Joan Crawford: A Woman Possessed | Alicia Malone | TIFF 2018

[@andrewmark2783]

Joan is easily the most underrated actress in Hollywood history. That she was only nominated for 3 Oscars was criminal! Performances like "Grand Hotel", "The Women", "A Womans Face", "Humoresque", "Harriet Craig", "Jonny Guitar", "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" and "The story of Esther Costello" were all tremendous performances which deserved to be (at least) nominated!

[@drewdeflon4497]

Totally agree. She should have won in 1947 for Possessed. That was a brilliant performance as was her role on Sudden Fear. Completely overlooked in films such as A Womans Face, Humoresque, The Damned Don't Cry, & Autumn Leaves among others.

[@11rokerito]

She was not valued in her time and then less with the book. But Joan Crawford is the most profitable actress at the box office from 1925 to 1970 and even to this day she is still unsurpassed. And the American Film Institute ranked her as the tenth best actress of all time. She deserved more recognition.

[@user-bt7ix6sw2g]

Harriet Craig, was a fucking great performance.

[@andrewmark2783]

@@user-bt7ix6sw2g It really was! She should have been nominated for an Oscar, along with Swanson, Davis, Baxter and Holliday.

[@daltonbelflower7331]

I've always really liked Autumn Leaves (1956), a very good older woman/younger man romance co-starring Cliff Robertson. It's a good movie, and an underrated one as well.

[@Tribecaguy]

This is fantastic. Joan Crawford was the greatest and it’s wonderful to see her get the respect she deserves. A mythological actress and one of the great stars and American stories of the 20th Century. There are very few to compare to her. The talent, charisma and beauty are unrivaled.

[@kcook7921]

Agree so much! She I a woman who scraped and scratched her way to the top. She fought for everything she had. It's so sad That she worked so hard for what she had and had it tarnished after she died the way it was.

[@govdid195g7]

We have all been fooled!!!! sHE was a man! Like many in Hollywood, & these "stars" are SELECTED. Lucille Ball, Julie Andrews,Judy Garland, Gidget, Marlin Brando,Elvis, Marylin Monroe, etc. All men. Look up Truthful Spirit Blue Heron on KZbin. Transpocalypse, Epic Sellouts,Above is Below all on KZbin 🤗

[@Darrigrande]

We can say a lot of Things about her, but she embodied the quintesential Hollywood Star and an Icon of the gilded era of Hollywood!

[@JoeBuck207]

I'm glad you love a child abuser.

[@richardmcleod5967]

You are so right in saying that nobody made Joan Crawford a Star..........Joan Crawford made herself, by her own work efforts a STAR!

[@aikaterineillt9876]

Genes

[@steveaustin1977]

I love Miss Crawford: Her talent, her looks, her iron will and atention to details

[@gustamanavo]

Wow! I was obsessed with her after Feud... I didn't know she was THAT hands on. She made herself after she got the opportunity of fame... That's amazing, truly a woman ahead of her time. So intriguing!

[@daltonbelflower7331]

And Feud is full of inaccuracies, so just think about what truth you're missing!

[@user-sn5jr1ji9h]

Joan Crawford epitomises the Golden Age of Hollywood better than anyone else. And she portrayed that part till her dying day. Crawford said it best ''if you want to see a girl next door, go next door!''

[@JonathonDenson]

Joan was never "difficult to work with." Even Bette said she was a complete professional. The negative reputation she has is related to personal relationships she had, especially with her daughter, NOT her professional relationships. That is a distinction that needs to be made clear.

[@markallen4356]

Ask Norma Shearer if she was difficult to work with or not

[@JonathonDenson]

@@markallen4356 OK let me look for my Qouija board..

[@markallen4356]

@@JonathonDenson fair enough. I'm a huge Joan Crawford fan but like many of the old stars she could sometimes be difficult to work with. Saying that from everything I have read about her she was very professional onset.

[@markallen4356]

@Dusk Hollow that's completely untrue and sexist. They were very difficult female stars such as Miriam Hopkins, Grace Moore, Veronica Lake, Hedy Lamarr and difficult male stars such as W C Fields, Bing Crosby and Wallace Beery.

[@markallen4356]

@Dusk Hollow temper,temper.

[@chrisn7259]

Funny how time has been Joan's friend in that her acting now seems modern and natural compared to others from her era like Norma Shearer and even Bette Davis. Plus she was so damn beautiful for so long. This is a nice salute to one of the all time greats.

[@turnedaround4954]

Chris N I'm sorry, with all due respect to the wonderful Ms. Crawford, she was never, and will never be on the acting level of Ms. Davis. Joan was a far more accomplished dancer, model, businesswoman and star. Bette was a far bigger talent.

[@simonmassey2032]

Turned Around Really I find Joan Crawford far more appealing and captivating to watch then Bette Davis.

[@Blonde_Somnambulist]

Turned Around Davis was a superior performer but Joan was so very charismatic and captivating. Indeed she improved as an actress and in her later films she was actually incredibly good .

[@ouranos0101]

Thank you for highlighting this titan of film. One of the most underappreciated Hollywood icons and pioneers. I hope more and more young people remember her, and remember her fondly.

[@richardmcleod5967]

The scene you mention in "Sudden Fear" is as you say, truly remarkable.

[@jsmith034086]

She looked fabulous at the oscars!!!

[@alexandreintouch1847]

Great job , good upload , thank you ! And thank you for Crawford ! Joan really deserves more credits for her acting , she is still an incredibly magnetic solar beauty , a fantastic face made for movie , she has a magnificent face that you see on eternal Greek statue ...Joan Crawford has remained timeless .

[@MrStpendouslvforjo]

I agree. I think she was the most beautiful woman in Hollywood if not the world...

[@annegosselin5849]

Very good documentary about Joan Crawford.People knows better her career after seeing it .Thank you Miss Malone

[@hudson5112]

So glad the motion picture "Sudden Fear" was highlighted. If Joan Crawford never made another film, her performance in "Sudden Fear" would have established her as a great actress--- not just a great movie star, but a great ACTRESS! Crawford's talent, beauty, and magnetism were unmatched in Hollywood.

[@georgegallucci1845]

MGM threw their support behind Garbo and Shearer, both of whom were nominated several times in the years Crawford was at the studio. Joan was ignored, but had the last laugh, her career outlasting her two primary rivals by decades.

[@bigbandsrock1]

Joan has been my #1 favorite all my life!!! She was an incredible artist!!!

[@jcamisa50]

Alicia put it all together. I like the all the short pieces it shows how Joan grew up into all the parts. I loved Joan. Good show !!!!

[@jaengen]

Her best film by far: Trog. A classic!

[@Phoenix_VanDerWeyden]

Her performance in "Possessed" was Oscar worthy , i like it even better than Mildred Pierce .

[@brmnyc]

Possessed was her best role IMO.

[@thomassperduti4500]

Absolutely!

[@themacfan]

I completely agree .

[@daltonbelflower7331]

Possessed (1947) might've offered Crawford's best performance, but I still prefer Mildred Pierce (1945). I saw it first and I think it's more iconic for Crawford and the "Crawford" image. I'd say Crawford was at her most physically attractive in Humoresque (1946).

[@MartinDelCarpio]

She left a rich legacy in cinema.

[@stopthelies4249]

She can spit out lines with just her eyes greatest actress in Hollywood underrated

[@Seabasstien]

This is really excellent. I love her in Johnny Guitar too.

[@rudypalma1250]

She was spotted by a talent scout while appearing in a revue in NYC called “Innocent Eyes.” She was NOT discovered in Los Angeles. She was signed to a beginner’s contract and sent by the studio to LA. She got the job in “Innocent Eyes” through her work as a chorus girl in a revue in Chicago.

[@TheMarkanthony5]

Joan Crawford/ bette Davis/ Barbra stanwyck are my fave actresses of that period. Later loved ava gardener and marylin Munroe. Sophia Loren Raquel Welch Doris day

[@Jojomo564]

This is a very well done video. You hit it exactly correct about Joan Crawford always reinventing herself. She, and Bette Davis, are two of my absolute favorites. Thank you!

[@astroboyfan12]

What a treat! Thanks for uploading this. She was the master of reinvention... a superb actress, and Hollywood star.

[@Donnarama]

She's my absolute favorite, a classic!

[@donspringstead1649]

Joan Crawford, always a class act!

[@MssTibbs]

I enjoyed listening to this. I’ve fell down a rabbit hole of watching and learning about Joan Crawford and I think if she was an actress in this day and age, I would have enjoyed her films. I also think as a person I would have liked her and and enjoyed her company. I think she was a class act and a very smart woman. I have no doubt that there were times she was difficult and maybe even mean but for me, it’s just another reason I would have liked her. In my opinion what she needed was a friend and someone that showed affection towards her. I’m really in awe of her.

[@edydon]

"There's a name for you ladies. But it's not used in high-society - outside of a kennel." That's devastating.

[@1marilynable]

I'm a researcher in old hollywood. And Joan is my favorite. I know the real Joan :) not the modern take on her

[@themaxcollective]

wish they could have given her more, especially toward the end. Dames or Queens.

[@mattbernabe]

In my opinion, Joan should have been nominated for Rain A Woman's Face Mildred Pierce Humoresque Possessed Sudden Fear Whatever Happened to Baby Jane Straitjacket Of course, she was nominated for Mildred Pierce, Possessed, and Sudden Fear, but she definitely deserved more nominations for some of her best work.

[@eugenekozma2697]

Good profile on joan.she was so beautiful.so elegantly attired.i love mildred pierce and sadie mckee.

[@EagleRockers]

This was wonderful! Thanks for posting.

[@SarahRenz59]

"By the way, there's a name for you ladies, but it isn't used in high society...outside of a kennel." LOL! Great line, great delivery.

[@marceloillanes175]

I love Alicia Malone´s accent!

[@victorparedes8609]

For me is very shocking that Joan is not big pop icon like Bette, Marilyn , Hepburn. SHE IS THE STAR

[@belenheredia2024]

Because the camp movie mommie dearest

[@daltonbelflower7331]

Yeah, Mommie Dearest shattered Crawford's image. It destined the "Joan Crawford" image to be used in a never-ending parade of drag shows and GIFs on social media. It likewise hurt Faye Dunaway's career, and she's never really forgiven the movie for doing that to her.

[@hollyb6885]

I LOVED Mildred Pierce!! Great movie!!!

[@renan.csmaia]

Her acting style remains very natural and classy.

[@MrStpendouslvforjo]

I enjoyed this video. Thanks for posting it.

[@65g4]

Great video Alicia Mildred Pierce is the only film of hers ive seen after seeing feud i want to see more she was a great actress

[@sel3248]

💎Amazing Woman with a Iconic career💎

[@DiabolicalAngel]

Joan is one of my favorites. She was so complex- hard working, complicated, rational and irrational, kind and bitchy- she was never just one constant thing.

[@sagarsaxena6318]

Nice to see Alicia here.Great video!

[@stardusth2o]

Joan’s ability as an actress was ALWAYS underestimated due to her looks, her reputation, but IMO, largely bc her acting was QUITE as stylized as what was considered good acting in her time. If you watch her films, there are quite a few times where her acting has an almost modern feel to it. She could definitely be camp, but she also had a subtlety and a nuance to her acting that I think was lost on most critics during that era. Her performance in The Women is the only one in that film that holds up today.

[@thomaslombardo3401]

She was far better in possessed then she was in Mildred Pierce and should have won the Oscar for that Film

[@thomaslombardo3401]

Ed Miller I agree wholeheartedly with you. Loretta Young ? Barely adequate at best.

[@andrewmark2783]

Both Possessed and Mildred Pierce deserved to win, in my opinion!

[@thomaslombardo3401]

Yes , she was very good in Mildred Pierce and deserved the Oscar, but The part she played in Possessed was much more of a challenge and showed the range of her talent.

[@screenactorsguilable]

@@thomaslombardo3401 but she competed against Rosalind Russell. So Young won by the split

[@jameskorner6611]

Watch her in Rain or Strange Cargo fantastic!

[@richardmcleod5967]

Joan Crawford had an amazing long lived career........lasting from 1925 until the 1970's.

[@Kevin-yh9yt]

Yet another narrator who talks in questions, with an uptone at the end of every sentence. It is so annoying to listen to. But any content about Joan Crawford is always a pleasure.

[@sebastianfajardo7929]

Left a commentary about her early films with Clark Gable we’re awesome.

[@susanbuckley4153]

Excellent video!!

[@wyomingadventures]

My favorite Mildred pierce 🙂

[@Outofthepastblog]

Well done Alicia!

[@MariaFernanda-dr7pv]

Joan perfect!

[@takaboom5830]

WRONG...SHE FOUND THE BOOK ABOUT BABY JANE AND SOUGHT OUT ALDRICH. BABY JANE IS ALL CRAWFORD FINDING AND READING THE BOOK.

[@fiodordostievski3287]

Queen icon diva

[@kathrynoneill5862]

Gillian Anderson looks like joan crowford to me. I never thought Faye Dunaway looked much like joan.

[@Marchant2]

Wonderful video. I like both Crawford and Davis, but Crawford struck me as having slightly more depth. While Davis' eyes may have been more famous, Joan's portrayed a wider range of emotion. That's just my opinion.

[@turnedaround4954]

Marchant2 Your opinion is BS, in my opinion. To reduce Bette Davis to "famous eyes" is even more scandalous than the hatchet job done on Joan by that book.

[@Marchant2]

@@turnedaround4954 Calm down mud pie. I didn't reduce Bette Davis to anything. Your lack of comprehension skills falsely interpreted it that way.

[@turnedaround4954]

Marchant2 Ah I see, you meant depth of acting in the eyes. My bad. Even so, I still disagree and think Bette's depth was far superior. I actually think its unfair on Joan to compare her to Bette at all. Joan was never a great actress, but she was a great star

[@lukaharr8502]

That's not true, she was a fucking great actress, i think her acting and Bette acting styles were different. Bette was more in tune with the times, she was about creating a character and giving it life, very theatrical. Joan was more sustained, using her own experience to convey emotions through her characters. She gets bad rep because she never did theater and the bias against poor people and her acting style, do your research. Both women were amazing.

[@therealrivermoon]

I wish they had of delved into her childhood a bit more. It was pretty dark beyond just having to work. She was sexually abused and then sent to live in a convent

[@robertspencer2647]

She is definitely on my top ten list of best actresses: 1) Joan Crawford 2) Elizabeth Taylor 3) Greta Garbo 4) Greer Garson 5) Jean Seberg 6 ) Audrey Hepburn 7) Vivian Leigh 8) Jessica Lange 9) Jane Fonda 10) Marilyn Monroe

[@amyclarke41]

good actress😁

[@davidhearns2359]

I’ll take Joan over Bette any day lol

[@robertjazz3613]

I'll take bette over Joan any day lol

[@davidhearns2359]

Ed Miller really Lol

[@davidhearns2359]

Robert J Bette as a good home girl maybe but far as acting and being tooken away definitely Joan

[@dollydagger4306]

David Hearns not me. Bette rules.

[@Firespawnable]

@@davidhearns2359 Bette Davis was always a better actress then Joan Crawford. Even Joan knew that, that's why she allowed Bette to have the lead part in Baby Jane. Joan was never known as a great actress Joan was always known for being a dancer. Bette Davis was always known for being a great actress Bette even got 2 OSCARS.

[@edunoeduno4980]

this was thorough and informative! though they left out the part where she gives that little brat what's coming to her with a wire hanger.

[@rodlabbe2976]

You're wrong about how Aldrich heard about What Ever Happened to Baby Jane. It's Joan who found the property and brought it to his attention, not the other way around. Do your homework, Millennial.

[@andrewmark2783]

She was also wrong by inferring Crawford chose her role in The Women over Shearer, who had her pick of every MGM role at that time.

[@brmnyc]

@@andrewmark2783 I believe Joan had to lobby hard to get the role of Crystal in "The Women" because Mayer couldn't understand why she would want any role that was not the lead. She famously said something like "I'd play Wally Beery's grandmother for a role as good as that!"

[@user-bt7ix6sw2g]

Oh please, you could do it better. Didn't even mention a lot of her biggest important movies: The Unknown (1927); A Woman's Face (1941); Jonny Guitar (1954)... And honestly so many others. She was the one who choose baby jane, not otherwise.

[@robert44861]

This is a good short view of JOAN CRAWFORD'S career with few errors JOAN CRAWFORD was nominated overseas for her part in "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?" a fact that is always overlooked. And, it was JOAN CRAWFORD that submitted the book or novel of "WHTBJ?" for a movie and she wanted BETTE DAVIS and got her. That movie would have been a hit without Miss Davis just think if TALULLAH BANKHEAH, SYLVIA SYDNEY, and most certainly GLORIA SWANSON or MIRIAM HOPKINS had been chosen.

[@Marketoromagnolo]

Very interesting dicumentary, she was the ultimate movie star! Nice the documentary doesn t mention to stupid book by her daughter, which is now documented to have been completely false and unacurate

[@hughhaefner5486]

Bette Davis said the difference between her and Joan was Joan was a movie star. Bette was an actress

[@johnderham2829]

She was more likely born in 1906

[@daltonbelflower7331]

Her birth year is clouded with mystery. I've always sided with 1904, which seems the most logical to me. She shedded four years off her age coming to Hollywood to sustain her youth.

[@thomassperduti4500]

The movie stars Movie Star!

[@gregrak9389]

It's quite unfortunate to see so many of the below commentators referring to that gay smut, "Feud." Alicia Malone made a decent piece although some of it was factually incorrect, it was a "mutual" decision for Crawford to leave MGM back in '43, not Crawford's alone, some movie historians will argue she was fired, so be it. Malone should perhaps just sit on her hands in future instead of gesticulating, a habit which particularly annoyed Crawford.

[@gregrak9389]

@Ed Miller Excellent, I caught that one, too.

[@teeniebeenie8774]

weak commentary, but fun visuals

[@teeniebeenie8774]

how can the host smile while she talks for 13 minutes: very stepford wife

[@retire14pattaya9]

1904

[@gloiven]

i must have made a mistake. i have a loving wife and three children and still like the Joan and NOT the voice over.

[@Wsaetre]

Nice try. Let the American historians handle these particular topics. Too many errors and just sloppy research.

[@gabriellebernard198]

The narrator has the worst Australian accent. "She is a staah! Joan was a flappaahh"

[@robertdoherty2001]

Is Australian, apparently, but either tries to lose the accent or maybe a tad affected. Harmless enough.

[@chipmunkvernoy]

After Joan tried to sabotage Bette's Oscar chances on BABY JANE and the walked-off of CHARLOTTE in order to sabotage that, too, the studios wouldn't touch Joan again for any significant film. In contrast, despite Bette being viewed as the more difficult actress, she continued to work for years... So it's not all about an oppressed gender --- just don't mess with the studios' profits, which is what Crawford was doing.

[@jonathanmeadows6813]

Joan upstaged Bette at the Oscars but she didn’t sabotage her chances lol. If so, she wouldn’t have been cast in ‘Charlotte’ in the first place.

[@gfgall]

She rescued Bette from all the dreck she did in the 50s after All About Eve.

[@chipmunkvernoy]

@@gfgall ... By getting Bette to do BABY JANE? Maybe Joan should have focused on avoiding all the dreck she herself did after that, because once Joan sabotaged the Oscar race and then tried to sabotage CHARLOTTE, no major studio would touch her. Career over.

[@kjgammon1658]

​@@chipmunkvernoySuch B.S.

[@chipmunkvernoy]

@@kjgammon1658 ... How so? The same way you voting up your own post is B.S.? Clearly, your judgment simply cannot be trusted.

[@ScratchthechalkBoard]

Oh that Jennifer Lawrence Emma stone adorable real world cool girls so modern so dance Keaton relatable Billie Billie Ellis. Ode to flappers..

[@thomstephens]

I am shocked at how inaccurate this is! This movie didn’t win a single Oscar and Joan Crawford was not discovered in Los Angeles.

[@jeremyduarte9129]

Um, you still should mention that she was a sociopath with her family in real life. This is everything that’s wrong with Hollywood

[@Garsons-oq4lh]

Confusing her with Faye Dunaway's so-called Joan Crawford, I see.

[@marishkaspirit]

Joan played the mistress in "The women" not because she wanted to or preferred it instead of the wife. The reason why it was because she was given that role. She wasn't given the leading role because Norma Shearer was more popular back then and had more power. This lady doesn't know what she's talking about. Joan accepted the role, but she didn't had the option to choose between this and leading role. She accepted what was offered, not because she thought it was more interesting than the leading role. Besides she knew it would benefit her career (which at that time was still developing) if she was in a movie with house hold name like Norma. And Norma's power back then was grater than Joan by far, she was even able to choose what dresses Joan should wear not to outshine her. Joan gained power and influence later.

[@daltonbelflower7331]

You're right... Joan wasn't offered the lead in The Women. That was always Norma's role. BUT Joan did chose to play Crystal, the villain of the piece. Even though it was a smaller role, she knew it contained some good scenes and offered her a good way to move away from the "shopgirl who makes good" formula she had been doing the last decade. She also knew it would serve her well to be seen with Shearer, the First Lady of MGM, and since Crawford and Shearer were never chummy, I'd say Joan wanted her slice of whatever behind-the-scenes tension that was destined to happen. Either way, Crawford's performance in The Women was certainly iconic, even if MGM still continued to cast her in movies beneath her talent.

[@gfgall]

By 1939, after Thalberg died, Shearer's clout had diminished significantly, so much so a mere three years later she was done, while Joan went on for decades.

[@patfer9262]

He

[@bbrown333]

There is something about Alicia I really do not like. I don't know what it is exactly, maybe she comes off as a bit smug? In any case, I miss Robert Osborne and don't care much for any of the new TCM hosts.

[@crossjay]

I've never seen her before, but I thought the same thing. Maybe she's trying to sound like she was there experiencing everything that happened? And then trying to bring feminism into it - no matter how much she wants to think that women are pitted against each other and would otherwise be nice to each other, it will never be true. Anyone, male or female, who wants to get work in Hollywood needs to be tough and competitive, and I think Crawford would be the first to say that.

[@Cubertfilm]

hmmmm, don't really care for this one. and I love JC

[@hughhaefner5486]

The only movie I thought her acting was good is " the women". Other than that her acting is mediocre.

[@cindyr3793]

This was a drag Queen

[@nuntissonne3943]

Do you have any evidence to support your statement?

[@lindseycarribean5113]

A beautiful & talented one then.

[@belenheredia2024]

Go for a mirror!

[@cindyr3793]

Nice story though . All movie Queens are Drag Queens . Regular women were used in acting , but were always plain and in the back ground . Betty Davis also Drag Queen . People think hair and lipstick always mean it must be a women Ha ha