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Gallery
Filmography
Film Highlights
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Hollywood Perfectionist
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Crawford's extraordinary career encompassed 45 years and some 80 films.
Spotted in a chorus line by MGM and signed in 1925, her portrayal of a
"flapper" in her 21st film, OUR DANCING
DAUGHTERS (1928), made her a star. Crawford maintained this status
throughout the remainder of her career, but not without setbacks. Despite
a mature and impressive performance in THE
WOMEN (1939), Crawford continued to be given less-than-challenging
roles by the studio.
In 1942 Crawford left MGM and her career took a decided upward turn after
she signed with Warner Bros. the following year. In numerous Warner Bros.
melodramas and films noirs, a new Crawford persona emerged: intelligent,
often neurotic, powerful and sometimes ruthless, but also vulnerable and
dependent. Memorable roles in
MILDRED PIERCE (1945)for which she won an Academy
Award, HUMORESQUE (1946) and POSSESSED (1947)
Later, with the exception of WHAT
EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962), Crawford's performances of the
60s were mostly self-caricatures in second-rate horror films (BERSERK,
1967, TROG, 1970), and the film she'd love to forget JOHNNY GUITAR (1954).
Crawford was married to actors Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Franchot Tone
and was portrayed as a cruel and calculating mother by Faye Dunaway in
the 1981 film, MOMMIE DEAREST, based on a biography by her adopted daughter
Christina. The film was made famous
for this line
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