BEST JOAN CRAWFORD MOVIES
“The Hollywood Revue of 1929” (1929) A singing-and-dancing Crawford wouldn’t be the norm, but she was among the MGM stars then under studio contracts who participated in this variety showcase (with her scene excerpted decades later for “That’s Entertainment!”).
“Grand Hotel” (1932) One of Crawford’s first major hits was this all-star classic, its year’s Oscar winner for best picture, in which she played a business tycoon’s mistress.
“Dancing Lady” (1933) Crawford stars as – surprise! – a dancer who interests both a wealthy womanizer (Franchot Tone, later Crawford’s real-life husband) and a Broadway director (Clark Gable).
“The Women” (1939) Again part of an all-star lineup, Crawford played a married lady having an affair in a comedy-drama regarded as one of the top movies of a bountiful Hollywood year.
“Mildred Pierce” (1945) Crawford would become an Oscar winner for novelist James M. Cain’s saga of a mother who sacrificed virtually everything for the benefit of her ungrateful daughter (Ann Blyth). The film will be presented Sunday, May 22, on Turner Classic Movies.
“Humoresque” (1946) A woman (Crawford) takes a special interest in a violinist (John Garfield) that ultimately goes beyond his musical talent.
“Possessed” (1947) An Oscar nominee again here, Crawford played a psychiatric patient struggling to remember how she came to the desperate state she was found in.
“Daisy Kenyon” (1947) An artist (Crawford) involved with a married man (Dana Andrews) ends up turning to a more supportive war veteran (Henry Fonda).
“Flamingo Road” (1949) The source of a television serial decades later, this steamy drama casts Crawford as a dancer – yes, again – whose arrival in a Southern town stirs trouble among several politicians. “Sudden Fear” (1952) In another Oscarnominated performance, Crawford portrays a playwright targeted by her husband and his mistress (Jack Palance, Gloria Grahame).
“Johnny Guitar” (1954) Director Nicholas Ray’s Western casts Crawford as a tough-as-nails saloon owner ostracized by most others in her town.
“Autumn Leaves” (1956) Crawford lends dignity to the sudsy story of a woman romanced by a younger man (Cliff Robertson) who may be a danger to her. “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” (1962) Certainly one of Crawford’s most iconic films, director Robert Aldrich’s thriller casts her and Bette Davis as past-their-prime actress siblings who have a bizarre relationship.
“I Saw What You Did” (1965) Though it’s strictly out of the “B”-movie category, producerdirector William Castle’s suspense tale has its share of fun as Crawford plays a woman who becomes a party to the antics of crank-calling teens (Sara Lane, Andi Garrett, Sharyl Locke).