Joan Crawford is scorching in the role of the heroine, a break from the coniving bitchiness of many of her other roles (see Brix Pick The Women).
Instead she plays the titular role of Mildred Pierce as a tough yet trusting woman wronged who picks herself up and begins her own restaurant empire after a bitter divorce.
Mildred weathers bad affairs and fights in her tumultuous life, but the real femme fatale of this movie is her eldest daughter – and serious bitch, Veda – also played marvelously by Ann Blyth. It is Mildred's devotion to her venomous daughter that is her undoing and Crawford makes us sympathize and keeps us mesmerized the whole time.
The lightning is wonderfully noir and the sharp script is based on a novel by famed novelist James M Cain. A classic that stands the test of time.
But what do you think?