Mildred Pierce (1945)

Mildred Pierce (1945)

Directed by Michael Curtiz

Screenplay by Ranald MacDougall, based on the novel by James M. Cain

Runtime: 1 hr, 51 min

 

In looking through Michael Curtiz’s filmography, the least that I could say about the guy is that he was versatile.  Curtiz was in the director’s chair for movies ranging from romances to action epics to musicals.  I don’t know if he was a jack-of-all-trades or a studio’s hired gun, but he was certainly willing to give all sorts of films his personal touch.  Today’s film finds Curtiz helming a movie of yet another genre, the melodramatic film noir Mildred Pierce, one of the classic era films noir in the National Film Registry.

The film begins with the murder of Monte Beragon (Zachary Scott), a playboy from old money.  Several people are brought to the station for questioning, including Monte’s wife, Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford).  The police believe that Mildred’s ex-husband Bert (Bruce Bennett) is the killer, but Mildred won’t let him take the fall.  Instead, Mildred tells the police how things ended up this way, a tale involving a cast of characters ranging from the perpetual charmer Wally Fay (Jack Carson) to Pierce’s cold-blooded older daughter, Veda (Ann Blyth).

The story of Mildred Pierce is essentially driven by one relationship, the one between Mildred and Veda.  As a mother, Mildred is from the get-go overly attentive, striving to give her children the best life possible even when the money is tight.  However, whether it’s redecorating the house to make it seem more upscale or buying Veda new dresses, Mildred only aims for the material goods for that purpose, effectively buying their love.  She fails as a mother to inculcate Veda with the proper values to function in society.

Veda, for her part, is pure evil.  Obsessed with money and status, Veda looks down on her mother for working in restaurant to earn her money, longing for the life style of old money folks such as Monte.  She is more than willing to manipulate people and situations to her advantage, and she’ll gleefully laugh while she does it to boot.  But because Mildred is so devoted to making her happy, she continually gets away with it.  I must give major props to Ann Blyth, who expressions and tone project the highest malice possible; if Jason Compson were a teenage girl, he’d be Veda Pierce.

Mildred’s inability to see or do anything about her daughter’s ways is ultimately what leads to Monte’s murder.  Going so far as to marry Monte—for whom she does show a little genuine affection—in order to impress Veda, Mildred lets her entire life get away from her to chase one unattainable goal.  She should not have to do this; she’s the owner of a successful restaurant chain and lifted herself up after throwing Bert out for infidelity.  Yet because of her tunnel vision, made all the more evident by Crawford’s manner, that doesn’t matter in the slightest to her.

The anti-chemistry between Crawford and Blyth is so strong that the rest of film feels a tad underwhelming by comparison.  The men in their lives, for instance, are not the greatest cast of characters.  Jack Carson’s Wally is not interesting enough as the charming real estate tycoon to warrant that much screen time, and Monte, while strong as plot point, is lacking as an actual character.  Bruce Bennett appears to be a in coma throughout the film; one would think that with all he’d gone through, he’d show some emotion once in a while, but dead Lord is the man stoic.

Detrimentally, while these characters are window dressing to the story of Mildred Pierce, they are integral to the plot.  They come into play to drive the events forward: Mildred’s divorce from Bert, Veda’s obvious affection for Monte, Mildred’s business relationship with Wally, etc.  This isn’t necessarily bad; in fact, it sets up numerous possibilities for who would want to off Monte.  However, it takes time away from the Mildred-Veda tension, and since that’s the meat of the movie, this represents a problem.

Curtiz does manage to recuperate some the momentum lost in the plot with the noir styling.  A standout scene is towards the end, in which Veda and Monte are laughing together: their bodies in the light, but their heads are entirely silhouetted.  Yet Curtiz and cinematographer Ernest Haller (who also did work on Rebel Without a Cause) mix the noir elements with the bright sunshine of Southern California, especially during the bright times of Mildred’s life.  This makes the dark, stylish later sequences all the more striking.

In the end, Mildred Pierce is a fun little slice of cinema, but it’s one which suffers from one extra powerful element.  Given the power of Blyth’s evil turns as Veda and Crawford’s frustration as Mildred, it’s a shame that the film doesn’t focus more on that connection than it already does.  Still, there’s some built up speed for the solution to the mystery, and there is great satisfaction in discovering who the killer is.  Mildred Pierce is a good movie, but it could just as easily have ben a great one.