RARE: One Must Die - Joan Crawford (Zane Grey Theatre, 1961)

[@JDG81-r3b]

It's kinda amazing how she reinvented herself all the way down to the tone of her voice and demeanor.

[@robertdoherty2001]

Here’s Joan stalking around a la ‘Vienna’ from “Johnny Guitar”; not to mention whipping that riding crop around like ‘Eva’ from “Queen Bee”. A touch of ‘Louise’ with her crazed expressions from “Possessed”. A treat. Oddly, westerns suited her rather well.

[@JudgeJulieLit]

Here about 12:00, a daughter "dearest" ... yet (a tribute to Joan's versatility) a year later she would portray Southern gentle, sensitive, wheelchair bound, past~haunted Blanche Hudson in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, beset by an aged harridan sadistic "sister dearest." Yet not so oddly, as Joan was from Texas, so both Western and Southern.

[@JackMason-oq8lf]

@@JudgeJulieLit Joan was made for Westerns. She was so butch. No femme fatal about it

[@susanhowell486]

I love me some Joan Crawford movies. I own all her movies. I have horrible depression all my life. The first time I watch her in Autumn Leaves and The Women the adrenaline from her performances help ease my depression. I have a wonderful imagination and I literally was transformed into the movie. The best escapism. I use to go movie marathons every weekend. I learn how to cope with life and I loved the accessories, shoes, clothes, purses, and learn how to conduct my table etiquette and to let other people talk without trying to add to the conversation without that desperate attempt to remain significant. Here is a list of other Joan Crawford's movies you may enjoy: humanesque; Queen Bee; Harriet Craig; Dolores Costello; Susan and God and The Women.

[@poetcomic1]

Autumn Leaves is vastly under-rated. Cliff Robertson tells how much Joan helped him in his first starring ole, Lorne Greene was great as was Vera Miles as the villains.

[@sharksport01]

Sudden fear.

[@momicawashington7163]

Mildred Pierce

[@theresamarie7679]

Amen! Thought I saw all of them but never heard of Susan & God . Have to find that one!!😊

[@lindaanthony7890]

Yes, she was a wonderful actress. I agree, certain actors ir actresses have that quality about them. Jean Arthur is a favorite of mine, she made some uplifting movies too.

[@andreaidesalvo9738]

Joan crawford was one of the many " born to be a star" actresses she really attained that status in her career!! I.have not seen ALL of her movies but the ones that I have seen sometimes several times over where some of the best in her career!!!

[@thegodblogger3812]

That's the same house from the 1960s western tv series BIG VALLEY, the exterior shot

[@kishagreen4578]

I just realized that the guy playing John is the great Phillip Carey, aka Asa Buchanan from One Life to Live.

[@user-ko7bb5kh4i]

Yes!

[@shayadayan3343]

Interesting, well seasoned, provocative

[@lillymyra6441]

Love me some Joan! ...... but who played Nero? Nero really made me believe in his pivotal scene with Joan. I was frightened for Nero and really felt his fear and anger. What an actor!

[@alien6467]

And she becomes sane at the end LOL! Reminds me of straight Jacket.

[@JudgeJulieLit]

Yet this Zane Grey tale shows major influence of the year~ earlier film Psycho, as in its portrait of a dissociated adult child starting to leak rage at overlong repression of their libido by a controlling parent. Joan was ace at portraying bipolar emotional states.

[@cheryldevine42]

This was hilarious that she became well in the process of a minute! It was ridiculous lol... but Joan played the part perfect as always.

[@erict7093]

lol... I forgot about her movie straitjacket! Now that movie I enjoyed. I did not enjoy this one.

[@akrenwinkle]

Four Star was the production company owned by Dick Powell, and it provided wife June Allyson television work. At one time, there were a few Four Star series running concurrently. My favorite was "The Rogues" which starred Gig Young, Charles Boyer, David Niven, and Gladys Cooper. They were brilliant stars, it was set on fancy locations, had intelligent writing, but put in the Sunday night graveyard, so it didn't last.

[@marymcgarry1545]

Thanks , didn’t know this show, a great little gem, thanks

[@akrenwinkle]

@@marymcgarry1545 Two episodes are still up here on YT.

[@EYE_GOTCHA]

6:55 They sure “gauzed the lens” for Joan’s closeups compared to those of her younger male co-star, which is certainly understandable. I’m sure that Joan looked wonderful, though, even without being heavily filtered.

[@gloriamontgomery6900]

Yes, it looks so weird. Everyone else looks focused, but when they switch to her it is jarring

[@tommoncrieff1154]

This would be unsubtle at 90 minutes but telling this story in 23 minutes, the plot development is like a steam train and the character arcs are on super-fast- forward, it’s crazy. But it’s carried by a great star who convinces you with sheer willpower and giant eyebrows and a whip that it’s worth believing and watching. Aaron Spelling produced this, it shows!

[@jons.6216]

Chewing the ol scenery like contemporary Barbara Stanwyck in an episode of The Big Valley!! Haha!

[@jasonhurd4379]

Very similar to the middle segment of Trilogy of Terror, with Karen Black.

[@djr6876]

Predictable but still entertaining. I love watching these old tele- plays

What a ridiculous ending. Joan is always a superb actress and threw herself into her role no matter the quality of the scripts she was given. ❤

[@sheiladavis6523]

Phillip Carey John / Asa Buchanan soap opera One Life To Life July 22,2021

[@MsBackstager]

Shades of Bette Davis with one good and one bad twin. JC had a great trim figure. Notice, what's done with mature women, that a close up shot is blurry.

[@sharksport01]

Because Joan DEMANDED it!

[@Prof.Tarfeather]

Because this one is too bizarre for comfort. You don't just kill a split personality by becoming a pyromaniac. Hee! Hee! Only Joan Crawford could convince an audience that its possibly true....she's cured! Really corney but it was so good for Joan play this role. She didn't turn it down. Love that riding crop, what a Hoot!

[@BillyAlabama]

Could there be more Vaseline on the lens when Joan has a close-up? There could be gauze as well. 😂 There’s just nothing like the old star system!!

[@user-lo1iz8tj1v]

🙄

[@pimpharold1]

Do they really use vaseline?

[@windstorm1000]

Joan and bette faught for Ernie Haller the acclaimed cinematography for their lighting . With good reason.

[@sharksport01]

Put the shadow on the neck!

[@gloriamontgomery6900]

@@pimpharold1Yes.

[@lucindamoran8686]

Great! Thanks!

[@vistaestrada]

This gets so silly (but still watchable) at 20:00

[@allthingscrawford6769]

Fabulous Joanie

[@MarkWG]

I love everything Joan Crawford ever starred in. I have watched just about every performance she has acted in. I am so happy to have found these little short stories here on KZbin. It's work of Joan's I never knew existed. You know, given the time the era this was made in 1961 (my birth year!) and Joan being close to her late 50s here, Joan Crawford really did age well! Even up to her death in 1977, she looked fantastic and always dressed fashionably. She was too critical of herself at the end of her life. But she need not have been. I saw her last works in "Twilight Zone" and "Night Gallery" from 1972 and 1973-74. Joan looked really great for a 70+ year old woman. Always elegant.

[@kathleenmaionchi2566]

The dog chained up in the beginning really made me upset

[@jasonhurd4379]

Oh get over it. Good Lord, it's simply a dumb beast. Save your concern for human beings.

[@gingermurray]

@@jasonhurd4379 Said the dumb beast. Some people are on to just how evil the HUMAN ANIMAL really is and has always been. WE prefer animals to humans. F human beings

[@sharksport01]

It's constant unnecessary barking upset me.

[@jessiejames7492]

Just love those antique furniture.

[@johnpaulsecond4626]

my favourite actress by a long shot; not taking anything away from the other great great A list actresses; i have seen only a fraction of her work, about seven so far, and a lot of documentaries about her life; i listened to an audio series she made of her life and i absolutely can listen to that over and over; i think the trait i love most about her is her unpretentious nature; she has had a lot of bad press, but i don't buy it; i am hoping to watch all her work; i imagine that she was even more beautiful in real life than she is on screen because a woman with a nature such as hers that is so consistently special across all her roles must have been a one off in real life; exceptionally gifted human being; i have seen the biographical movie done exceptionally well by Fay Dunnaway who i adore; but i reckon the best bio on her life remains yet to be done; most likely wont' see that in my lifetime; but just to be able to enjoy these kinds of roles is more than enough entertainment for me; i really cant get enough of her work;

[@susanhowell486]

I forgot The Best of Everything🙋

[@BSted-lm3mx]

Asa Buchanan meets Joan!

[@doberman1ism]

The character of Melanie reminds me of Barbara Stanwyck in the TV show The Big Valley.

[@maryowen1722]

Classic! 😊

[@tahaduri13]

May one request that these magnificent television plays be uploaded in HD? or do they not exist in that quality?

[@sel3248]

Such Little Treasures

[@mrfloosak]

ANd then she spent the rest of her life in prison for Arson!

[@jmax3245]

That is set for TARA ..Gone with the Wind ....OMG

[@katie195]

That was reallllly bad scripting. But love old movies/programs.

[@judysanchez6329]

This guy was in One life to live Soup opera he was alot older Cowboy style And very rich.?

[@JackMason-oq8lf]

She said she needed money. Did she drink up all the Pepsi syrup?

[@kathleenmaionchi2566]

❤️

[@zero_bs_tolerance8646]

Thanks very much.

[@creolelady182]

You couldnt tell then but they look like movie sets now

[@guineapig4701]

Get that poor dog off of that leash!!!

[@gingermurray]

I knew right off the bat Sara was Melanie. Just how it would end idk 🤷🏻‍♀No ah ha moment ending

[@WilldoAldone]

I can't stand to see dogs tied up day and night. I didn't see water either. Plus the didnt like the owner.

[@wbtothey]

All you got from this was a dog being tied up….🤷‍♂️😂

[@user-lo1iz8tj1v]

@@wbtothey Hardly!

[@Freddie-gv1yg]

This was the Big Valley House.

[@8gagee]

It's Asa from Days of our lives

[@lawrencephelps3181]

Such drama! Such corn!

[@shayadayan3343]

ASA BUCHANAN!

[@robertramsay5963]

What a joke! Identical twins. I like the guy's suit, very well fitted.

[@sunnyboy4553]

The jacket was too short I noticed. It showed his butt.

[@kjgammon1658]

@@sunnyboy4553 nice butt... Asa Buchanan from "One Life to Live!"

[@tommoncrieff1154]

There’s no twin, it’s a split personality.

[@user-ko7bb5kh4i]

I would not have burned down my house. Renovate it instead. Or sell it!😅

[@robertbullock1715]

She so crazy!! She be like...

[@mariapereira3221]

fr

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

The plot was "borrowed" for the TV movie "Trilogy of Terror" with Karen Black playing similar roles.

[@paulhunter6742]

But, Karen Black obviously didn't take herself as Seriously as Joan Crawford. She was Hella sexy with riding crop...

[@reagandenny]

The only problem with that is this was made long before Trilogy

[@ladydreadqs639]

​@@paulhunter6742how could the plot be BORROWED from a film that was made Afterwards??! ,a long time afterwards too!

[@Huckster-tj9if]

Even in her characters Joan Crawford couldn't shake off the nasties that plagued her life

[@paulcashin3576]

Tara

[@thegodblogger3812]

and the exterior of the house from BIG VALLEY

[@bkynbiker19]

Wow ... no words

[@bluefaery1865]

Asa Buchanan. LoL

[@Dulcimertunes]

Poor dog

[@Autumn-Mist]

Very predictable, but the ending leaves u saying "Really?" lol

[@inganorden1816]

The scratches on her hand are bloody when she shows them to John, but then they are barely visible in other scenes. Bad makeup job.

[@theakeane]

😝😆🤣😂

[@poopypants814]

She's running the full gamut of her acting skills from a to b

[@mariapereira3221]

Running the gamut from clock in to clock out

[@jasonhurd4379]

Read a lot of Dorothy Parker, do we?

[@sharksport01]

😂

[@creolelady182]

tHE Barkley rANCH

[@SaxonC]

The house was used as “Tara” in Gone with the wind

[@Moosetta]

Yes, recognized it right away.

[@1957MCL]

It wasn't. Gone With the Wind was not filmed here (CBS Studio Center, in 1939 Republic Studios). It is however the mansion used in The Big Valley tv series.

[@gloriamontgomery6900]

Oh, Lord. Joan striding around in those tight trousers clutching that riding crop. Borderline funny

[@Thombierdz]

oy - we renters watching property owners destroy their property

[@modestinemungo4661]

Lawd 🤦‍♀️.. one I the same person.. winder does tbe father know that.. hmmmm 🤔.. he knows something.

[@judysanchez6329]

Shara is Melanie?

[@Liz-re3ek]

That’s it???…..what a letdown ending.

[@ming60640]

Wuh?!?

[@brkitdwn]

That ending.. LGMAOF!

[@shebastinson7813]

I wonder if she humbled herself after acting on television. Movie stars detested tv.

[@christinamacneal6187]

Her*...VERY PROUD.¥

[@kjgammon1658]

TV was very very good to movie queen Loretta Young!

[@2getha5eva]

@@kjgammon1658 Didn't Barbara Stanwyck do well on TV as well? She had a leading role on The Big Valley as well as a self-titled show or something.

[@kjgammon1658]

@@2getha5eva Yes indeed!

[@katearcher6073]

Not so grreat....seen better

[@gulmerton2394]

Is Joan Crawford supposed to play a young girl while she must’ve been in her early 50s....? And the guy in the story is happy to fall in love with a weirdo?

[@djr6876]

G Ulmerton probably more like late 50’s . She did “Baby Jane”just a year later.

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

She was 54 at the time.

[@gulmerton2394]

Chris Hanson thank you for the info!

[@vih6650]

In 1961 Joan was 57 years old (allegedly, she was born in 1904, but changed her birth year to 1908 when she married Douglas Fairbanks Jr.)

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

@@vih6650 NO. 1906 has been proven as her accurate birth year, which would have made her 54 when this episode was filmed.

[@gabrioxxx]

A case in which DROP DEAD meant what it said Just love her gorgonlike wig....as much as I adore Miss Crawford, she must have been in a terrible need of money to accept this laughable script...

[@MisterSplendy]

Fun...but lousy, formulaic junk. She sure was in need of something good, like Baby Jane.

[@vincentmarchese8202]

A little of Queen Bee! Don't u think,or the character In the film Star !!wanting to be play Young!! Shes old enough to be this man's mother😏

[@kjgammon1658]

Lots of ageism in this thread!

[@ron-waynehoekstra7007]

Hmmm everything u want to believe Crawford was in real life in this one ......... a tour the force .Over lit to keep her age from really showing . Did she take this to get “ Even “ with Bette Davis who played twins twice in her films ? Looks like it !

[@user-lo1iz8tj1v]

Nonsense, even imagining she took the part in this little 📺 drama to 'get even'!

[@joyceday115]

Oh no she burned down Tara, LOL!

[@p.g.3419]

She always played parts as a young girl, except for a few films and TV series towards the end of her career. She aged differently than other actresses who championed deeper performances for mature women with as much film experience, but, clearly, this is just my personal opinion.