# Trying to remember a Joan Crawford movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 5, 2010, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-remember-a-joan-crawford-movie/542061 "2010-06-05T14:50:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Promethea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Promethea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Promethea)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-remember-a-joan-crawford-movie/542061/1 "2010-06-05T14:50:12Z")
My nan and I are driving ourselves nuts trying to remember a film. I have a feeling it was a smash back in the day because we’re pretty sure it starred Joan Crawford. Anyway, the key scene we both remember is Joanie finding something in her teenage daughter’s bed like a ring or cufflinks which in the plot indicated her man had cheated on her. Nan also remembers the daughter being deaf. I thought it must be “Mildred Pierce” but it’s not. Help! ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-remember-a-joan-crawford-movie/542061/2 "2010-06-05T15:12:58Z")
[The Story of Esther Costello](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Esther_Costello)? ---
**Author:** ![Promethea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Promethea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Promethea)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-remember-a-joan-crawford-movie/542061/3 "2010-06-05T16:52:24Z")
> [@sinjin](#): > > [The Story of Esther Costello](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Esther_Costello)? That definitely sounds like it! I think I’d mixed up little bits of ‘Mildred Pierce’ in my memory after all but this has to be it. Thanks! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-remember-a-joan-crawford-movie/542061/4 "2010-06-05T19:25:24Z")
My favorite Joan Crawford film is a western, _Johnny Guitar_. Her costar Mercedes McCambridge is fantastic. There aren’t many actresses that could share a screen with Crawford and not get blown away. ---
**Author:** ![Promethea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Promethea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Promethea)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-remember-a-joan-crawford-movie/542061/5 "2010-06-05T20:26:53Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > My favorite Joan Crawford film is a western, _Johnny Guitar_. Her costar Mercedes McCambridge is fantastic. There aren’t many actresses that could share a screen with Crawford and not get blown away. I love that film! It was so cool with all the gender role reversals, focussing on two women fighting over territory for once (and Stirling Hayden). And yeah, Mercedes McCambridge was such a wonderful screen presence. Gorgeous, vibrant cinematography too. “Mildred Pierce” is probably my favourite. It plays so shamelessly on the emotions of the viewer, getting us to hate that daughter so much! ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-remember-a-joan-crawford-movie/542061/6 "2010-06-05T21:17:27Z")
I can’t watch Crawford after, like, 1935. She’s too much of a self-caricature. Before that, however, she was sexy as hell, and could act too. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-remember-a-joan-crawford-movie/542061/7 "2010-06-05T22:01:41Z")
> [@Promethea](#): > > That definitely sounds like it! I think I’d mixed up little bits of ‘Mildred Pierce’ in my memory after all but this has to be it. Thanks! 🙂 🆒 First time I ever got one in first.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-remember-a-joan-crawford-movie/542061/8 "2010-06-05T22:23:58Z")
Your “nan”? Is that grandmother? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-remember-a-joan-crawford-movie/542061/9 "2010-06-06T03:01:08Z")
I loved the “extra touch” at the end of Joan’s 1964 movie [Straight-Jacket](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058620/): The headless Columbia Lady ---
**Author:** ![Promethea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Promethea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Promethea)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-remember-a-joan-crawford-movie/542061/10 "2010-06-06T06:15:22Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Your “nan”? Is that grandmother? Yup. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-remember-a-joan-crawford-movie/542061/11 "2010-06-06T15:17:24Z")
My favorite Crawford movie is _Woman on the Beach_. She was actually vulnerable in that one, and very sexy. I would have loved being on the set of _Whatever Happened to Baby Jane_. Did Davis and Crawford do any other films together? ---
**Author:** ![valleyofthedolls](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a4c791/32.png) [@valleyofthedolls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/valleyofthedolls)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-remember-a-joan-crawford-movie/542061/12 "2010-06-06T19:31:14Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > My favorite Crawford movie is _Woman on the Beach_. She was actually vulnerable in that one, and very sexy. > > I would have loved being on the set of _Whatever Happened to Baby Jane_. Did Davis and Crawford do any other films together? I think Joan Crawford did a couple of days filming on Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte before quitting because she and Bette Davis and Agnes Moorehead didn’t get along. If you like Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, I’d definitely see Charlotte and maybe Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice and Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-remember-a-joan-crawford-movie/542061/13 "2010-06-07T21:20:25Z")
> [@Promethea](#): > > I love that film! It was so cool with all the gender role reversals, focussing on two women fighting over territory for once (and Stirling Hayden). And yeah, Mercedes McCambridge was such a wonderful screen presence. Gorgeous, vibrant cinematography too. “Mildred Pierce” is probably my favourite. It plays so shamelessly on the emotions of the viewer, getting us to hate that daughter so much! “I love you too, Mother, but let’s not get sticky about it.”