A JOAN CRAWFORD TRIPLE FEATURE

 

OUR DANCING DAUGHTERS (1928)

Joan Crawford achieved major stardom with her portrayal of "Dangerous" Diana Medford, the wild Jazz Age flapper with the decent, honest heart, in this silent classic. Miss Crawford's dancing may not hold up very well for some modern viewers, but she gives a solid dramatic performance, dressed in high fashion and living in an Art Deco fantasy world. The film was made during the last days of the silents and has a musical soundtrack that includes a few lines of spoken dialogue. The acting style is more sophisticated with very little of the exaggerated gestures and eye rolling of previous years. Miss Crawford proves she is more than ready to enter the sound era. The Joan Crawford screen image here is different than the one she would project a few years down the road, with the large eyebrows and the full, sensuous lips. But the talent, as well as the energy and warmth, that would carry her into a brilliant, long lasting film career, are obviously present. And she is a pleasure to behold.

Excellent performances are also given by John Mack Brown, Nils Asther, Dorothy Sebastian and Anita Page.

THE GORGEOUS HUSSY (1936)

This handsomely mounted MGM production, directed by Clarence Brown, is a work of historical fiction, starring Miss Joan Crawford. She plays a character named Peggy O'Neal Eaton, an often maligned, misunderstood confidante of President Andrew Jackson (Lionel Barrymore). The movie shows Peggy's humble beginnings as the daughter of a simple, honest innkeeper, and her emergence into political society following her first marriage to a naval officer.

The story, however, is of secondary importance to the fact that this is a Joan Crawford Picture. As such, it is necessary for Miss Crawford to occupy the center stage throughout and be allowed to display the usual, and expected, gamut of Crawfordesque emotions and situations. These include, but are by no means limited to, rising above her social standing, experiencing the thrill of romance (In this area she is assisted by such physically appropriate leading men as Melvyn Douglas, Robert Taylor, Franchot Tone and James Stewart.), and valiantly standing up to those folks who look down on her as trash. To achieve these cinematic ends, Miss Crawford is to be featured in frequent facial closeups, bathed in celestial light, enabling her adoring audience to gaze reverently at her perfect bone structure. 

Also featuring Beulah Bondi, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The film also received a nomination for Best Cinematography.

Robert Taylor and Joan Crawford

AUTUMN LEAVES (1956)

Joan Crawford stars as Millicent Wetherby, a middle aged writer whose sexual deprivation has practically reached toxic levels. She meets a handsome younger man named Bert Hansen (Cliff Robertson), and, against her better judgement, falls in love with him and gets married. Their domestic bliss comes to a screeching halt when she discovers her new husband is mentally ill. Figuring into the somewhat sordid plot are Bert's father (Lorne Green) and ex-wife (Vera Miles). This totally enjoyable romantic/psychological drama gives Miss Crawford many opportunities to suffer with great nobility. Robert Aldrich directed. Six years later, Aldrich and Crawford would work together again on the classic WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?, in which her quota of suffering would increase considerably. 

Also featuring Ruth Donnelly, Sheppard Strudwick, Marjorie Bennett and Maxine Cooper. Nat King Cole sings the beautiful theme song during the opening credits.