Mommie Dearest

film / 6.25pm / TCM

With the 1978 publication of Christina Crawford’s book about her sadistic, alcoholic film-star mother Joan, a new genre was born – the tell-all celebrity memoir. This movie version followed in 1981, with Faye Dunaway miraculously transformed in the lead role as unhinged neurotic (‘No wire hangers!’) Joan. With Feud – about Joan’s rivalry with Bette Davis – a big hit in the US, this camp classic sets the bar high. ‘Tina! Bring me the axe!’