Mildred Pierce (1945)

USA 111m, B&W
Director: Michael Curtiz; Cast: Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden

Mildred Pierce is a tormented woman who is willing to give up everything for her only surviving child, a spoiled daughter who has an incestuous relationship with her second husband that leads Mildred to the brink of suicide. As a murder mystery, this film noir begins with an unsolved murder, which eventually is solved through a series of flashbacks. While the plot is somewhat predictable, Crawford’s performance as the distraught mother is exceptional, as is Ann Blyth’s performance as Veda, her despicable spoiled daughter. In addition to providing good melodramatic entertainment, Mildred Pierce might equally be considered a poster-child for post-war birth control (Klaus Ming December 2009).