- Directed by Michael Curtiz and based on the novel by James M. Cain, Mildred Pierce is a rare film noir in that it spotlights a woman who is neither a helpless angel nor a femme fatale. Instead, the eponymous Mildred (Joan Crawford) is a decent, hardworking woman whose life tragedies are caused by the unscrupulous men surrounding her and Mildred's unwavering devotion to her irredeemably spoiled daughter, Veda (Ann Blyth). By the film's end, it's difficult to imagine how things could have gone any differently for Mildred. Maybe that's why the story works so well as a tragedy.
- In flashback, long before she finds herself at a police station trying to explain how that corpse ended up in her beach house, Mildred was married to Bert Pierce (Bruce Bennett). Although she later describes him as "gentle and kind," Bert is initially an out-of-work philanderer whose bad decisions almost immediately get him kicked out of the house. Left alone to raise their two daughters, Veda and Kay (Jo Ann Marlowe), Mildred desperately goes to work as a waitress, where she quickly earns the respect of her wisecracking employer, Ida Corwin (Eve Arden). It doesn't take Mildred long to establish her own diner franchise, and pretty soon Ida is working for her. The eternally preening Veda is mortified by the fact that her mother has to earn money frying chickens and baking pies, but at least it's a living.
- But unfortunately for Mildred, the story doesn't end there. To establish her first restaurant, Mildred had to seek out help from two men. One was Wally Fay (Jack Carson), a shameless heel who loves the sound of his own voice almost as much as he enjoys chiseling people out of their money. The other was Monte Beragon (Zachary Scott), an effete upper crust type for whom "loafing is a science." At various times throughout the story, both men find themselves in love with Mildred. One man even becomes her second husband. Both men make financial maneuvers that work against Mildred's best interests. One man ends up dead, and the other one finds the corpse.
- With its expertly deployed flashbacks, memorable characters, snappy writing, and outstanding acting, there is much to recommend Mildred Pierce. My favorite aspect of the film is the characterization of Veda, who is certainly the youngest noir villain I can think of. Probably everybody has met a teenager that reminded them of Veda, but it takes courage to center an entire film around such a repellant character. Mix in three very different models of homme fatale in the forms of Bert, Wally, and Monte, and you get a really interesting and tragic depiction of the life of a single mother. They say hard work is its own reward. Good thing, too, because that's really all Mildred has left in her life by the end of the movie.
- Also starring Butterfly McQueen as the maid with the hilarious high-pitched voice.
