March 7 - Mommie Dearest

Today’s movie is a biographical drama with a scene that happens on March 7. Watch it tonight and enjoy.  

MOMMIE DEAREST  

Hyperactive and obsessive-compulsive actress Joan Crawford buys a baby girl Christine on the black market after her request to adopt is denied, since she’s unmarried and has been divorced twice. Although at times she dotes on her daughter at other times Joan flies into rages and emotionally and physically abuses Christina. After Louis B. Mayer ends her contract with MGM, Joan reacts by destroying her prized rose garden.  However, Joan goes to work for another studio and on March 7, 1946 [56:16 to 59:00] Crawford wins the Best Actress Oscar for Mildred Pierce. When Joan discovers Christina has wire hangers in her closet, she throws all of Christina’s clothes out of the closet, beats Christina with the hanger, makes a mess in Christina’s bathroom and makes her clean it up. Joan sends Christina to boarding school, but Christina is expelled after being caught with a boy. When Christina confronts Joan about why she was adopted, this leads to Joan assaulting her. Christina is sent to a convent school and isolated from the world. After she graduates Christina moves to New York. Joan marries the CEO of Pepsi and when he dies, blackmails the board into keeping her on the board of directors by threatening to denounce the company. Christina gets into TV acting, but is embarrassed when her mother replaces her when she gets ill. After Joan dies she leaves Christina nothing in her will. 

Movie Awards by Tom O’Neil (Perigee, New York, 2001) at page 102 gives the date she won this award 

Director - Frank Perry

Producer - Frank Yablans

Screenplay - Robert Getchell, Tracy Hotchner, Frank Perry and Frank Yablans}}

Released – September 18, 1981

Runtime – 2 hours 9 minutes    

Starring –

Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford

Diana Scarwid as Christina Crawford

Mara Hobel as young Christina

Steve Forrest as Greg Savitt

Howard Da Silva as Louis B. Mayer

Rutanya Alda as Carol Ann

Harry Goz as Alfred Steele

Michael Edwards as Ted Gelber

Jocelyn Brando as Barbara Bennett

Xander Berkeley as Christopher Crawford

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2015