Parents have a natural inclination to protect and sometimes indulge their children; however, in "Mildred Pierce" we see what happens when this tendency is taken to the extreme and predictably the results are grotesque.
When Mildred (Joan Crawford) is abandoned by her unfaithful, unemployed husband Bert (Bruce Bennett), she finds employment as a waitress and also bakes pies at home to generate extra cash. She soon decides that she wants to open her own restaurant and with the help of her husband's ex-business partner Wally (Jack Carson), buys a property from Monte Beragon (Zachary Scott). Monte and Mildred become friendly and after spending some time together at his beach house, Mildred is told that her younger daughter Kay (Jo Anne Marlowe) has been taken ill. Kay dies from pneumonia and Mildred, who had always showered her older daughter Veda (Ann Blyth) with lots of affection and possessions, becomes even more committed to making sure that Veda gets everything she wants.
The restaurant business is successful and soon grows into a chain. Mildred's relationship with Monte deepens but becomes strained by his regular need for her to give him money to fund his playboy lifestyle. Eventually, after becoming concerned that Monte's indolence is providing the wrong sort of example for Veda, she cools the relationship. She later reignites it however, simply as a means of providing Veda with the standard of living that she desires. Monte is wise to her motivation and consequently his acceptance of her marriage proposal comes at the cost of her relinquishing one third of the business to him. He continues to be irresponsible financially and this leads to Mildred losing her business. When Monte is subsequently murdered at the beach house, Mildred is questioned by the police and tells them all about her relationship with Monte before they finally deduce the identity of the murderer.
The screen adaptation of James M Cain's novel recounts the story in flashback starting with Monte's murder. This provides an immediate and powerful impact and the pace of the events that follow keep the interest level high throughout. As well as being an engaging murder mystery, it's also a melodrama which revolves around Mildred's relationship with Veda. Mildred readily sacrifices everything for Veda, keeping up a punishing work schedule and even marrying a man she doesn't love to ensure that Veda gets all that she wants. In return, Veda is totally selfish, ungrateful and treats her mother with utter contempt. She has no respect for her mother's efforts or achievements and is actually embarrassed by the type of work which Mildred does.
Joan Crawford (who won the 1946 Oscar for Best Actress for this part) convincingly displays all the strength which her character uses to emerge from adversity to become a successful businesswoman and also the vulnerability she feels because of her desperate need to please Veda and cope with her daughter's abuse and disdain. Ann Blyth is excellent as the spoiled and materialistic Veda and the remainder of the cast also provide consistently good performances. The most entertaining of these is Mildred's friend and co-worker Ida (Eve Arden), who is witty and humorous and gets to deliver some great lines such as; "Veda's convinced me that alligators have the right idea. They eat their young".
When Mildred (Joan Crawford) is abandoned by her unfaithful, unemployed husband Bert (Bruce Bennett), she finds employment as a waitress and also bakes pies at home to generate extra cash. She soon decides that she wants to open her own restaurant and with the help of her husband's ex-business partner Wally (Jack Carson), buys a property from Monte Beragon (Zachary Scott). Monte and Mildred become friendly and after spending some time together at his beach house, Mildred is told that her younger daughter Kay (Jo Anne Marlowe) has been taken ill. Kay dies from pneumonia and Mildred, who had always showered her older daughter Veda (Ann Blyth) with lots of affection and possessions, becomes even more committed to making sure that Veda gets everything she wants.
The restaurant business is successful and soon grows into a chain. Mildred's relationship with Monte deepens but becomes strained by his regular need for her to give him money to fund his playboy lifestyle. Eventually, after becoming concerned that Monte's indolence is providing the wrong sort of example for Veda, she cools the relationship. She later reignites it however, simply as a means of providing Veda with the standard of living that she desires. Monte is wise to her motivation and consequently his acceptance of her marriage proposal comes at the cost of her relinquishing one third of the business to him. He continues to be irresponsible financially and this leads to Mildred losing her business. When Monte is subsequently murdered at the beach house, Mildred is questioned by the police and tells them all about her relationship with Monte before they finally deduce the identity of the murderer.
The screen adaptation of James M Cain's novel recounts the story in flashback starting with Monte's murder. This provides an immediate and powerful impact and the pace of the events that follow keep the interest level high throughout. As well as being an engaging murder mystery, it's also a melodrama which revolves around Mildred's relationship with Veda. Mildred readily sacrifices everything for Veda, keeping up a punishing work schedule and even marrying a man she doesn't love to ensure that Veda gets all that she wants. In return, Veda is totally selfish, ungrateful and treats her mother with utter contempt. She has no respect for her mother's efforts or achievements and is actually embarrassed by the type of work which Mildred does.
Joan Crawford (who won the 1946 Oscar for Best Actress for this part) convincingly displays all the strength which her character uses to emerge from adversity to become a successful businesswoman and also the vulnerability she feels because of her desperate need to please Veda and cope with her daughter's abuse and disdain. Ann Blyth is excellent as the spoiled and materialistic Veda and the remainder of the cast also provide consistently good performances. The most entertaining of these is Mildred's friend and co-worker Ida (Eve Arden), who is witty and humorous and gets to deliver some great lines such as; "Veda's convinced me that alligators have the right idea. They eat their young".