The Joan Crawford Collection (Humoresque / Possessed (1947) / The Damned Don't Cry / The Women / Mildred Pierce)
by Curtis Bernhardt, Jean Negulesco, George Cukor
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Geraldine Brooks, Joan Crawford, Raymond Massey, Stanley Ridges, Van HeflinDirector: Curtis Bernhardt, George Cukor, Jean Negulesco
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, Box set, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 580 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-06-14
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of The Joan Crawford Collection (Humoresque / Possessed (1947) / The Damned Don't Cry / The Women / Mildred Pierce)
Movie Review: Now I know why this set is never on sale
Summary: 5 Stars
I'd put off getting this boxed set because it never went on sale. That is true of both this set and the Judy Garland Signature Collection. I finally did get this one, and for the past few days I've gone through the set and I can see why it's never on sale. Although I frequently see "The Women" and "Mildred Pierce" televised, it had been awhile for two of the others, and I had never seen "Humoresque" before. What a treat, what five outstanding films. You could honestly say that "The Women" and "Humoresque" are not really Joan's films. The leads are actually Norma Shearer and John Garfield, respectively. However, even in these films Joan plays a critical role I can't see going to any other actress, and that's an odd thing to say since they are both two very different films.
"The Women" is really the only film even bordering on comedy, with the other four being rather dark, and reflecting the domination of film noir during the post-WWII period. Other people have mentioned the plot details, so let me just say a few words about the extra features. WHV has consistently put out the best classic film boxed sets on the market, and this is one of them. They always pack these things with extra features, and they seem to know what kind of extra features suit each set. For example, the Warner Gangsters franchise always gets the Warner Night at the Movies treatment (a short subject, a cartoon, and a newsreel), and it fits. Likewise WHV seemed to know that humorous old MGM shorts and Bugs Bunny would just be an odd fit for Joan's films, although the humorous "The Women" does have some old 30's short subjects on its disc. Instead, we get some topnotch commentary and featurettes that focus on different aspects of the films. Well done WHV, this is a great salute to Joan.
More The Joan Crawford Collection (Humoresque / Possessed (1947) / The Damned Don't Cry / The Women / Mildred Pierce) reviews:
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Summary of The Joan Crawford Collection (Humoresque / Possessed (1947) / The Damned Don't Cry / The Women / Mildred Pierce)
The Joan Crawford Collection features classics from the star whose career spanned more than 40 years. "I never go out unless I look like Joan Crawford the movie star. If you want to see the girl next door, go next door." - Joan CrawfordThe Joan Crawford Collection brings together a potent group of films from Crawford's career renaissance: her Warner Bros. run of the late 1940s, beginning with Mildred Pierce. Four of the titles are from that heated, noirish streak, including Crawford's 1945 Oscar-winning turn in Mildred, a great Hollywood example of an actress's persona meeting the zeitgeist moment. In this adaptation of the James M. Cain novel, Crawford plays a sacrificing mother perfectly willing to claw her way to success for the sake of her ingrate daughter. Michael Curtiz directed, snapping Crawford out of a long career slide.
Humoresque (1946) was promptly given the top-drawer treatment, and it's a truly epic melodrama about a restless society woman who takes up the cause of a young violinist (John Garfield) from the slums. Possessed (1947) gave Crawford a thorough workout as a woman in complete obsessive breakdown from various romantic traumas. What Crawford lacks in subtlety she makes up for in sheer will, which suits the character well (and brought another best actress Oscar nomination). The Damned Don't Cry (1950) is a film noir smash-up, with Crawford as a low-rent dame who brazens her way into becoming a fur-lined mobster's moll (it was loosely inspired by the Bugsy Siegel-Virginia Hill story). It's overripe but entertaining.
1939's The Women, an MGM picture, doesn't fit the mood of the collection, although it has its fans. George Cukor directed this catty version of the Clare Booth Luce play, which has an all-female ensemble cast; Crawford is in very good form as a bad girl. The movie's reputation is somewhat beyond its actual witchy charm. (Packaging gaffe: the photo on the back cover is from Seven Women.) DVD extras tend toward smallish documentaries, save the absorbing 90-minute career profile The Ultimate Movie Star on the Mildred Pierce disc, an even-handed study that includes frank revelations from director-lover Vincent Sherman and the "wire hangers" story from adopted daughter Christina. Sherman contributes a commentary on The Damned Don't Cry. --Robert Horton
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