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michaelwan · 01 Nov 2011, 05:42

Mildred Pierce is a classic postwar film noir with elements of the melodrama or "weeper"; it was structured as a typical murder mystery told in flashbacks. The family melodrama was significantly modified from its original source because of pressures from the Motion Picture Production Code regarding its sordid nature, specifically the behavior of the dissolute playboy character, Monty, who initiates a quasi-incestuous romance with his stepdaughter, Veda. At the same time, however, the screenwriters made violence much more central to the plot than it was in Cain's novel.
Hungarian-born director Michael Curtiz had already directed films of many different genres, including The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), Dodge City (1939), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), The Sea Hawk (1940), Casablanca (1942), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), and This is the Army (1943). Curtiz reluctantly began filming with Crawford, who had a reputation for being mannered and difficult, but he was pleasantly surprised by her performance. The role was always considered for Crawford, but at certain stages also for Ann Sheridan.
This film was a tremendous box-office hit and critical success, and was adapted by Ranald MacDougall, Catherine Turney, and William Faulkner from Cain's novel. [Cain wrote novellas that provided source material for two other film-noir classics: his novella The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934), filmed in 1946, and the novella, Double Indemnity (1936), filmed in 1944.] Atypical of films noir, the protagonist in the film is female, but she is conventionally brought down by a femme fatale, in this case, her own daughter. Successful promotional copy for the film read: "Mildred Pierce – don't ever tell anyone what she did."
The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Eve Arden and Ann Blyth, both with their only career nominations), Best Screenplay (Ranald MacDougall), and Best Black-and-white Cinematography (Ernest Haller, who shared the Color Cinematography Oscar for Gone with the Wind (1939). Crawford won the film's sole Academy Award as Best Actress. It was her sole win out of three career nominations.

01 Nov 2011, 05:42	#7
michaelwan Novice Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 3	Mildred Pierce is a classic postwar film noir with elements of the melodrama or "weeper"; it was structured as a typical murder mystery told in flashbacks. The family melodrama was significantly modified from its original source because of pressures from the Motion Picture Production Code regarding its sordid nature, specifically the behavior of the dissolute playboy character, Monty, who initiates a quasi-incestuous romance with his stepdaughter, Veda. At the same time, however, the screenwriters made violence much more central to the plot than it was in Cain's novel. Hungarian-born director Michael Curtiz had already directed films of many different genres, including The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), Dodge City (1939), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), The Sea Hawk (1940), Casablanca (1942), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), and This is the Army (1943). Curtiz reluctantly began filming with Crawford, who had a reputation for being mannered and difficult, but he was pleasantly surprised by her performance. The role was always considered for Crawford, but at certain stages also for Ann Sheridan. This film was a tremendous box-office hit and critical success, and was adapted by Ranald MacDougall, Catherine Turney, and William Faulkner from Cain's novel. [Cain wrote novellas that provided source material for two other film-noir classics: his novella The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934), filmed in 1946, and the novella, Double Indemnity (1936), filmed in 1944.] Atypical of films noir, the protagonist in the film is female, but she is conventionally brought down by a femme fatale, in this case, her own daughter. Successful promotional copy for the film read: "Mildred Pierce – don't ever tell anyone what she did." The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Eve Arden and Ann Blyth, both with their only career nominations), Best Screenplay (Ranald MacDougall), and Best Black-and-white Cinematography (Ernest Haller, who shared the Color Cinematography Oscar for Gone with the Wind (1939). Crawford won the film's sole Academy Award as Best Actress. It was her sole win out of three career nominations.