Mildred Pierce (1945)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Ranald MacDougall (screenplay)
James M. Cain (novel)
(more)

Release Date:

20 October 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Romance

Tagline:

In her heart of hearts she knew it would happen this way !

Plot:

After her cheating husband leaves her, Mildred Pierce proves she can become independent and successful, but can't win the approval of her spoiled daughter.

Plot Keywords:

Restaurant | Divorce | Snobbishness | Housewife | Source Music

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Joan Crawford	...	Mildred Pierce Beragon
Jack Carson	...	Wally Fay
Zachary Scott	...	Monte Beragon
Eve Arden	...	Ida Corwin
Ann Blyth	...	Veda Pierce Forrester
Bruce Bennett	...	Albert ('Bert') Pierce
Lee Patrick	...	Mrs. Maggie Biederhof
Moroni Olsen	...	Inspector Peterson
Veda Ann Borg	...	Miriam Ellis
Jo Ann Marlowe	...	Kay Pierce
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
William Alcorn	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Betty Alexander	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Ramsay Ames	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
George Anderson	...	Peterson's assistant (uncredited)
Robert Arthur	...	High School Boy (uncredited)
Lynn Baggett	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Leah Baird	...	Police Matron (uncredited)
Dorothy Barrett	...	Dorothy (uncredited)
Barbara Brown	...	Mrs. Forrester (uncredited)
Elyse Brown	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Claire Carleton	...	Thieving Waitress (uncredited)
Doria Caron	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Wheaton Chambers	...	Personnel Man (uncredited)
John Christian	...	Singing Teacher (uncredited)
Wallis Clark	...	Wally's Lawyer (uncredited)
Chester Clute	...	Mr. Jones (uncredited)
John Compton	...	Theodore 'Ted' Ellison Forrester (uncredited)
Joyce Compton	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Clancy Cooper	...	Policeman (uncredited)
David Cota	...	Pancho (uncredited)
Tom Dillon	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Robert Evans	...	Sailor (uncredited)
James Flavin	...	Detective (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Restaurant patron (uncredited)
Don Grant	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Angela Greene	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Dorothy Hack	...	Teenage girl (uncredited)
Arthur Stuart Hull	...	First Night Diner With Cane (uncredited)
Charles Jordan	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Marjorie Kane	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Fred Kelsey	...	Bumped First Night Diner (uncredited)
Dick Kipling	...	Personnel Man (uncredited)
Manart Kippen	...	Dr. Gale (uncredited)
Perk Lazelle	...	Attorney's Clerk (uncredited)
Marion Lessing	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Jimmy Lono	...	Monte's Houseboy (uncredited)
Robert Loraine	...	Man (uncredited)
Jean Lorraine	...	Woman (uncredited)
Butterfly McQueen	...	Lottie - Mildred's Maid (uncredited)
George Meader	...	Man (uncredited)
Mary Ellen Meyran	...	Woman (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Man (uncredited)
Jack Mower	...	Jack (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor	...	First Night Diner (uncredited)
Jack O'Connor	...	Detective (uncredited)
Garry Owen	...	Policeman on Pier (uncredited)
Paul Panzer	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Helen Pender	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Larry Rio	...	Reporter (uncredited)
William Ruhl	...	Personnel Man (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Diner Customer (uncredited)
Mary Servoss	...	Nurse (uncredited)
John Sheridan	...	Clerk (uncredited)
George Tobias	...	Mr. Chris (uncredited)
Charles Trowbridge	...	Mr. Williams (uncredited)
Johnny Walsh	...	Delivery Man (uncredited)
Joan Wardley	...	Wife (uncredited)
Joan Winfield	...	Piano Teacher (uncredited)

Directed by
Michael Curtiz

Writing credits
Ranald MacDougall		(screenplay)
James M. Cain		(novel "Mildred Pierce")
William Faulkner		uncredited and
Catherine Turney		uncredited

Produced by
Jerry Wald	....	producer
Jack L. Warner	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Max Steiner

Cinematography by
Ernest Haller		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
David Weisbart

Art Direction by
Anton Grot

Set Decoration by
George James Hopkins

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Frank Heath	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Oliver S. Garretson	....	sound

Special Effects by
Willard Van Enger	....	special effects

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Milo Anderson	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Hugo Friedhofer	....	orchestral arranger

Other crew
Herschel Daugherty	....	dialogue director
James Leicester	....	montages

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (as Warner Bros.-First National Pictures)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1945) (USA) (theatrical)
• Dominant Pictures Corporation (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (UK) (VHS)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Sociedade Importadora de Filmes (SIF) (????) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #10660) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:PG | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

26652 Latigo Shore Drive, Malibu, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Jack L. Warner originally wanted Vincent Sherman to direct the film but Jerry Wald held out for Michael Curtiz.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Just before Veda is taken into custody, she tells Mildred: "I'll get by," but her lips don't move.

Quotes:

Wally: You know, you keep on refusing me, and one of these days I'm going to start thinking you're stubborn.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

Soundtrack:

The Oceana Roll

Film Noir Classic

Joan Crawford won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of the title character in this 1945 offering by Warner Brothers. Ms. Crawford was in her prime then and members of my generation, who remember her in films such as 1968's Berserk and 1970's Trog, are sometimes surprised to learn how attractive and talented she was in her heyday. The mean-spirited commentary of her life which we have been subjected to since her death in 1977 notwithstanding, still there was a certain hard edge to her personality which shown through in her screen roles. That she was able to win filmdom's greatest prize by playing a willing victim and vulnerable woman is perhaps the greatest tribute to her abilities as an artist. At any rate, she was the star of this film noir classic, a story that holds up well after 57 years. Mildred Pierce was an ordinary housewife of the era. No skills, relied on her husband for sustenance and leadership and was crushed when he ditched her for another woman. Her daughters were her whole life, doting unhealthily on Veda, the older one, especially (a very young Ann Blyth, herself nominated for Best Supporting Actress for this film). But, Veda was a schemer, conniver and social climber from the word go and it was ultimately her actions which brought an interesting human interest story to a thunderous climax. The story fascinates as we see Crawford, through iron will and determination, become an independent, successful business woman even as she makes tragic error after tragic error in her personal life. Mildred Pierce really is a rare animal, as it truly is more of a human interest story than any other in the film noir genre. The cast is great: Jack Carson, outstanding as Mildred's lifelong friend and would-be suitor, Bruce Bennett as Mildred's nice but weak-willed husband, Zachary Scott as the caddish successor to Bruce Bennett for Mildred's affections, and Eve Arden (still another nomination for Best Supporting Actress) in one of her trademark roles as a no nonsense gal pal. In Mildred Pierce, we have murder, love, misguided love, love not reciprocated, jealousy, misunderstanding, and good intentions/bad results. Could it be this film is so intriguing because we see in our own lives one or more of these very human conditions?