leading ladies including Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck and Ann Sheridan couldn’t be secured did the executives go with Crawford. To Curtiz’s surprise Crawford gave the performance of her career. The film went on to become a huge box-office hit and Crawford won an Oscar for her bravura portrayal. Zachary Scott is fantastic and should have won an Oscar for his role too. Scott as the lazy lounge lizard Monte Beragon– Mildred’s second husband – who, as Eve Arden comments, “(was) probably frightened by a callus at an early age!” is the ultimate playboy leech. The only other performance comparable to it is Tyrone Power playing the womanizer in Witness for the Prosecution. Scott usually comes across too slick in other films (including the disappointing Curtiz/Crawford reteaming in Flamingo Road a few years later) but in this he’s just right. Maybe his naturally slimy -like mannerisms just worked in his favor in this one. You actually feel sorry for Mildred Pierce because of all the people take advantage of her. That is an amazing feat because Crawford usually gets no pity from movie viewers. Jack Carson plays another man in Mildred Pierce’s life that spends the movie either trying to bed her or get her money. Bruce (Tarzan) Bennett is the third man and possibly the only guy to treat Mildred well. Oh wait, he did leave the mother of two penniless earlier in the film for another woman. Later he does redeem himself and I’m sure most of the audience probably wished they never separated in the first place.Usually when a film noir has a female lead it ends up not having a femme fatale. Not in this case. Ann Blyth plays the angelic looking Veda. She spends four years in the movie making her self-sacrificing mother's life hell. She's a gold-digger and a spoiled brat no matter how many times her mother tries to straighten her out.Mildred makes a fortune and then begins to loose it all because of her. “Don't tell anyone what Mildred did!” You'll have to see the movie to believe how evil Veda is.Rounding out the dames in the film are Eve Arden and Butterfly McQueen playing their usual roles of sassy sidekick and the family maid. Guess who plays which roles? Arden surprisingly received an Academy Award nomination for this but McQueen is actually funnier. Sharp eyes will notice Lee Patrick (Sam Spade's secretary in The Maltese Falcon) in a small role as Bennett's girlfriend.The film has lots of drama into two hours but the best -and most visually sunning - parts of the film are the amazing opening flashback sequence and surprising resolution right at the end. This is Crawford's greatest performance.
http://www.allthingscrawford.com/
posted by Steve-O
