Faye Dunaway mentions in her autobiography that she screamed herself hoarse during the filming for the notorious wire hanger tantrum scene in this movie. She called Frank Sinatra for help, and he gave her some pointers on how to get her voice back into shape.
To create the look of screen legend Joan Crawford, actress Faye Dunaway had a 4am make-up call each day of shooting for a minimum three-hour make-up and hair session.
In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Christina Crawford opened up about the film's famous title, saying that, "'Mommie dearest' was a term of enslavement. If we just called her 'Mother' or 'Mommy,' she corrected us over and over and over again."
Cult-film director John Waters recorded a commentary track for the film's DVD release. Ironically, Waters states immediately in his commentary that he feels the film's reputation as being a cult film is undeserved, and proceeds to give a mostly straight analysis of the picture as a drama.
According to Rutanya Alda, Faye Dunaway was despised by the crew due to her unpleasant attitude. "Joan got her way in a ladylike way. Faye was despised because she was so rude to people. Everyone was on pins and needles when she worked, and everyone relaxed when she didn't. I wish Faye had learned from Joan." This does go along with what Bette Davis said about Faye in numerous interviews; that she was rude and unprofessional.