Joan Crawford was Creepy

Random Thoughts on Joan Crawford

I've watched two Joan Crawford films over the Halloween weekend, Berserk and Strait-Jacket.

It seems later in Joan's career she was only allowed to act in crazy horror films. I believe there is good reason for this. She was one scary looking lady. Something about that harsh face just screamed evil. Whether she was or not is a matter of some debate.

Of course there is the whole Mommy Dearest thing. I have read quite a lot on both sides of t he fence. Was she the bad, crazy parent that was portrayed in the film and book or was Christina Crawford a spoiled brat, who couldn't handle things when they didn't do her own way? No one can say. I would think a little of both. I mean, just as the book was a cruel bit of vengeance on Christina part, so was Joan leaving her and Christopher nothing in her will "reasons which are well known to them."

It is always hard to say, looking back, what is real and was in fiction. The human brain in really a horrible information unit. Just ask five people to right down events of a week earlier and you will probably get five different stories. People are not necessarily lying, they believe what they are saying, but the mind record keeping is not an accurate one.

Anyway, back to Joan and her creepiness. I watched Johnny Guitar a few weeks back, and that wasn't even a horror film, and yet there was something creepy about her.

The fun part about these later film is that, her career was such on a down-curve that she is trying very hard, so hard that the over acting is really hysterically funny. Watch Strait-Jacket for a great example of this.

This reminds me that Blue Oyster Cult had a song on one of their later albums called "Joan Crawford has Risen from the Grave."