The Damned Don't Cry (1950) User Reviews

Very Nice-Looking Noir-Melodrama

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 24 January 2006]

For me, the best part about this film was the exceptional lighting which made this a great movie to see on DVD. The great black-and-white photography reminded of films like The Sweet Smell Of Success and To Kill A Mockingbird. The camera-work in this movie does not take a backseat to those great films, believe me.

Story-wise, it's a somewhat-familiar Joan Crawford movie with a bit more emphasis on the melodrama than the film noir, a la Mildred Pierce. That's a compliment because "Mildred" was a well-crafted story and so is this. It's an effective mixture of drama and noir. However, unlike "Mildred," this Crawford character ("Ethel" aka "Mrs. Forvbes") has a worldly edge to her with a chip on her big shoulders. It's tough to sympathize with her in this story, frankly.

Kent Smith plays her naive, wimpy dupe for much of the film but when David Brian enters the scene, the movie really picks up. Gangster Brian is nobody's patsy and he's fascinating, portraying the most intense character in the story.

This is another one of the fine classic movies that never got a VHS showing but finally got a break with a recent DVD release, which is all the better since the camera-work is deserving of the nice look this transfer gives it. Once more, another impressive movie from 1950, one of the better years Hollywood ever had.

Ambition, Murder and Betrayal

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 29 October 2011]

When the dumped body of notorious racketeer Nick Prenta (Steve Cochran) is found in the desert near the resort Desert Springs, the police officers investigate his belongings in his house. They find a movie and when they watch it, they see the socialite Lorna Hanson Forbes (Joan Crawford) with Nick in the swimming pool. They go to her house and find that she is missing and after a further investigation, they discover that she has never existed and the discovery of her association with the organized crime baffles the authorities.

Meanwhile Ethel Whitehead (Joan Crawford) returns to the poor house of her estranged parents and recalls when she was married with the rude worker Roy Whitehead (Richard Egan). When their six year-old son Tommy is hit by a truck and dies, Ethel leaves Roy and travels to New York. The ambitious Ethel finds a job and sooner she befriends the gangster Grady (Hugh Sanders). When she meets the accountant Martin Blankford (Kent Smith), Ethel convinces him to work for Grady. Sooner the powerful mobster George Castleman (David Brian) invites Martin to work for the mafia and Ethel becomes his lover, changing her name to Lorna Hanson Forbes and joining the dangerous world of murders and betrayals of the organized crime.

"The Damned Don't Cry" is a film-noir with a tale of ambition, murder and betrayal. Joan Crawford performs the role of an ambitious woman from the working class that finds social ascension in the men's world using her glamor and different lovers.

The story is based on the mysterious Virginia Hill, a woman without past that belonged to the upper-class and her lover Bugsy Segall, one of the most famous gangsters of the 40's. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Os Desgraçados Não Choram!" ("The Bastards Don't Cry!")

Mistress To The Gangster Elite

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 10 June 2010]

The Damned Don't Cry finds Joan Crawford on a roller-coaster ride from poverty, to riches, to notoriety and then to God knows where. Her fate is by no means clear at the end of the film.

Joan is an older version of the shop girl she played in her MGM days. She leaves her hard working, but dull husband Richard Egan after their little boy is killed in a traffic accident. She has beauty, but little else in the way of work skills. The answer is obvious, become a model.

The modeling gig gets her involved with the mob and she's soon trading up men from accountant Kent Smith, to mobsters, Steve Cochran, and David Brian. Along the way Joan acquires riches, polish, and a new name and identity of a wealthy Texas oil heiress. That's only befitting the position of mistress to the gangster elite.

With Virginia Hill's testimony before the Kefauver Committee and the spectacular death of Bugsy Siegel a couple of years earlier, the recognition of the characters played by Crawford and Cochran would have been easy for the movie-going public. In fact I'm surprised Steve Cochran never got to play Siegel in a biographical picture long before Warren Beatty did his film. Cochran would have been perfect in the role. Of course it was probably too close to Siegel's demise and a lot of Hollywood people might have been burned a bit.

David Brian is a sleek version of Lucky Luciano who was not as polished in real life as Brian is here. But beneath the polish, Brian's a deadly man although he would not be doing his own work if he was really Luciano at that stage. And Kent Smith in the Meyer Lansky part is really quite the stretch.

Crawford pulls all the stops out in The Damned Don't Cry. Her fans and others will really love this film.

Excellent Performances

[drednm · 3 July 2009]

The hard-working Joan Crawford scores again in this 1950 film. Here she plays a working-class mom who witnesses her son get killed while she's fighting with her oafish husband (Richard Egan). She bails the marriage and ends up as a two-bit model in a small dress manufacturing company. She models and takes clients out for a good time.

The she meets a timid bookkeeper (Kent Smith)and together they worm their way into a mob-like syndicate run by brutal David Brian. As they work their way up the ladder, Joan's small-town girl is transformed into a faux oil heiress/socialite with the help of a real-lie but broke socialite (Selena Royle). But when Joan is asked to head west (to Las Vegas) to get the goods on a scheming subordinate (Steve Cochran), all hell breaks loose.

Crawford is superb here. At age 45 or so she looks great and gets to display a range of emotions as the tough-and-determined Ethel/Lorna. Egan, Royle, Brian, and Cochran are all excellent. This one ranks among Crawford's best Warners films and not to be missed.

Joan Crawford gives an outstanding performance!

[gitrich · 7/10 · 5 February 1999]

Joan Crawford portrays a young woman on the edge of poverty who decides to change her life for the better. Unfortunately, she thinks that money is the answer to every problem. A smart drama, though formula most of the time. An excellent cast includes David Brian, Steve Cochran and Kent Smith. This is a film worth seeing.

The Damned Would Cheer After Seeing this Film ****

[edwagreen · 9/10 · 28 September 2008]

5 years after "Mildred Pierce" and Joan Crawford is at it again. Again, she is poor and is willing to climb to the top no matter what. In this film, she becomes involved with organized crime and becomes a real pro in being used to infiltrate other wayward mobsters.

From poverty to that Mildred Pierce mink, Crawford gave a truly memorable performance. She will stop at nothing to get to the top.

Along the way, she seduces timid accountant, played masterfully by Kent Smith, to join the mob only two realize that the two of them are trapped.

Another favorite co-star of Crawford, David Brian appears as the head mobster who is against violence but must come to grips with it when renegade hood, the always terrific Steve Cochran, seduces Crawford and then goes after her when he discovers that she is a Brian stooge.

This is a gripping film-noir at its best.

Too old but still smokin' hot

[ArtVandelayImporterExporter · 7/10 · 26 September 2022]

Sure I agree that Joan Crawford was too old for THIS part, which required a 20-something bored with her slug of a husband. Then wanders off and has men chasing her skirt basically 24/7.

Nevertheless - and most ironically - the decision to strip her of the usual five layers of war paint reminds viewers just how ridiculously good-looking Joan Crawford was. And pardon me for saying so,but I had no problem - None Whatsoever - believing Joan with a more natural look, parading around in model's lingerie or dinner clothes, and sporting a cheeky attitude, would have men falling all over themselves.

She is, quite simply, a drop-ded s3xy woman, regardless of age.

As her character gains confidence with the hustle, her character just gets more interesting. And more attractive.

There's a plot involving an accountant but who cares. Those are details.

Great, thrilling film noir

[I_Ailurophile · 10/10 · 16 July 2022]

If there's one thing this unquestionably cements, it's that there's substantial, tremendous value in old movies that too many people readily overlook. It's not without its issues, including considerable sexism - though in fairness, that's just a sad reflection of society. More importantly, though, 'The damned don't cry' is fantastically sharp and engaging. I quite expected I'd enjoy this, but I can't overstate just how good it is.

To a very small extent there's a common and familiar thread woven through the picture in terms of the romantic element. Less common is the cutting intelligence and presence that courses through the length, in every way. Protagonist Ethel, or Lorna, is impressively shrewd, ambitious, strong-willed, and determined - and I can scarcely imagine anyone better to fill that role than Joan Crawford, whose piercing gaze and command of a scene handily matches the character she portrays. If anyone else in the cast provides any less vibrant of a spark, it's only because there's only one Joan Crawford, but rest assured everyone involved gives an excellent, powerful performance. There's an intensity and forcefulness of both emotion and personality that defines the acting of everybody from David Brian and Steve Cochran to Selene Royal and Jacqueline deWit, and the result is a feature that grabs our attention and doesn't let go, just on account of the actors and their parts.

This is to say nothing of the the unremitting excellence of all else about 'The damned don't cry.' The dialogue is just as snappy and biting as the complicated characters that communicate it, and the scene writing that maintains a brisk pace as hard-nosed as the figures within. And the narrative that all this builds is stupendously rich and absorbing: tense, deceptively dark, and compelling, from the very start to the bitter end. With rare exception film noir is a genre that's steadily reliable for smart, thrilling intrigue, and this fits neatly into that company. All the hallmarks are here - shady personages, dubious dealings, and bad business that gradually spirals out of control - and this rendition is just as wonderfully gripping as any of its brethren.

And that's not all! The use of lighting, especially to contrast with shadow in specific arrangements, is outstanding in lending to the dreary atmosphere pervading the film. Ted McCord's cinematography is crisp and vivid, and Vincent Sherman's direction is impeccable. The fundamental orchestration of each scene is fabulously striking, especially at the climax but hardly any less so at any other point. The entirety of the production design and art direction are splendidly fetching, providing a feast for the eyes while our minds are enraptured with the frankly bleak tale unfolding before us. Every last detail here is simply exquisite, from set design and decoration, to filming locations, to costume design, hair, and makeup.

I understand that for various reasons older movies don't sit well with all viewers; there was a time long ago when I struggled with them, too. With age comes wisdom, however, and there are more than 100 years of cinema history to catch up on. Among too many others - for as terrifically engrossing and well made as 'The damned don't cry' is, mark it as a title that you must watch if you have the opportunity.

Ambitious girl climbs the ladder of crime...Crawford and Warners click with heated melodrama

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 9 June 2010]

Gertrude Walker's story "Case History", known at the time for being partly inspired by Virginia Hill's life, becomes tough Joan Crawford vehicle from Warner Bros., some of it wonderfully juicy. A runaway wife (guess who?) gets a job modeling clothes for a low-rent fashion company (while entertaining the clients after-hours!); she meets a timid accountant and introduces him to a shady nightclub manager, who then introduces the couple to the governor, a crook with ties to racketeering. The governor, married but having a torrid affair with our heroine, sends her out under an alias to spy on a casino owner who may be in-cahoots with the mob, and she falls for him too! Very lively, engrossing, and ridiculous--but enjoyably so. Joan gives a tight, taut performance (one of her best from this period), and she's matched wonderfully by smoldering Steve Cochran, snarling David Brian, and a young Richard Egan as the spouse she escaped from. Only Kent Smith stumbles as the CPA (his weak profile and slack chin make him an automatic doormat for any scenario). Otherwise good fun, though the title is mysteriously irrelevant. **1/2 from ****

Loose reworking of the Bugsy Siegel-Virginia Hill affair

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 24 October 2007]

Joan Crawford revitalized a flagging career when she left MGM and signed with Warner Brothers in the '40s. "The Damned Don't Cry" is just one of the very entertaining films she made for Warners, which include "Mildred Pierce," for which she won an Oscar and "Flamingo Road." The formula usually follows the rags to riches line, something Crawford was very good at indeed.

Here, she's Ethel Whitehead, a wife and mother of a young boy who dies in an accident, at which point Ethel takes off seeking money, nice things, and the fun she's never had in life. She soon comes to the attention of a clothes manufacturer who has her model the clothes and encourage the buyers to spend their cash after hours. She rides the coattails of a bland CPA (Kent Smith) into the mob domain of George Castleman (David Brian), who gives her a life she only dreamed of - a society name, expensive digs, great trips, clothes and jewels - and no ring on third finger, left hand. Not that anyone has mentioned if she divorced her first husband (Richard Egan). Castleman, suspicious of Nick Prenta (Steve Cochran) who runs his western territory sends Ethel - now "Lorna Hanson Forbes" out to investigate and inveigle her way into Prenta's life to find out what he's planning. It's then that "Lorna" realizes she's just another thing that Castleman uses.

This is a slick, fast-moving noir that is basically all Joan all the time. Surrounded by a strong cast, she's the only real star, and she looks it in her beautiful clothes and jewels. She's at her glamorous best here in 1950, right before she hardened into almost a caricature of herself in the '50s and '60s. I can't agree that Crawford's age (46) gets in the way and that Ava Gardner would have been better. Ethel/Lorna is the type of role at which Joan excelled. It was believable, to me at least, that these men were all attracted to her - her character has guts, intelligence, beauty and sexuality. David Brian is her brutish boyfriend, and the scene where he surprises her out west is quite violent, even by today's standards. Steve Cochran is handsome, boyish, and thug-like as Prenta, and he comes on strong.

"The Damned Don't Cry" is directed with great spirit by Vincent Sherman and will keep the viewer involved throughout.

She's as tempting as a cup-cake and as tough as a 75 cent steak.

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 16 November 2012]

The Damned Don't Cry! Is directed by Vincent Sherman and collectively written by Gertrude Walker, Harold Medford and Jerome Weidman. It stars Joan Crawford, David Brian, Steve Cochran and Kent Smith. Music is by Daniele Amfitheatrof and cinematography by Ted McCord.

Loosely based on the relationship between Bugsy Siegel and Virginia Hill, story has Crawford as Ethel Whitehead, a weary housewife who decides to break off from her hum-drum existence to climb the social ladder: But at what consequence?

Part gangster's moll tale, part lady led melodrama, The Damned Don't Cry! Is enjoyable enough entertainment as a Crawford vehicle. At 45 years of age when she made this, some scenes, such as her doing some slinky modelling work, just don't sit right and stretch credulity, but she commands the screen like an ageless swan hiding a dark seductive heart. The film as a whole is a bit hit and miss, with its themes of disillusionment, morality and social standings jostling for attention in the narrative, while the reliance on clichés and parody for parody's sake irks a touch, but it's good and solid black and white fun. Especially if you happen to be a Joan Crawford fan. 6.5/10

Crackerjack Film Noir - Crawford at her best!

[victrader · 9/10 · 2 October 2000]

I have to say that this is one of my very favorite films. A truly entertaining movie. Briefly, Joan Crawford plays a good woman who's world is turned upside down by a tragic event. She decides to climb her way out of poverty by using everyone she comes in contact with and falling in with a lot of shady characters. She makes her way to a life of glamour and wealth, only to see it all fall apart when her bad karma comes back to haunt her. For all the Joan Crawford jokes - this is actually quite a good movie. The dialogue is crackling and all the actors are very good. Joan does not go over the top and gives a convincing portrayal of a woman who has lost her moral compass - but then regains it in the end. There are of course some melodramatic moments, but not too many. The production values are top notch - lots of location shooting - mainly in Palm Springs, to really get you into the setting of the film.

I would classify this film as a film noir - it starts out as who-done-it and features noir stalwart Steve Cochran. If you are looking for an entertaining flick - you can't go wrong with this one!

Crawford shines in routine melodrama

[sdave7596 · 7/10 · 9 July 2010]

"The Damned Don't Cry" released in 1950, stars Joan Crawford in the type of film she was famous for throughout much of her 'second' career at Warner Brothers. Crawford plays Ethel Whitehead, a working-class mother married to a loser. She stays with him because of their son; the son is then tragically killed, and Ethel leaves her dumbell husband and her parents behind. Ethel get hired as a "model," one who is also expected to entertain the male clientele. There she meets a dull but honest accountant, Martin (Kent Smith). He loves her and wants to marry her, but Ethel has her eyes on a new man, a handsome -- and dangerous --wealthy hotshot named George (David Brian). He introduces her to a world of riches beyond her wildest dreams, but at a price. The film gets involved and complicated, with George wanting Ethel (who has now changed her name to Lorna!) to seduce his rival, Nick, (Steve Cochran) to gain access to all his connections and secrets. The film has some implausible situations, to say the least. Crawford, at age 45, was a tad bit too old for the role, although she looks great. The character of slimeball Nick (Cochran) has wealth built on ruthlessness. He is obviously a good 12 - 15 years younger than Crawford, and his immediately falling for her seems a stretch, considering he could likely have any woman he wanted. Nevertheless, this is Crawford's show, and she does not disappoint, although the script is somewhat routine of movies of that era. The supporting players are fine in their respective roles. David Brian and Steve Cochran play their roles with all the appropriate sleaze required of them. Kent Smith, playing a milquetoast, turns out to be the real deal: his love for Ethel, in the end, does not waiver.

Joan is the whole shebang.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 8 January 2018]

Already a major star for nearly 25 years as the 1950's rolled in, a maturing Joan Crawford was more handsome than beautiful, which isn't bad for a movie star if she's not afraid of becoming a camp icon. Crawford gets some great monologues and a fairly decent story, but the script and direction are not at their best in this rising from the gutter mob moll Cinderella story. The film opens up with the discovery of a corpse and the search for a socialite (Crawford) mixed up with him. The wealthy society widow, having no tax returns filed with the IRS, turns up in a factory town, banging on the door of an elderly couple who turn out to be her estranged parents. From here, the film flashes back to her life there, an unhappy marriage to factory worker Richard Egan, the sudden shocking end of that marriage thanks to the final straw breaking, and her entrance into big city society through modeling, through political connections and through mob boss David Brian who has his finger in every political pie. Biting off more than she can chew, she refuses to get out, and an intelligence you don't get in a factory town makes her a rare female entry in a man's world, and one that could destroy her life...or worse.

Nineteen years before this, the young and beautiful Joan Crawford escaped from a factory town in the MGM pre-code drama "Possessed" and became a politician's mistress under the respectability of being a young widow. That film had the benefit of Crawford's youth and earthiness, a young Clark Gable, the solid direction of Clarence Brown, but most importantly, the MGM gloss. This has the benefit of Crawford's toughness (mixed with hidden vulnerability), an interesting film noir set-up and a fairly glossy atmosphere. It's obvious that even as stunning as Crawford still is, she wouldn't have it as easy as her character of Ethel/Lorna has it here, and that she'd become so tough in only a short period of time. Steve Cochran as a nasty thug who aggressively pulls Crawford into his web and Selena Royle as a society matron with shady contacts are decent in supporting roles. It's an amusing melodrama that Crawford makes more tolerable, but also an example of why she faced decline as the 1950's marched on. Vincent Sherman directs with the determination to make this rise above what it is, but that's simply just an impossible task.

Crawford and the Gangsters

[Michael_Elliott · 26 January 2014]

The Damned Don't Cry (1950)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

After the death of her child, the always poor Ethel Whitehead (Joan Crawford) moves to NYC to try and make something of herself. She eventually hooks up with gangster George Castleman (David Brian) who sends her out West to spy on another gangster (Steve Cochran) who she falls in love with. THE DAMNED DON'T CRY isn't perfect but for fans of Crawford it's certainly good enough to make it worth watching. I think those unfamiliar with Crawford will probably enjoy the film even more because her fans are going to find the set-up something rather familiar as the actress quite often played poor women who would work themselves up through the ranks. Of course, the one difference here is that she gets involved with two gangsters and this leads to a rather predictable ending that really doesn't work. With that said, there are enough good moments to make this worth sitting through. I actually thought the best part of the film was early on when the woman first went to New York and we see how determined she is to make money and how she soon realizes that she's not going to get it in a legit way. The screenplay has a flaw of going so quickly from the "poor" to the "gangster moll" but this doesn't hurt the film too much. As you'd expect, Crawford is very good here but then again she could have played a role like this in her sleep. She manages to be very believable early on and I especially liked the way she played the mother in the early moments. Both Brian and Cochran are extremely believable in the roles of the gangsters as both come across very threatening. Kent Smith is also good in his supporting role of a bookmaker. THE DAMNED DON'T CRY was directed by Vincent Sherman who does a nice job at keeping everything moving at a good pace. The film certainly has its flaws but it's an enjoyable effort.

Joan the gangster's moll?

[amhnorris · 7/10 · 6 June 2003]

'The Damned Don't Cry' is an obvious attempt to capitalize on Joan Crawford's success with 'Mildred Pierce' (also made with Warner Bros.) Both films are melodrama tinged with noir, although I would certainly hesitate to classify 'Damned...' as a noir. It has a few of the noir trademarks, but is not executed particularly well enough to be considered as a true film noir.

Like 'Mildred Pierce' it begins with a murder, and is then told via Joan's (her character's name - don't laugh - is Ethel)flashback. We're then treated to some vintage down home Joan, again like her character in 'Mildred Pierce' she is a struggling mother trying to please her child. Instead of tryng to buy a dress for Veda, in 'The Damned Don't Cry' she is trying to purchase a bike for her pathetic son.

The morality of the 50s is in full effect here, again like 'Mildred Pierce'. In the latter film, when the woman leaves the family home and has desires for a professional life, chaos and misery begins. The same is true for 'The Damned...'. Ethel wants a life better than her near-poverty existence, having to leave her husband and child. Therefore, she must be punished in the eyes of the narrative. Ethel then gets mixed up in some gangster situations. There's one amusing scene where in a restaurant her date (a poor accountant) orders 'a chicken salad and a coffee' and Joan nearly has a seizure. The mise en scene changes when Ethel is involved with the criminal activities: a gothic mansion is used and the lighting begins to contrast between light and dark. But, again, not really enough to make a convincing case for this being a noir.

Joan gives a good performance as Ethel/Lorna. Certainly not one of her best, but she is particularly good in the final scenes. If you enjoyed 'Mildred Pierce' or 'Flamingo Road', this is one to watch.

Paying the price

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 27 April 2019]

Absolutely love film-noir/melodrama, have done for a long time, though my main reason for seeing 'The Damned Don't Cry' was Joan Crawford. Not ever the most subtle of actresses, being prone at times to excess, but always an incredibly magnetic one who commanded the screen to transfixing effect in a vast majority of her films. 'Mildred Pierce', one of my favourite films of hers and a contender for her best performance, being a prime example of this.

'The Damned Don't Cry' turned out to be very enjoyable and well worth the time. There are better Crawford films and performances, but she is still in a role that plays to her strengths as an actress, perfect for her actually and like it was made for her, and 'The Damned Don't Cry' itself does nothing to squander her talent or over-stretch her. Crawford is wonderful and basically is the film, intense, deeply felt and played to the hilt with utter commitment, even if subtlety is not always there. She is effortlessly commanding while not over-balancing the film too much, with it not feeling too much like the Joan Crawford Show.

It's not just Crawford that's good. The rest of the cast fare quite well too, with Steve Cochran and especially David Brian exuding nastiness without over-doing it. Selena Royle is similarly good. 'The Damned Don't Cry' looks great too. Especially the noir-ish lighting, It's beautifully and atmospherically shot and the sets are similarly atmospheric. Crawford's clothes are stunning and like characters of their own. The music avoids being intrusive yet has presence with a haunting edge.

One of 'The Damned Don't Cry's' most notable elements is the script, which positively crackles and has tautness, mostly not being overwrought. The story is always compelling with its fair share of surprises and suspense, surprising steaminess too. The more melodramatic element has a lot of edge and emotion. It's non stop slickness and entertainment and the pacing never lets up.

Credulity is strained towards the end and Vincent Sherman's direction, while mostly more than competent, could have done with more restraint in places.

Faring weakest of all is Kent Smith, the character is not an interesting one to begin with but Smith plays him incredibly colourlessly and gets practically lost amongst everything else.

Overall, very well done with Crawford rightly dominating. 8/10

Above average Crawford melodrama.

[MOscarbradley · 7/10 · 15 July 2019]

One of Joan Crawford's lesser-known vehicles but this cross between a 'woman's picture' and a film noir has been unjustly neglected. Vincent Sherman made "The Damned Don't Cry" in 1950, five years after Joan's Oscar-winning turn as "Mildred Pierce" and there are very slight similarities between the two films. Sherman may not have been a Michael Curtiz but he was one of the more reliable directors of melodramas in Hollywood even when dealing with an over-aged Crawford.

She starts the picture as a slightly frumpy housewife but after walking out on hubbie Richard Egan she finds those over-aged Crawford looks are enough to launch her into a not very salubrious society where men like David Brain and Steve Cochran are competing for her over-aged charms. Her character is as hard as nails which suited Joan down to the ground and in her brassy way she's actually very good here and the film, while minor, is still thoroughly enjoyable. Worth rediscovering.

I SNIFFLED A LITTLE BIT...!

[masonfisk · 7/10 · 22 October 2018]

Joan Crawford stars in this film noir employing the homme fatale (thanks to Eddie Muller for the knowledge drop) or fatal man in this tale of rags, riches & death. Crawford is a hard working woman involved in a loveless marriage & when the only bright spot of their lives, their son, dies in a senseless tragedy she decides to better her station in life by becoming a permanent arm fixture to some gangsters. Supposedly modeled on the life of Virginia Hill, Bugsy Siegel's squeeze, Crawford plays her part w/the proper amount of pathos & nerve which she excelled at through much of her career & she enlivens & betters this vehicle just by being in it.

minor classic

[RanchoTuVu · 9/10 · 29 June 2006]

An energetic film about a woman (one of Joan Crawford's best parts) who leaves her family and gets involved with a gambling syndicate. It's surprisingly good thanks to the pace and direction which keeps the focus on the main characters, all of whom become or already are corrupted by money, crime, society, or their own jaded world views. She had been watching the "American Dream" slip by with her tightwad husband who's played in an outstanding role by Richard Egan. It could get stereotyped and clichéd but doesn't thanks to the fine acting throughout by David Brian, Steve Cochran, Kent Smith, and of course Joan Crawford, who, though she was in her mid 40's, carried a role off that was sexy and ambitious.

"He Promised Me the World - And I Gotta Have it!"

[tim-764-291856 · 7/10 · 1 April 2012]

...So announces Joan Crawford, as Ethel Whitehead, or is it Lorna Forbes? to gentleman no 1, who then dies mysteriously in a car accident. Her new suitor, played by David Brian is head of a racket involving gambling, vice and narcotics and who's fortune is in oil. Then, she gets involved in a conspiracy to eliminate him....Will Steve Cochran, as Nick Prenta become gentleman No.3?

This greatly-titled melodrama's story falls a little short of that dramatic title, though. The often cliché-ridden rags-to-riches theme is a Hollywood stalwart that can get predictable, unless there's a knockout performance or other redeeming feature.

Joan Crawford IS that redeeming feature. She's the woman on the way to the top, though the top of what is the question. Utilising her sexuality she uses men who are easily swayed, men who are on the shady side of virtuous. These men are portrayed as humourless puppy dogs that moodily and meanly leave their lines in Ms Crawford's lap. Only she gets to smile, laugh, cry and dominate the picture. Meanwhile director Vincent Sherman does a steady job with both cast and camera.

For lovers of Joan Crawford, this is an absolute must. For the rest of us, it's not as good as her best - Mildred Pierce and Grand Hotel; not by quite a margin. Hence my 7 instead of 8 or even 9/10. I watched the DVD as part of the 5 disc Joan Crawford Collection. Other films included in that are: Mildred Pierce, Possessed, Humoresque and Grand Hotel.

The risk of climbing the social ladder on others

[clanciai · 9/10 · 27 October 2021]

Joan Crawford makes the film, while all the men around her fall like skittles. Still they all love her, but there is one thing they all have in common: climbing the ladder of riches, power and success they don't know when to stop. The complicated business develops into a kind of Russian roulette as they all finally try to kill each other and succeed. Naturally Joan Crawford as the one woman in a nest of ruthless racketeers wants to get out, she actually protests throughout the film, while her only choice is to just run away. That's where the film starts.

The film is then all a flashback, charting her career step by step, getting her more and more involved without her suspecting any foul play, but foul play is all that these gentlemen is engaged in, a ruthless quest for influence and power, there is no detachment, just egoism, which gives the entire film in all its luxury and high class refinery with sumptuously sophisticated parties an appalling uneasiness of cynicism, as all human values seem to have been forgotten. Naturally it will have to lead to a settlement, and the police will have their hands full in trying to sort out the final mess. It is well made with a sharp dialog, nothing is faltering in the logic and consistency of the intrigues, and Joan Crawford couldn't have been better.

Watch Joan go from rags to riches in melodramatic film noir...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 23 September 2006]

Capitalizing on the success of MILDRED PIERCE, Warner Bros. played it smart by giving JOAN CRAWFORD another script she could really relate to. She plays a character who starts out like a domestic shrew, realizes there are bigger fish to lure into her net, gives herself fancy airs while rubbing shoulders with gangsters who can introduce her to the cream of society, and ends up giving another Joan Crawford performance that her fans are sure to appreciate.

The men around her are relegated to supporting roles, but at least David BRIAN and KENT SMITH do have a chance to prove they had more than a little acting talent. And STEVE COCHRAN does another nifty job as a ruthless gangster smitten with the lady who appears to be quite a bit older than he is--but, hey, this is a Joan Crawford movie so what does age matter? It's got a lot of melodramatic flourishes as it goes from rags to riches for the anti-heroine that Crawford could play in her sleep. Victor Sherman does the directing in a competent style but there's no Eve Arden around for some sassy quips and his direction isn't quite as sharp as Michael Curtiz's was for MILDRED PIERCE.

It's not top-level Crawford, but it IS intriguing and that's about all that her fans could ask for.

Saint Joan

[madmonkmcghee · 5/10 · 9 December 2012]

This is a Crawford star vehicle from start to finish; the only scene she isn't in is the short opening. After five minutes sans Crawford she from then on dominates every scene, every shot, every dialogue. Which gets a bit grating if you don't think she's the most riveting performer in cinema history. At least her great rival Bette Davis had the nerve to act opposite other great actors. Joan's co-actors here are all nonentities, bland scene fillers who get out of her way to let her emote and flutter those famous eyelashes. And suffer. Oh how she suffers! From her poor beginnings as a drudge slaving in the kitchen, seeing her only son dying under a speeding lorry; this poor woman is spared nothing. Fortunately she has her stunning (well.....) looks to help her get ahead ( men are constantly raving about her throughout the movie; it was probably in her contract). The men she meets are either pathetic weaklings or violent misogynists. Saintly Joan endures and suffers, and her public loved her for it. Personally the Crawford Cult is a complete mystery to me, and this movie a total, hammed-up ego trip. Girl Power? Star Power, more like.