Joan Crawford in Dear Joan: We're Going to Scare You To Death (1972)

This episode of the television program, The Sixth Sense was a departure from the standard format of the show. Instead of taking part in the action, Gary Collins acted as host for the episode, interviewing Joan before and after the story. Joan Fairchild (Crawford) has an automobile accident at night outside an imposing old house. The people gathered there are kind enough to give her shelter until her car can be rescued and fixed, however, they have ulterior motives when they sense that Joan is psychically receptive. They intend to use her as a guinea pig for their experiments in extra sensory torture. Will she be able to resist the messages they send to torment her?

This was Joan Crawford's last role, and though subdued, she gives a good performance. The episode was cut down to 26 minutes or so for syndication (in Rod Serling's Night Gallery), which left a lot unexplained, but the version above is the original 52 minute version. It was uploaded to YouTube by SixthSense1972.

Obscurity factor: 9 (not on DVD, available on YouTube, largely forgotten)

Joan Crawford and Melvyn Douglas in They All Kissed the Bride (1942)

Obscurity factor: 9

Margaret J. Drew (Crawford) is a driven, determined business woman running her late fathers trucking company. Her style of management is autocratic and dictatorial and she's not one for a soft touch when it comes to employees or anyone else for that matter. The only obstacle to mounting profits is the pesky, pro-labor journalism of Michael Holms (Douglas). She sets about dealing with him as she does everything else, with a strong arm and offense. A chance encounter with him, however, leaves her weak in the knees, and is complicated by the fact that she's not aware who he is. She has him arrested on a trumped up charge, thinking he is an unwelcome rival for her sisters attentions and soon finds herself vulnerable to a potential lawsuit. In trying to negotiate a settlement, she allows herself to be wooed by Holms and the inevitable happens - they fall in love. Will the differences in class and intervening circumstances keep the two apart or will love conquer all?

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Though not a brilliant example of the Screwball Comedy genre, this film has many bright spots and it's fun to see Crawford mix the hard bitten career woman of her WB years with the light-hearted comedy style of her MGM years. Look for Roland Young and Billie Burke (Topper and his wife) as Drew's attorney and mother.

This film has yet to be released on DVD and is harder to find online than hens teeth at the moment. It was given a VHS release and copies can still be found on Amazon.

Obscurity factor: 9 (not on DVD, available on VHS, not available online at all at the moment, occasionally screened on TV)

Joan Crawford in Because I Love Him (1953)

The last in our series of Joan Crawford anthology series appearances finds Joan playing a wife who learns her husband has only a year to live. The episode, which appeared on Revlon Mirror Theater is a very melodramatic melodrama full of noble sacrifice and beautiful suffering. The plot is a bit far out with very strange medical ethics and outrageous circumstances, but Joan pulls it off.
The series this episode was a part of is somewhat obscure itself. It ran for only two seasons and gets lost amid other more prominent anthology series like GE Theater and The Loretta Young Show. It's never been available on DVD, though individual episodes can be found on YouTube. The episode is above, uploaded to YouTube by Vi H.

Obscurity factor: 9 (Not on DVD, largely forgotten, available on YouTube)

Joan Crawford in The Road to Edinburgh (1954)

The third in our series of Joan Crawford anthology series appearances finds her in Great Britain. Mary Andrews is a successful reporter on her way to cover the Edinburgh festival. While driving she gets a flat tire and is aided by a mysterious man to whom she gives a ride. She's later sorry that she brought him along when he admits to being just released from prison and a report is heard on the radio about a prisoner who has just escaped. Will she make it to Edinburgh in one piece?

This was an earlier appearance of Joan's on GE Theater (And One was Loyal, posted on Friday, was filmed 5 years later). Part one is above, uploaded to YouTube by shanecincy.

Obscurity factor: 9 (not on DVD, little known, available on YouTube)

Joan Crawford in And One Was Loyal (1959)

Continuing the series of Joan Crawford anthology show appearances, this one is from General Electric Theater. Joan plays Ann Howard, a painter and the abused wife of a plantation boss in Singapore. Her life drastically changes when George Manson (Tom Helmore) visits the plantation unexpectedly.

This series has never had a commercial DVD release, though copies can be found on certain sites. This particular episode has some great melodramatic moments and a nice surprise ending. It was uploaded to YouTube by shanecincy.

Obscurity factor: 9 (little known, not on DVD, available on YouTube)

Joan Crawford in One Must Die (1961)

Like many film stars of the time, Joan Crawford did quite a bit of television in the 50's and 60's. Many people are familiar with her appearances on The Virginian and Here's Lucy, as well as her failed pilot, Royal Bay, which became the feature Della but before that she starred in one-off episodes of quite a few anthology series. In this one - Zane Gray Theater - she plays twins in a twisted story of family relationships gona awry.

This series has yet to be available on DVD, though you can get unofficial collections on various sites. This episode has been uploaded to YouTube by shanecincy. Part one is above.

Obscurity factor: 10 (hard to find, almost completely forgotten.

Joan Crawford in Flamingo Road (1949)

Lane Bellamy (Crawford) is a carnival dancer, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks. When she falls in love with the hand picked political pawn (Zachary Scott) of the powerful sheriff (Sidney Greenstreet) of Bolden City, she makes an enemy of that sheriff who will dog her to the death. She thought she had escaped his grasp when she married a political boss more powerful than he, but will his burning hatred be shielded by power and influence? Don't count on it.

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I've always been aware of this film, but had never seen it until tonight when I hosted it for Chelsea Classics here in New York. It's one of those Crawford films from that era that all seem to blend into each other - The Damned Don't Cry... Sudden Fear... Flamingo Road... It's a damned good picture though, with great suspense and pot-boiling drama. Sidney Greenstreet is just hateful as the sheriff, with a mean streak so wide you could drive a truck down it. The story, which originated in novel form, was turned into a television series in the 1980's starring Morgan Fairchild Stella Stevens.

This film is available on DVD. The trailer for it is above, uploaded to YouTube by captbijou.

Obscurity factor: 4 (known to diehard Crawford fans, still in the public consciousness, available on DVD)

Joan Crawford in No More Ladies (1935)

Obscurity factor: 7

Joan Crawford went through various phases in her remarkably long career - the free spirited flapper, the, the no nonsense woman who got what she was after... This film is from her later MGM period - the young society woman phase. Joan plays Marcia, a glamorous, rich young woman who is in love with Sherry (Robert Montgomery), who's a bit of a heel. She's not happy with the situation and knows the odds are against her when she sets her mind to marry him. Her grandmother (Edna May Oliver) sees what's happening, but short of giving advice, must look on, helpless. Everyone tries to convince her to break it off, including Jim, the ex husband of a woman he had an affair with (Franchot Tone).  After they're married things seem to go well, until a fateful weekend when Sherry stands her up on the weekend they were supposed to spend together. Marcia is crestfallen, but rallies to make her point by inviting Jim and his ex wife and her new husband as well as the girl who he stepped out on her with to the country for a weekend party. As you can imagine, fur flies.

No More Ladies is a good example the myriad films about the ins and outs of society relationships in the 1930's. It's beautifully art directed with magnificent, if slightly understated art deco sets and beautiful costumes. I'm always somewhat bemused by Joan when she plays this sort of role. It's so different from the Joan we all think of today. Edna May Oliver is delightful as usual and beautifully turned out and Franchot Tone is just gorgeous. It's no wonder Joan married him. Though this isn't a masterpiece, it's still a delightful throwback to the era, and a nice evening's diversion.

This film was recently released on DVD, thanks to TCM. The trailer is above, uploaded to YouTube by skipjacktuner. The poster above is available from MoviePosterShop.com.

Obscurity factor: 7 (Lost in the shuffle of similar films from the era, available on DVD)

Joan Crawford in The Damned Don't Cry (1950)

Obscurity factor: 2

In some ways this is the ultimate composite Joan Crawford film. In it she gets to go through the full range of styles and emotions from the films of her Warner Bros. pictures - grief, hard-as-nails determination, shame, sophistication, passion... Ethel Whitehead lives a bleak existence amongst oil derricks and poverty. She and her husband and son share a home with her doting mother and heartless father. When she decides to buy her son a bike it touches off a familiar argument with her husband, who is sensitive of not being able to provide more than the basic essentials for his family. When the son is killed it effectively breaks the bond between husband and wife and Ethel leaves to make her own way. She starts out as a model at a dress company, but, using men as her stepping stones, is able to scheme her way into the heart of an organized crime syndicate - and a glamorous life. She becomes Lorna Hansen Forbes, a fabulously wealthy oil heiress and lives a beautiful life. That is, until the syndicate boss decides to use her in his play to get the western territory back from a rebellious associate.

This film has a Mildred Pierce on steroids quality to it - the death of a child, the struggle to achieve, the realization that the top isn't all its cracked up to be... It's fun to see Joan play the scenes to the hilt, as usual and to see her go from know-nothing fit model to confident society woman.

This film has a big cult following among Crawford fans. It's available on DVD. The trailer is posted above, courtesy of felixxxx999 on YouTube. The poster above is available from MoviePosterShop.com.

Obscurity factor: 2 (well known to Crawford fans, otherwise obscure, available on DVD)

Joan Crawford in Della 1964

1964 was a good year for obscure films. Two of the films we've featured in the short history of this blog are from that year - The Visit and Where Love has Gone. Della started out life as the pilot episode of a series called Royal Bay about a town in northern California. Joan Crawford plays the daughter of the town's founder, an uncompromising woman who rules her home with an iron fist and exerts her influence over the town she owns so much of. The story finds a young lawyer attempting to get Della to sell a parcel of land to a government contractor who will bring lots of jobs to the town. He's invited to visit her home in the middle of the night and discovers her and her daughter living in a nocturnal world, sleeping during the day and going about their business during the night hours. He finds the daughter intriguing and is lured into their world with subsequent visits. The relationship eventually takes on tragic proportions.

The film, which is only 70 minutes long, was released as a feature - probably on a double bill, and was lost to obscurity until the late 1980's when it was released on video tape with misleading cover art, under the title Fatal Confinement, no doubt to capitalize on the success of Fatal Attraction. While not a high point in Ms. Crawford's career, she looks fantastic in it, and it does have some fun twists and turns. Also in the cast is Diane Baker in her second turn as Joan's daughter (Straitjacket) and her third time working with Ms. Crawford (The Best of Everything) and Paul Burke, who many of you will remember from his portrayal of Lyon Burke in Valley of the Dolls. You can find the second hand video tapes on Amazon.com, the DVD on iOffer.com and the full version has been uploaded to YouTube by annavissifan. The first installment is above.

Obscurity factor: 8 (practically unknown, available on video tape, at YouTube and on iOffer.com)