Mildred Pierce (1945)

What do you get when you combine the elevated emotions of a melodrama and the seedy, back-stabbing beats and visuals of a noir? This concoction is the exact recipe for Michael Curtiz’s delectably dark Mildred Pierce starring the incomparable Joan Crawford as the iconic title character.

A murderous start! There’s the bang of gun shots and then an unknown man falling to the floor, whispering only one thing before dying: “Mildred.” Then, a car races off from the beach house where this cold-blooded murder takes place. But who’s car is it? Who killed the man? Is it Mildred? Possibly…But before we even meet the sad-eyed and broad-shouldered Mildred Pierce in her fur coat, the intrigue and suspense of this mystery casts and exciting shadow over the story within the first two minutes alone. What a top-tier and invigorating beginning!

"There is so much to love about Mildred Pierce. It has all of the noir conventions but sets them in a melodrama with a woman lead, a kind of rarity in the time this film was made"


Fairly quickly we find out at the deceased is none other than Mildred’s second husband, Monte Beragon (Zachary Scott) as Mildred and others are dragged in for questioning by the police. Though Mildred quite cleverly tries to frame it on old friend and former business partner Wally May (Jack Carson), it is Mildred’s first husband, Bert Pierce (Bruce Bennett) who confesses to the crime. What?! Mildred protests that he would never! Then, we get into the meat of the story as Mildred details her whole back story to the detective as we are sent back in time.

This is where the lovely melodrama kicks in. We are brought back a few years prior to Monte’s murder. It’s 1939. And what’s one of the most horrendous things a woman could do at this time? Yes. Work! And for money! When Bert is unable to find any jobs, Mildred must step up to support the family by selling baked goods to the neighbors, despite her unemployed husband’s protestations and Mildred’s daughter, Veda’s, (Ann Blyth) absolute disgust.

Eventually, Bert and Mildred separate, and Mildred secretly finds a job as a waitress, being taken under the older-sister-like wing of Ida (Eve Arden) – your quick-witted favorite character. Mildred’s good at her job, almost too good, and when Veda finds out, all hell breaks loose despite Mildred’s obsession to try and make Veda happy, spoiling her rotten and enduring her abuse.Mildred Pierce (1945)

Mildred opens her own restaurant and rakes in the dough. She buys Veda a car, gets a maid (at Veda’s request), any and everything Veda could ever want, but Veda is and never will be happy with her. The audience relishes in Mildred and Veda’s toxic relationship. Blyth is deliciously evil in the role that you love to hate her. And when they have the end all, be all fight, all bets are off! Veda’s desire to live a life like Monte’s lavish and spoiled lifestyle leads Mildred to marry him to, again, service Veda’s wishes. But between Monte and Veda, Mildred cannot afford to fund their extravagant wishes. This is where the noir comes back in.

In a classic noir style, there is a betrayal. And then another! And with Curtiz’s expert use of light and shadows, there is a wonderfully moody and drastic layer added on top of this melodrama. And all of this leads back up to where the film started with the killer revealed and with hearts broken.

There is so much to love about Mildred Pierce. It has all of the noir conventions but sets them in a melodrama with a woman lead, a kind of rarity in the time this film was made. Within its story it covers so many juicy topics like women working during wartime, the economic landscape of the time, and probably most intriguing is Mildred’s probably unhealthy love for Veda. There is an almost endless amount of dissection for the themes of this film. And all of this is displayed to us with Curtiz’s expert eye that gives us lovely stark and picturesque visuals. And Crawford, of course, is wonderfully vulnerable, complex, and strong in the performance that awarded the actress with her only Academy Award. All around, this is a certified classic! And thanks to the folks at the Criterion Collection, Mildred Pierce is now available with a all-new stunning 4K restoration!

5/5 stars



Mildred Pierce (1945)

4k details divider

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray Edition

Home Video Distributor: Criterion
Available on Blu-ray
- March 7, 2023
Screen Formats: 1.37:1
Subtitles
: English SDH
Audio:
English: LPCM Mono
Discs: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free; blu-ray locked to Region A

Melodrama casts noirish shadows in this portrait of maternal sacrifice from Hollywood master Michael Curtiz. Joan Crawford’s iconic performance as Mildred, a single mother hell-bent on freeing her children from the stigma of economic hardship, solidified Crawford’s career comeback and gave the actor her only Oscar. But as Mildred pulls herself up by her bootstraps, first as an unflappable waitress and eventually as the well-heeled owner of a successful restaurant chain, the ingratitude of her materialistic firstborn (a diabolical Ann Blyth) becomes a venomous serpent’s tooth, setting in motion an endless cycle of desperate overtures and heartless recriminations. Recasting James M. Cain’s rich psychological novel as a murder mystery, this bitter cocktail of blind parental love and all-American ambition is both unremittingly hard-boiled and sumptuously emotional.

Video

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, Mildred Pierce was restored with a digital transfer taken primarily from the 35 mm original nitrate camera negative with some of the film scanned from another nitrate safety fine-grain master held at MOMA in New York. The Curtiz shadows are seen in all of their 4K glory! The depth of the shadows is very pronounced and the greyscale is very nice with a nice dynamic range. The sharpness is great with lots of fine details visible, and there seems to be no problems with the stability of the picture. Overall, there is nothing really to complain about here.

Audio

With the uncompressed monaural soundtrack, the gunshots, the melodramatic slaps, and the melodramatic dialogue can be heard with a crisp and clear sound. All sounds great!

Supplements:

Special features galore! With a delightful conversation with film critics, archival footage and interviews, and even a feature-length documentary about the film’s leading lady, there is more than enough to satisfy those wanting to learn more about everything and everyone involved in this classic melodrama.

Commentary:

  • None

Special Features:

  • Conversation with critics Molly Haskell and Robert Polito
  • Excerpt from a 1970 episode of The David Frost Show featuring actor Joan CrawfordJoan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star, a 2002 feature-length documentary
  • Q&A with actor Ann Blyth from 2006, presented by filmmaker Marc Huestis and conducted by film historian Eddie Muller
  • Segment from a 1969 episode of the Today show featuring Mildred Pierce novelist James M. Cain
  • Trailer
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith

4k rating divider

  Movie 5/5 stars
  Video  5/5 stars
  Audio 5/5 stars
  Extras 4/5 stars

Composite Blu-ray Grade

5/5 stars


Film Details

Mildred Pierce (1945)

MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime:
111 mins
Director
: Michael Curtiz
Writer:
Ranald MacDougall
Cast:
Joan Crawford; Jack Carson; Zachary Scott
Genre
: Drama | Noir
Tagline:

Memorable Movie Quote: "I hate all women. Thank goodness you're not one."
Theatrical Distributor:
Warner Bros.
Official Site: https://www.criterion.com/films/29025-mildred-pierce
Release Date:
October 20, 1945
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
March 7, 2023.
Synopsis: Joan Crawford’s iconic performance as Mildred, a single mother hell-bent on freeing her children from the stigma of economic hardship, solidified Crawford’s career comeback and gave the actor her only Oscar. But as Mildred pulls herself up by her bootstraps, first as an unflappable waitress and eventually as the well-heeled owner of a successful restaurant chain, the ingratitude of her materialistic firstborn (a diabolical Ann Blyth) becomes a venomous serpent’s tooth, setting in motion an endless cycle of desperate overtures and heartless recriminations.

Art

Mildred Pierce (1945)