TheLittleSongbird Known as the film that rescued Joan Crawford's waning career and the performance that won her her only Oscar, 'Mildred Pierce' is regarded as a classic for good reason and is so much more than those two things. While the book is more cynical and grittier, the sharp edge still remains.Crawford herself has never been better, she completely embodies her role and has rarely been more chilling, dignified or moving. The rest of the cast are more than up to her level, especially a conniving Ann Blyth, a suitably caddish Zachary Scott, a snappy Eve Arden and a typically excellent Jack Carson. Bruce Bennett's character is not quite as meaty as the rest but he still makes much of it. The characters mostly aren't likable, nor were they meant to be, and this is more than compensated by how well written and interesting they are, hardly caricatures.Michael Curtiz's direction is super cool, making 'Mildred Pierce' one of his best films along with 'Casablanca' and 'The Adventures of Robin Hood'. The cinematography is some of the most beautiful and atmospheric of any film that decade to me, and the film is lavishly mounted in production values. Max Steiner's music score may be similar to his score for 'Now Voyager', but that's not a bad thing because it's still a stirring and beautifully orchestrated score and typical Steiner.The script is sophisticated, sharp and unsentimental, and the story is riveting in its tension and poignancy with a good mix of film noir and melodrama.Overall, a classic. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Lee Eisenberg Joan Crawford won an Oscar for her portrayal of a mother whose determination to make a better life for her daughter leads to disastrous outcomes. Whereas Crawford is now known as abusive towards her children, "Mildred Pierce" casts her as a caring individual, while her daughter is the brutal one. Michael Curtiz's adaptation of James M. Cain's novel creates a truly noir setting. None of the characters can truly get called a "good" or "bad" person, even though plenty of them do questionable things.Without a doubt, the bulk of the credit has to go to Crawford. Her facial expressions are enough to chill you. Good performances also come from the rest of the cast, but Michael Curtiz's - of "Casablanca" fame - direction merits praise. The camera angles, lighting, and overall pace of the movie create one of the most intense movies that you'll ever see. I don't know what James M. Cain - of "The Postman Always Rings Twice" fame - thought of this adaptation, but I recommend it.As for movies about Joan Crawford, "Mommie Dearest" has a trashy reputation, but I took it seriously. I understand that Ryan Murphy has produced an upcoming miniseries about the production of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?", starring Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford and Susan Sarandon as Bette Davis. This sounds good. In the mean time, definitely see "Mildred Pierce" (I still haven't seen Todd Haynes's 2011 miniseries starring Kate Winslet).

Siliw this is a movie talks about family relationship. It pick up a boring topic to describe. It is the love from a mother to her daughter. I think the love from mother to daughter is unfair but grateful. Mother tries her best to give her daughter everything she wants in the world. But the daughter thinks she deserved all of those beautiful gifts and also she deserved this love from her mother. The daughter doesn't know to say thank you to her mother. She doesn't know to switch thinking. If she knows to thinking on her mother's position, she won't do those things to hurt her mother's heart. However, after the daughter done those things to break her mother's heart, mother still loves her and try to do everything to cover her daughter's crime.

mleonardo60 I really appreciated how strong the roles of female characters were in the Mildred Pierce.Even today you don't get many movies with a large female cast. The movie did a great job of portraying the grief and hard work that the protagonist experienced throughout her life. She is one of the most rounded characters I've seen in a while. However, the movie drags on for far too long. Many scenes could have been whittled down or cut without impairing the message of the film or the impact of each individual take. Mildred Pierce is undeniably well made, but I somehow found myself waiting for it to end halfway through. Overall, the movie is something I believe people will continue to enjoy for years to come.