A Woman's Face (1941)

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

We viewed this movie last night through TCM on demand; I'd only seen parts of it in the past, not the whole film. I was impressed by Joan Crawford's skillful depiction of a highly intelligent woman whose face had been disfigured when she was as child. Her character seemed to be a genius in her knowledge and musical abilities. Because of her appearance she'd been shunned and unjustly treated; this forced her to hide half of her face from others. She spends most of her time in seclusion with a band of misfits and crooks. Her rejection by society turned her into a seemingly heartless blackmailer among other things. We could see that beneath her bitterness was a spark of something else, something good perhaps; her doctor played by Melvyn Douglas sees this too. Her doctor presents her with hope to restore her face using his skill, but will it work? It was an unusual role for Ms. Crawford IMO, at this stage in her career I'd figured she'd always want to look her most beautiful in roles. I couldn't imagine her appearing less than attractive even for part of a film; yet here she allowed her face to appear disfigured in some scenes. It was reminiscent for me of scenes that Gloria Grahame did years later in 'The Big Heat', another excellent film. The supporting cast in 'A Woman's Face' is good, especially Conrad Veidt as the evil man who has her in his power because he finds her attractive. For him she is willing to do anything...almost. The unthinkable crime he wants her to commit is the crux of the story, I won't reveal it here except to say at times we were on the edge of our seats wondering would she do it. Also of note in the supporting cast are Marjorie Main as a servant jealous of Joan and Albert Bassermann as a kindly grandfather. I highly recommend this film and give it a rating of 8 out of 10 stars.

A WOMAN'S FACE (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1941), directed by George Cukor, (not to be confused with Cukor's 1941 similar titled TWO-FACED WOMAN (MGM) featuring Greta Garbo), stars Joan Crawford in possibly her most superior role, and definitely her last great motion picture for her home studio of MGM. Not exactly an original premise considering how it's a Hollywood remake to the 1938 Swedish movie that starred Ingrid Bergman. This newest edition, from the play "Il Etait Une Fois" by Francis DeCrosisset, set in Sweden, might have acquired the natural services of Swedish born actresses as Bergman (reprizing her original screen role) or that of MGM's own Greta Garbo. According to legend, Crawford wanted this particular role at the risk her own career. The risk proved favorable, releasing Crawford from her formula material of the past to stronger/ challenging roles that were to follow. A WOMAN'S FACE didn't offer Crawford an Academy Award nomination for her fine work, but it did earn her admiration as a respected actress, an honor she worked long and hard to achieve by this point.The narrative opens at the Royal Swedish courthouse criminal division where Anna Holm (Joan Crawford) is being escorted down the corridor by a prison matron to face a murder trial. Witnesses including that of a waiter, Herman Hundvik (Donald Meek); Bernard Hundvik (Reginald Owen); Vera (Osa Massen), her husband, Doctor Gustav Segert (Melvyn Douglas); housekeeper, Emma Kristianstotter (Marjorie Main); Consul Magnus Barring (Albert Basserman), and housewife, Christina (Connie Gilchrist) are sworn in to answer questions and individually tell their testimonies to the judges (Henry Kolker, Robert Warwick, Gilbert Emery) before passing sentence. Told through a series of flashbacks, the story of Anna Holm is slowly revealed: Anna, hideously disfigured on the right side of her face in a fire at the age of five, wants nothing more than to become part of the human race. A prisoner of her own misfortune, her bitterness turns her to a life of crime. Owning a rural tavern with a team of assistants, Anna encounters Torsten Barring (Conrad Veidt) hosting a dinner party for his guests, consisting of Mrs. Vera Segert and her lover, Eric (Charles Quigley). Barring's charming manners finds Anna becoming fascinated in this scoundrel, enough to go against her policy by giving him credit for his patronage. Finding some revealing love letters belonging to Mrs. Segert has Anna coming to this rich woman's home attempting to blackmail her. As Vera's husband unexpectedly returns, Anna, in an attempt to escape, sprains her ankle. Being a noted plastic surgeon, and taking notice of her face, Segert, rather than notifying the police and having her arrested, he talks her into performing surgery on her face. The successful operation now has Anna walking out of the hospital, becoming part of the human race. Resuming her relationship with Barring, Anna becomes part of his diabolical plot in having a member of Barring's family murdered in order to collect an inheritance. He arranges her employment in the home of Magnus Barring as a governess to his little nephew, Lars-Erik (Richard Nichols). As for the surgeon, he starts to wonder if he created a Galatea or a Frankenstein monster.What makes this stylish production fascinating is how slowly it begins (courtroom proceedings, questioning and flashback recollections), building up to intense moments (bucket ride over the mountains) and race against time climax via sleigh ride, mostly done either with little or no music underscoring. What's even more fascinating is the manner of how Crawford silently uses her face to tell her story. Performing with little make-up and unfashionable hair-style in a realistic manner, her classic moments consist that of her outbursts at the sight of mirrors, and a lighted lamp shining directly onto her face by the laughing Mrs. Segert. Crawford's well constructed transformation during the second half presents the other side of her character, and how beauty is in the eyes of her beholder, the plastic surgeon (Douglas). Even little Richard Nichols flatters his new governess by telling her, "You couldn't be mean. You're too pretty." Crawford's "Weaving Dance" with the evil Veidt is another film highlight.Produced very much in European-style of dark lighting, super-imposing from one scene to another; low to mid-angle camera shots, Director Cukor refrains from having his players, especially the rowdy hill-billy type Marjorie Main, unrecognizable in pulled-back hair, glasses and flat hat, from speaking with Swedish accents. Also seen in minor support are George Zucco (Defense Attorney); Henry Daniell (The Public Prosecutor); Gwili Andre (Gusta); and William Farnum (The Court Attendant).Not as well known as Crawford's Academy Award winning performance of MILDRED PIERCE (Warners, 1945), A WOMAN'S FACE, as good as Crawford is as Anna Holm, and not to take away from her credibility, it makes one wonder of how good, bad or indifferent it might have become had Greta Garbo assumed the title role instead. Distributed on video cassette in the 1990s, A WOMAN'S FACE, available on DVD (with two separate radio broadcasts of the same story featuring Bette Davis and Ida Lupino) as part of the Joan Crawford collection, can be found broadcast occasionally on Turner Classic Movies. (****)

When Joan Crawford's best films are the subject of any discussion, the list always includes the film she won the Oscar for - "Mildred Pierce" and for good reason - its a fine film with an outstanding cast and even today, holds up pretty well.But what seems to get lost in the shuffle is a film she made four years earlier, which in many ways equals and in some ways surpasses "Mildred Pierce" -- the 1941 film "A Woman's Face" is a much underrated film which showcases one of Crawford's best roles.An intriguing story of a woman who has lived as an outcast because of facial scars suffered in a fire since childhood and now lives among unscrupulous scheming blackmailers, herself becoming the most skilled of their group - when a plastic surgeon decides to fix the deformity that has made her a bitter and distrustful woman, she is introduced to the possibility of living a normal life, one where she can as she says in the film - when the world looks at her - "she can look back" without hiding.The film is a well-blended mix of dark characters and and some very quirky humorous ones too, directed by one of MGM's A-team directors George Cukor. The story is told in a series of flashbacks ie..each witnesses testimony before a Swiss court for a woman who is accused of murder.Conrad Veight in a role that could be considered almost a precursor of his famous role of Maj. Strasser in Casablanca, particularly stands out - his villainous, cynical dialogue carries the darker scenes very effectively. However two parts are weak - Melvyn Douglas, who can usually be depended on for an admirable performance, comes across as very bland and predictable and Osa Massen - her scenes are painful to watch, overacted to the point that it makes you wince - but these parts are fortunately overshadowed by the other supporting roles that are made up of a quirky assortment of characters that include Reginald Owen, Marjorie Main and Donald Meek that bring an off-the-wall humor but in a subtle way - Meek is particularly good in his part.The photography and the sets are beautifully done. The film offers a good use of close-ups and shadows that in some ways resembles the techniques heavily used in the "film noir" films of the late 40's and early 50's - and in a time when films were rarely shot on location "A Woman's Face" has some of the most beautifully crafted sets that remind me a little of the "Magnificent Ambersons" they really stand out.But the star of the movie is without a doubt - Joan Crawford - her performance draws you in even more so than her role in "Mildred Pierce" and she has probably never looked more naturally beautiful.If you're a Joan Crawford fan or not - check this one out - its good

Joan Crawford, in a rare case of very sly, very competent underplaying, is cast as a facially scarred woman who falls in league (and perhaps in lust) with a blackmailing schemer with murder on his mind. The blackmail part of the deal is foiled when accomplice Crawford is befriended by Melvyn Douglas, the victim's husband (and plastic surgeon!); after restoring her beauty, Douglas must then stop Joan from carrying out the murder plot, targeting a child no less! Remake of an early Ingrid Bergman movie (1938's "En Kvinnas ansikte"), which in turn was based upon a French play, the film is over-plotted and over-flowing with hectic minutiae and chatty supporting characters. Also complicating matters is a story-frame set in the Royal Swedish Court: seems Joan is indeed on trial for murder, but whom did she kill? Despite a slow beginning, this turns out to be a rather shrewdly devised, sharply written melodrama, with some delicious turns of the screw. Crawford and Douglas work smoothly together (they were reteamed for a comedy the following year, "They All Kissed the Bride"), and the cinematography and art direction are marvelous. George Cukor directed, without a sense of humor, and the script might've stood some paring down. Otherwise, shamefully entertaining. **1/2 from ****