Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star (2002)

I love this movie so much

Sorry, this movie sucks

Highly Overrated But Still Good

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I love classic Hollywood films of the golden era and not surprisingly I also love biographies of that talk about these stars. Unfortunately, most of them frankly leave a lot to be desired. They usually only talk about the good points of the celebrity or only discuss their films and as a result, you get a very one-dimensional view of the person. Occasionally, you also get some that are all dirty--and once again you only get a one-dimensional portrait. I was absolutely thrilled when I watched "Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star" because it managed to do something quite rare--balance the great talent with the human being. As a result, it's one of the best celebrity biographies I've seen.Angelica Huston narrates this made for Turner Classic Movies film. It combines her nice voice with some lovely interviews, photos and film clips to talk about her life from birth to death. You get a discussion of her major films as well as her personal life--and this is where the film shines. While it does talk quite a bit about her abuse of her children and affairs (and there were many), it tried to explore WHY--what about her caused her to be so screwed up and out of place off-camera. And, it seemed less angry in doing so. So, despite many clips of Christina Crawford discussing her mom, it did not come off as a recapitulation of "Mommy, Dearest". Plus, it balanced this with genuine respect and admiration for her talents and tenacity. Together, all these factors create a rich tapestry--and make it a must-see of fans of the genre. See this one.By the way, as Bette Davis and Joan Crawford had a bit of a rivalry, I should point out that the TCM biography of Crawford was superior to the one they produced on Davis. It was longer, more complete and more interesting--warts and all.

I can appreciate both Joan Crawford's intense drive over a very long career and her messy personal life as being totally believable in one person. I love watching her 'act' in any movie, whether it's 'Mildred Pierce', 'Whatever Happened to Baby Jane', 'The Damned Don't Cry' or even 'Trog'. Her every move, every look, every word wasn't left to chance for her.She had something captivating although, except for some of her early 'looks' I didn't think she was as beautiful as she was portrayed in her films. She had a skinny, boyish figure, not at all feminine. Surprisingly, she became a handsome woman in her later years when the effects of alcohol weren't too apparent.One thing rarely, if ever mentioned, is Crawford's voice. She could sound witchy in one scene and lower it to sound worldly and wise in the next. And those eyes. You knew exactly what she was thinking. She was 'living' those parts she played.In her interview with the young British guy, I was impressed when she acknowledged that everything she learned in life she got from the movie business. She said that if she didn't know a word in a script, she would look it up. Surprising honesty for a 'big star'.To me, it was both sad and admittedly entertaining that her alcoholism affected her later years. She still had a hard work ethic and I couldn't understand why she couldn't find roles for an older actress as some others her age did, like Olivia de Haviland and Joan Fontaine, etc. I guess her problem was that she wanted to maintain that 'Joan Crawford' persona from an earlier time and it was the 1960s, after all.I would have loved meeting her and talking about 'her' and her career even though I can believe that she might have been a real horror as a mother. She was hard on herself and I assume just as hard on her children. After 'Mommie Dearest' came out, I was eating some weird dish made with tofu and said "I think this is the kind of stuff Joan Crawford ate". He deadpanned, "She probably made her kids eat it".

This is a highly entertaining, fascinating, outrageous, and sad documentary about Joan Crawford. Say what you want about her, Crawford was an amazing woman who came from nothing and with loads of ambition pushed her way to the top. Twice after her career sank to the bottom, she was able to rebuild it. Vincent Sherman, her daughter Christina, Cliff Robertson, Betsy Palmer, Liz Smith and others held nothing back when talking about the star: the multiple affairs she had with directors, her treatment of her children and husbands, and the antics that went on during the filming of Baby Jane, which were mind-boggling. Also touched on were her alcoholism, which caused her problems in later life, and her miserable childhood, which was the cornerstone of all of her problems.Crawford's only self-identification seems to have been that of a film star, and her self worth was tied to it as well. She was smart, hard-working, glamorous, and, with the exception of her daughter, those who knew her and appeared in this documentary admitted there was something likable and even vulnerable about her. Ultimately, though, her life played out like a bad B movie. You could see the end coming from a mile away.

This is certainly one of the best documentaries I have seen on any movie star and on Joan Crawford to begin with. Not many have been done on her, especially one which includes a lot of detail about her life and interviews from many different people associated with her and her films (the best are Christina Crawford and OUR DANCING DAUGHTERS co-star Anita Page). Included are clips from nearly all of her films and many never before seen photographs. Check this out if you are a classic movie fan or a Crawford fan, for sure. TCM will likely re-air this in a few months.