Mildred Pierce 1945 123movies

Watch: Mildred Pierce 1945 123movies, Full Movie Online – When Mildred Pierce’s out-of-work husband leaves her for another woman, Mildred decides to raise her two daughters on her own. Despite Mildred’s financial successes in the restaurant business, her oldest daughter, Veda, resents her mother for degrading their social status. In the midst of a police investigation after the death of her second husband, Mildred must evaluate her own freedom and her complicated relationship with her daughter..
Plot: After her unfaithful husband leaves her, Mildred Pierce proves she can become independent and successful. However winning the approval of her spoiled daughter proves a greater challenge.
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Ratings:

	7.9/10 Votes: 26,328
	87% | RottenTomatoes
	88/100 | MetaCritic
	N/A Votes: 305 Popularity: 13.02 | TMDB

Reviews:

Veda, does a new house mean so much to you that you would trade me for it?

Mildred Pierce is directed by Michael Curtiz and adapted from the James M. Cain novel by Ranald MacDougall, William Faulkner and Catherine Turney. It stars Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Bruce Bennett and Eve Arden. Music is by Max Steiner and the cinematographer is Ernest Haller. It was nominated for 6 Academy Awards and won just the one for Crawford in the Best Actress category.

Plot finds Crawford as Mildred Pierce, a devoted Mother of two girls who struggles to not only make her marriage work, but to also keep her eldest daughter, Veda (Blyth), in the luxurious life she demands. Murder, treachery and heartache is about to dog the Pierce family.

This is of course the film that is often remembered for being the film that saved Joan Crawford’s career. After being dumped by MGM, and tagged with being box office poison, Crawford, it seemed, was destined to be the latest visitor to the acting scrap heap. But Jerry Wald over at Warner Brothers had other ideas. The part of Mildred had been offered to some of the big hitting ladies on the Warner studio lot, Stanwyck, Davies and Sheridan are just three of the names known to have shied away from the role. The feeling was that playing a woman with a mid-teen daughter was a no go for the age proud ladies. But Crawford, just entering her forties, took the role on, and in spite of initial protestations from director Curtiz, gave a terrific performance that landed her the coveted golden statuette and prolonged her film career for another 25 years.

Blending the psychological aspects of the woman’s picture with the physical edges of film noir, “Mildred Pierce” is something of a unique picture. Very popular on release (it was a box office smash), it was thought that Cain’s source novel wouldn’t transfer well to the screen. Credit then to the writers for managing to create such an intriguing and watchable piece. True, they have had to tone down aspects from the book, and even added incidents and changed characters, but the essence is right and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect for such a story. As film noir was becoming a telling style of film making, the pic also coincided with the later stages of WWII – a time when the role of the Woman, either in the service or at home, was under scrutiny. One of the great things about the film, and the performance of Crawford, is that it cobbles together many character strands of the 40s woman – in life and in film noir. She’s a Suzy homemaker type, asked to be mother and wife, yet driven to be a business woman because she feels she’s lacking in the necessary family home department. Where the film gets its noir flecks from is that Mildred may also be a murderer, a femme fatale, a woman whose every decision spells trouble. It’s as if the makers (not just here but many others at the time) are saying that a woman’s place is in the home, doing homely family stuff. Intriguing for sure, not necessarily in good taste, but an added spice into the melodramatic cooking pot that already contains greed and obsession.

Told with a flashback structure, the film is smoothly directed by the versatile Curtiz. But both he and Crawford are aided considerably across the board, not least by a truly great “Bitch” performance from Blyth. Veda is at one detestable, spoilt and mean, the daughter from hell, a status-seeking brat whose love comes at enormous cost to those who dare to get close to her. Blyth revels in it and her play off with Crawford is one of the film’s major strengths. The support cast of Scott, Carson, Arden and Bennett are excellent value, while Steiner’s music is unobtrusive and able to shift freely with the narrative twists. Finally it’s left to Hallers photography to capture the feel and mood of the unfolding story. Shifting from sunny suburbia one moment to shadowy expressionistic bleakness the next, the photographer of such notable film’s like “Gone With the Wind” and “Rebel Without a Cause”, is integral to the moody excellence of “Mildred Pierce”.

A murder mystery flanked by asides of class distinction, bad parenting, dubious sexual leanings and pure greed. Yep, “Mildred Pierce” is no ordinary movie – and hooray for that. 8.5/10

Saw this recently on the big screen at the BFI in London. Joan Crawford is simply stunning as a drab housewife, deserted by her useless husband, who starts off working in a restaurant kitchen as she strives for success and to be able to give her spoilt daughter the best that money can buy. Ann Blyth is wonderfully horrid as the daughter and Zachary Scott completes the trio of principals as the parasitical second husband. Mike Curtiz directs this superbly – particularly as the film heads to it’s climax; the screenplay and the score also lend copiously to the overall effect of this deservedly Oscar-winning story. It’s just great!

Joan Crawford’s Signature Role
With those broad shoulders, those wall-to-wall eyebrows, that steely look on her face, and wrapped in those expensive clothes, the inimitable Joan Crawford exudes glamour and resolve as famed Mildred Pierce, housewife turned businesswoman, in this Michael Curtiz-directed film, part mystery, part melodrama.

The film’s story, told in flashbacks, begins with mystery, and it is helped along by terrific B&W lighting. Most of the rest of the story is sheer melodrama, with talky dialogue that erupts from confrontations between various characters. The most important confrontations occur between Mildred and her ungrateful, scheming daughter Veda, who requires tons of money to be happy. As the story moves along, Mildred buys and successfully operates a restaurant, but it’s not enough to win approval from her odious daughter. Mildred’s love for Veda is deep. But Mildred, we learn, is also a take-charge woman who won’t take any guff from anyone, at least from caddy suitors or prospective in-laws.

It’s a great story. And in addition to the topnotch cinematography, the film has great production design, costumes, and editing. We’re also treated to some pleasantly nostalgic music from the 1940s. Crawford gets good support performances from Ann Blyth, Eve Arden, and Jack Carson. I also liked Butterfly McQueen, the little lady with the high-pitched voice who plays Mildred’s maid.

I suspect this film would have been worthy of praise, even with someone else playing the title character; the film is that good. But no other actress would have had the stage presence of the impressive Joan Crawford. It’s mostly because of her that “Mildred Pierce” will be remembered and loved, for generations to come. It’s also partly because of “Mildred Pierce” that Joan Crawford will be admired as a Hollywood legend, for generations to come.

What’s a mother to do?
This film might very well be director Michael Curtiz’s best movie ever. He was working at the top of his form; it didn’t hurt to have a great team behind him. Mr. Curtiz worked very well with Joan Crawford, who was about one of the most professional actress in the Hollywood of the 30s and 40s. For this Crawford vehicle, the novel of James Cain was chosen, even though it was probably a high risk to take in those days of hypocrisy and censorship.

Several commentaries in this forum classify the film as an example to the genre “film noir”, but if by that, the criteria is based on the great black and white cinematography, it is completely wrong, in this viewer’s humble opinion. This novel is a hybrid of pulp and mystery writing. It is pure melodrama, so in vogue at the time when this movie was made.

The way the story is told in flashbacks holds the viewer’s interest because it makes one feel as though Mildred did the terrible deed, when in reality she is nothing but a victim herself of her cunning little daughter, who couldn’t care less for the mother that gave her life. Mildred is the kind of woman who will sacrifice herself in order to give her daughters the life she didn’t have, only to be resented by Veda, the child who is the monster and always wanted more. Veda is just the opposite of her younger sister, who dies, inexplicably, and becomes the center of attention for the ever doting Mildred.

Veda is a spoiled child, and she knows it! She plays her hand very well knowing she has Mildred eating out of the palm of her hand. By wishing to be what she is not, Veda enters a world of sophistication she is not prepared for, even though she fakes it. One can almost see her falling into the greedy arms of Monte Baregan, the playboy who is the love object of both mother and daughter. He will be their downfall.

We cannot think of anyone, but Joan Crawford, playing the title role. She was at the pinnacle of her career, something that Michael Curtiz knew and got a great performance out of her. Ms Crawford is totally convincing as the mother of the story tormented by the same monster she created.

Ann Blyth was fairly new to films when she appeared in this picture. At times she looks extremely young, even younger than what she is supposed to be in the film. That Ms Blyth holds her own, playing opposite to Ms Crawford, speaks volumes. Her career never had such a fantastic moment as the creation she made of Veda.

Jack Carson was an excellent actor who always played secondary roles, but he shines as Wally. Zachary Scott also, plays the oily Monte with great panache. Perhaps the direction of Curtiz helped his performance, but then again, compared with his work with the director in “Flamingo Road”, he makes this Monte become real. Eve Arden, as Ida, doesn’t have much to do, but she was always so good in everything she did.

There is something that no one has commented upon, and it is the great, if brief, performance of Butterfly McQueen, who alas, is not even mentioned in the IMDB credits. She might have been uncredited in the film, but it is about time to give this woman the recognition she very well deserved in her brief scenes on the movie.

Mr. Curtiz couldn’t ask any better than Ernest Haller as his cinematographer. This man’s work is nothing short of genius. He was a huge talent behind the camera! The music by Max Steiner is always effective, however, there is a moment in the film that one hears a few notes of the score of another movie, and frankly, I’m not sure whether it’s from “Now Voyager”, or another film. It’s very quick, but it surprised me, as Mr. Steiner was a very original composer.

This film is not only a classic, it is Hollywood at its best!

Other Information:

Original Language en
Runtime 1 hr 51 min (111 min)
Budget 1453000
Revenue 5638000
Status Released
Rated Approved
Genre Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Director Michael Curtiz
Writer Ranald MacDougall, James M. Cain, William Faulkner
Actors Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott
Country United States
Awards Won 1 Oscar. 3 wins & 6 nominations total
Production Company N/A
Website N/A

Technical Information:

Sound Mix Mono (RCA Sound System)
Aspect Ratio 1.37 : 1
Camera N/A
Laboratory N/A
Film Length N/A
Negative Format 35 mm
Cinematographic Process Spherical
Printed Film Format 35 mm