That is how maid Ellen Corby describes her boss, Mrs. Craig, in this third version of George Kelly's Pulitzer Prize Winning Play. Rosalind Russell's Harriett was a young woman with definite mental problems in the 1936 version. But she at least had youth on her side so with psychological treatment, it is obvious she could have made necessary alterations to change her into a better person. But Joan Crawford's middle-aged Harriet is really beyond help. She's deliberately cruel, treating servants with the condensation of Leona Helmsley and rubbing her power over them and everybody else in the house she worships with glee. Only housekeeper Viola Roache and maid Ellen Corby see her for who she truly is, although a few of husband Walter's friends see right through her and are blatantly uncomfortable when in her presence.
In probably his best performance, bland Wendell Corey adds life to Walter who slowly wakes up to his wife's evil manipulations, which include lies not in Russell's version. Where Crawford succeeds in this performance is making Harriett's sexuality more blatant, verbalized as her "part of the bargain". K.T. Stevens seems a bit too worldly to be presented as a naive young woman. Watch her in the previous year's "The Port of New York" to see her as a film noir femme fatal role. She would later enter daytime soap immortality as the initially veiled mother from hell Vanessa Prentiss on "The Young and the Restless", passive/aggressively using her own death to try and destroy her hated daughter-in-law's life. Amusing performances by Allyn Joslyn as a playboy friend of Corey's and Lucille Watson as Corey's boss's life-loving wife add humor. I wanted to see a scene with Watson getting the truth from her husband Raymond Greenleaf, playing Walter's boss. Her presence is ironic considering that she played the wise mother of Crawford's rival, Norma Shearer, in the classic movie version of "The Women". The business aspect of Harriet's manipulations add a new dimension to her character, which leads to the revelation of one of the most malicious lies a wife can tell a husband.
Fans of "Mommie Dearest" will take great pleasure in making comparisons to this and Crawford's 1955 melodrama "Queen Bee". When I first saw this as a teenager, I did not pick up on the psychological aspects of Crawford's character, truly a master at manipulation and using sexuality to get what she wanted, yet declining it when it didn't suit her purpose. Her mannish hairstyle makes her Harriett much more intimidating than Russell's kinder/gentler (and thus more dangerous) version. Crawford chews the scenery (including that oh so precious vase) yet you feel the pain inside her when she breaks down and reveals all the truths and feel sorry for her when it all comes crashing down on her. She's a model, not only for the man-hating realm of certain kind of feminists, but for anybody who puts social propriety and their own needs above those they claim to love. I wouldn't want a relative or friend like Harriet Craig, but she's somebody who is fascinating to watch rise, then crash and burn. You really can envision Harriet telling maid Corby, "When you clean the floor, you have to move the tree!"
In probably his best performance, bland Wendell Corey adds life to Walter who slowly wakes up to his wife's evil manipulations, which include lies not in Russell's version. Where Crawford succeeds in this performance is making Harriett's sexuality more blatant, verbalized as her "part of the bargain". K.T. Stevens seems a bit too worldly to be presented as a naive young woman. Watch her in the previous year's "The Port of New York" to see her as a film noir femme fatal role. She would later enter daytime soap immortality as the initially veiled mother from hell Vanessa Prentiss on "The Young and the Restless", passive/aggressively using her own death to try and destroy her hated daughter-in-law's life. Amusing performances by Allyn Joslyn as a playboy friend of Corey's and Lucille Watson as Corey's boss's life-loving wife add humor. I wanted to see a scene with Watson getting the truth from her husband Raymond Greenleaf, playing Walter's boss. Her presence is ironic considering that she played the wise mother of Crawford's rival, Norma Shearer, in the classic movie version of "The Women". The business aspect of Harriet's manipulations add a new dimension to her character, which leads to the revelation of one of the most malicious lies a wife can tell a husband.
Fans of "Mommie Dearest" will take great pleasure in making comparisons to this and Crawford's 1955 melodrama "Queen Bee". When I first saw this as a teenager, I did not pick up on the psychological aspects of Crawford's character, truly a master at manipulation and using sexuality to get what she wanted, yet declining it when it didn't suit her purpose. Her mannish hairstyle makes her Harriett much more intimidating than Russell's kinder/gentler (and thus more dangerous) version. Crawford chews the scenery (including that oh so precious vase) yet you feel the pain inside her when she breaks down and reveals all the truths and feel sorry for her when it all comes crashing down on her. She's a model, not only for the man-hating realm of certain kind of feminists, but for anybody who puts social propriety and their own needs above those they claim to love. I wouldn't want a relative or friend like Harriet Craig, but she's somebody who is fascinating to watch rise, then crash and burn. You really can envision Harriet telling maid Corby, "When you clean the floor, you have to move the tree!"