Possessed the life of joan crawford

Film actress joan crawford was born lucille fay lesueur in san antonio, texas, on march 23, 1905 though some sources have reported her birth date as 1908. What that means is that i thought of joan who ive always been a fan of as a hardened actress playing strong women whod struggled through life. In the first chapter in 1925, she is described as being 53 and 140 pounds, which she knew was too much for her small frame. Donald spoto crawford was one of the most incandescent film stars of all time, yet she was also one of the most misunderstood. I was a commodity, a piece of property i felt an overwhelming obligation to my career, and so i was an actress first, a wife second. It was billed as the life of joan crawford but in truth there wasnt a whole lot about joan s life and more about her films than her life. Possessed allows joan to suffer royally and she does, pulling out all the schizophrenic stops to slam this one home. Based on new archival information and exclusive interviews, possessed traces crawfords fifty years of memorable performances in such film classics as rain, the. When david begins dating her new daughterinlaw, she is pushed over the edge. Her memoir of life with her abusive adoptive mother, the hollywood superstar joan crawford, was perhaps the first ever to document child abuse from the point of view of the child.

In possessed joan crawford gives a strong and unsettling performance as a nurse who is obsessed with a former lover, david van heflin, and cant let go even after she marries the her employer raymond massey, who had hired her to take care of his mentally unstable wife. Donald spoto ive been protected by studio publicity men most of my life, so in some ways im a goddam image, not a person. There were many important men in her life, not least clark gable, with whom she appeared in eight pictures and with whom she conducted a thirtyyear affair. In possessed, his subject is the inimitable joan crawford, one of the most electrifying divas of the golden age of american film. From joan crawfords early days as a flapper through to the grand guignol nightmare of what ever happened to baby jane. An ambitious factory girl meets a handsome, wealthy lawyer, but hes interested in her as a mistress, not a wife. Joan crawford was one of the most incandescent film stars of all time, yet she was also one of the most misunderstood. In some ways, donald spotos possessed is the ultimate hollywood book about a young woman, poor, abandoned by her father, but determined at all costs. The life of joan crawford i found the book informative. She was a leading film personality for more than fifty years, from her beginnings as a dancer in silent films of the 1920s, to her portrayals of workingclass shop girls in the depression thirties, to her oscarwinning performances in classic films such as mildred pierce.

The essential biography explores the life and career of one of hollywoods great dames. Joan crawford seems to channel bette davis in this scene from the 1947 movie possessed. I believed that joan has done some very nice and generous things for other people and society. The life of joan crawford by donald spoto goodreads. Possessed 1947 film possessed is a 1947 american film noir psychological drama directed by curtis bernhardt, starring joan crawford, van heflin, and raymond massey in a tale about an unstable womans obsession with her exlover. By the time she was born, her parents had separated, and by the time she was a teenager, shed had three stepfathers. Joan crawford was an american film and television actress who began her career as a dancer. New york times bestselling author donald spoto has already brilliantly explored the lives and careers of numerous hollywood stars and entertainment iconsgrace kelly, james dean, alfred hitchcock, and marilyn monroe, to name but a few. Much beloved of drag queens thanks to her enduring fondness in later life for heavy eyebrows and lipstick, crawfords reputation was made. Possessed is a 1931 american precode drama film directed by clarence brown, starring joan crawford and clark gable, and released by metrogoldwynmayer. Joan crawford was a complex, contradictory, driven human being, but not the alcoholic, sadistic monster depicted in the notorious book, mommie dearest, which appeared a year after her death.

A more new york times bestselling author donald spoto has already brilliantly explored the lives and careers of numerous hollywood stars and entertainment iconsgrace kelly, james dean, alfred hitchcock, and marilyn monroe, to name but a few. The life of joan crawford by donald spoto the times. Dancer, dramatic actress, businesswoman, corporate executive with pepsicola, joan crawford during her lifetime 1906 1977 was rarely out of the news. Possessed is a 1947 american film noir psychological drama directed by curtis bernhardt, starring joan crawford, van heflin, and raymond massey in a tale about an unstable womans obsession with her exlover. A more thorough, revealing, and sympathetic portrait of the often maligned movie starmost notably lambasted, perhaps, in the scandalous bestseller, mommy dearest possessed is a fascinating study of the real joan crawford, a remarkable actress, businesswoman, mother, and lover. Yolaine stout a suicidal neardeath experience and what it taught me about life duration. Joan crawfords life was a battle against the world, and her personal issues. Later, she proved to be a troubled mother and struggled to keep her children happy.

Crawford published her autobiography, a portrait of joan, cowritten with jane kesner ardmore, in 1962 through doubleday. The life of joan crawford, author donald spoto spends a good deal of time detailing crawfords life as an actress and defending. It ended forever her period in movies as an emptyheaded hedonist with a. Joan crawford, geboren als lucille fay lesueur san antonio texas, 23 maart 1904 new york, 10 mei 1977. Joan crawford was born lucille fay lesueur on march 23, 1906, in san antonio, texas, to anna belle johnson and thomas e. With the use of only recently opened archives and personal papers, donald spoto probes behind the lurid headlines to bring us joan crawford, the private person as well as the movie legend. She was married four times, once to the debonair douglas fairbanks jr, unaware that he had failed to discontinue his relationship with marlene dietrich. It was billed as the life of joan crawford but in truth there wasnt a whole lot about joans life and more about her films than her life. Overview new york times bestselling author donald spoto has already brilliantly explored the lives and careers of numerous hollywood stars and entertainment iconsgrace kelly, james dean, alfred hitchcock, and marilyn monroe, to name but a few. New york times bestselling author donald spoto has already brilliantly ex. A year after joan crawfords death in 1977, her adopted daughter christina published mommie dearest, a memoir that described crawford as.

Crawford was one of the most incandescent film stars of all time, yet she was also one of the most misunderstood. The joan crawford filmography lists the film appearances of american actress joan crawford, who starred in numerous feature films throughout a lengthy career that spanned nearly five decades. To this end, he tends to let us know at what precise moment in the film we can expect to first see joan in all her radiant glory. I worked almost constantly, and even when i wasnt working, there was that image thing of looking like a star, conducting myself like a star. I didnt always agree with how she handled some situations with her coworkers during her career. In some ways, donald spotos possessed is the ultimate hollywood book about a young woman, poor, abandoned by her father, but determined at all costs to. Ive been protected by studio publicity men most of my life, so in some ways im a goddam image, not a person. In the introduction, joan crawford is described as being just over five feet in height. I liked that it described about joans life in hollywood. Joan crawford is at her best when shes possessed once. The life of joan crawford by donald spoto 2010, hardcover at the best online prices at ebay.

Possessed the life of joan crawford pdf epub download. Joan crawford amazing scene from possessed youtube. Not that the film was perfect an unrealistic happy ending and crawfords rendition of how long can it last delivered in three languages were low points but possessed also proved to be an important film in the progress of joans professional life. Spoto goes beyond the popular caricature to give us a threedimensional portrait of a. A more thorough, revealing, and sympathetic portrait of the often maligned movie starmost notably lambasted. With joan crawford, clark gable, wallace ford, richard skeets gallagher. Although the same title was used for a crawford film 16 years earlier, the similarity is in name only. Her terrific performances in michael curtizs mildred pierce 1945 and curtis bernhardts possessed in 1947 remain highlights in the. The film is the story of marian martin, a factory worker who rises to the top as the mistress of a wealthy attorney. Not in a factory that makes things that go in boxes, just the empty boxes themselves. Miss crawford is a star in every sense of the word. The life of joan crawford by donald spoto, paperback. Short but my favorite scene from this movie as davidheflinreacts in quite the familiar and typical fashion when hes fed up with louisemildereds character.

It was readable and interesting if youre interested in the films, how their made and why but if youre looking for a biography about joan crawford. The life of joan crawford, author donald spoto spends a good deal of time detailing crawfords life as an actress and defending her beauty, talent, and poise. The screenplay by ranald macdougall and silvia richards was based upon a story by rita weiman. Possessed, their third film together, released in october, was directed by clarence brown. When the picture starts, the whistle is blowing quitting time and all these employees stream out, joan included where does she work. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. The life of joan crawford by donald spoto by victoria segal.