This movie is sort of a "guilty pleasure"--you know, a film you like watching despite the fact that it's not exactly well-acted or intellectual fare. I'll be the first to admit that the movie was very histrionic (in particular Ms. Crawford's performance) and is pure soap opera as well--but I still enjoyed the film immensely.
The film opens with a nice young lady (Lucy Marlow) coming to visit her bitchy cousin (Joan Crawford). Ms. Crawford acts incredibly kind and sweet and Ms. Marlow is completely taken in by this performance. However, the rest of the household (including Joan's husband and sister-in-law) seem far less taken by Joan's kindness--going so far as to warn Lucy it's all an act. And, eventually, Joan's evil, controlling and horrid nature seeps through and the audience comes to realize many things: she hates her own children (that must have been a BIG acting stretch), hates everyone around her, must be 100% in control of everyone and is like a wild animal when crossed. Her evil ways eventually lead to her sister-in-law committing suicide and her husband begins plotting to murder her. Exactly how this is all resolved, I'll leave to you--I'd hate to spoil it.
As for the problems with the plot, there were several. If you don't think, they won't pose a problem. However, the romance between Lucy and Joan's hubby (Barry Sullivan) seemed completely illogical and "from out of left field". It didn't make much sense and it just wasn't at all convincing. Second, Joan was so bad, so cruel and so gosh-darn awful, it's really hard to imagine it took anyone so long to try and kill her! Perhaps this was just a little too far-fetched!
All-in-all, this movie is very typical of Crawford's movies of the 1940s and 50s. She played the bitchy, controlling role a lot and based on reports from Christina Crawford, these roles weren't far from the truth! Fun to watch--impossible to live with!
The film opens with a nice young lady (Lucy Marlow) coming to visit her bitchy cousin (Joan Crawford). Ms. Crawford acts incredibly kind and sweet and Ms. Marlow is completely taken in by this performance. However, the rest of the household (including Joan's husband and sister-in-law) seem far less taken by Joan's kindness--going so far as to warn Lucy it's all an act. And, eventually, Joan's evil, controlling and horrid nature seeps through and the audience comes to realize many things: she hates her own children (that must have been a BIG acting stretch), hates everyone around her, must be 100% in control of everyone and is like a wild animal when crossed. Her evil ways eventually lead to her sister-in-law committing suicide and her husband begins plotting to murder her. Exactly how this is all resolved, I'll leave to you--I'd hate to spoil it.
As for the problems with the plot, there were several. If you don't think, they won't pose a problem. However, the romance between Lucy and Joan's hubby (Barry Sullivan) seemed completely illogical and "from out of left field". It didn't make much sense and it just wasn't at all convincing. Second, Joan was so bad, so cruel and so gosh-darn awful, it's really hard to imagine it took anyone so long to try and kill her! Perhaps this was just a little too far-fetched!
All-in-all, this movie is very typical of Crawford's movies of the 1940s and 50s. She played the bitchy, controlling role a lot and based on reports from Christina Crawford, these roles weren't far from the truth! Fun to watch--impossible to live with!