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| The Joan Crawford Collection (Humoresque / Possessed (1947) / The Damned Don't Cry / The Women / Mildred Pierce) | 
 enlarge | Directors: Curtis Bernhardt, George Cukor, Jean Negulesco, Michael Curtiz, Vincent Sherman
Actors: Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Jack Carson, Van Heflin
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $49.98
Buy New: $24.50
You Save: $25.48 (51%)
New (48) Used (10) Collectible (1) from $24.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  35 reviews
Sales Rank: 12856
Format: Box Set, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 5
Running Time: 580
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.5 x 3
MPN: WARD70810D
ISBN: 1419812734
UPC: 012569708105
EAN: 9781419812736
ASIN: B0008ENID4
Theatrical Release Date: July 26, 1947
Release Date: June 14, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 11/11/2008 Run time: 103 minutes Rating: Nr
Amazon.com
The Joan Crawford Collection brings together a potent group of films from Crawford's career renaissance: her Warner Bros. run of the late 1940s, beginning with Mildred Pierce. Four of the titles are from that heated, noirish streak, including Crawford's 1945 Oscar-winning turn in Mildred, a great Hollywood example of an actress's persona meeting the zeitgeist moment. In this adaptation of the James M. Cain novel, Crawford plays a sacrificing mother perfectly willing to claw her way to success for the sake of her ingrate daughter. Michael Curtiz directed, snapping Crawford out of a long career slide. Humoresque (1946) was promptly given the top-drawer treatment, and it's a truly epic melodrama about a restless society woman who takes up the cause of a young violinist (John Garfield) from the slums. Possessed (1947) gave Crawford a thorough workout as a woman in complete obsessive breakdown from various romantic traumas. What Crawford lacks in subtlety she makes up for in sheer will, which suits the character well (and brought another best actress Oscar nomination). The Damned Don't Cry (1950) is a film noir smash-up, with Crawford as a low-rent dame who brazens her way into becoming a fur-lined mobster's moll (it was loosely inspired by the Bugsy Siegel-Virginia Hill story). It's overripe but entertaining. 1939's The Women, an MGM picture, doesn't fit the mood of the collection, although it has its fans. George Cukor directed this catty version of the Clare Booth Luce play, which has an all-female ensemble cast; Crawford is in very good form as a bad girl. The movie's reputation is somewhat beyond its actual witchy charm. (Packaging gaffe: the photo on the back cover is from Seven Women.) DVD extras tend toward smallish documentaries, save the absorbing 90-minute career profile The Ultimate Movie Star on the Mildred Pierce disc, an even-handed study that includes frank revelations from director-lover Vincent Sherman and the "wire hangers" story from adopted daughter Christina. Sherman contributes a commentary on The Damned Don't Cry. --Robert Horton
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| Customer Reviews: Read 30 more reviews...
 The Joan Crawford Collection January 6, 2009
This collection was classic Joan Crawford. Of course Mildred Pierce was excellent as was The Damned Don't Cry. I watched The Women with a group of women who had never seen it and we had a great time. The Women has been remade recently and did not hold up to the Joan Crawford version.
Possesed and Humoresque were good also.
JB
Now I know why this set is never on sale July 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'd put off getting this boxed set because it never went on sale. That is true of both this set and the Judy Garland Signature Collection. I finally did get this one, and for the past few days I've gone through the set and I can see why it's never on sale. Although I frequently see "The Women" and "Mildred Pierce" televised, it had been awhile for two of the others, and I had never seen "Humoresque" before. What a treat, what five outstanding films. You could honestly say that "The Women" and "Humoresque" are not really Joan's films. The leads are actually Norma Shearer and John Garfield, respectively. However, even in these films Joan plays a critical role I can't see going to any other actress, and that's an odd thing to say since they are both two very different films.
"The Women" is really the only film even bordering on comedy, with the other four being rather dark, and reflecting the domination of film noir during the post-WWII period. Other people have mentioned the plot details, so let me just say a few words about the extra features. WHV has consistently put out the best classic film boxed sets on the market, and this is one of them. They always pack these things with extra features, and they seem to know what kind of extra features suit each set. For example, the Warner Gangsters franchise always gets the Warner Night at the Movies treatment (a short subject, a cartoon, and a newsreel), and it fits. Likewise WHV seemed to know that humorous old MGM shorts and Bugs Bunny would just be an odd fit for Joan's films, although the humorous "The Women" does have some old 30's short subjects on its disc. Instead, we get some topnotch commentary and featurettes that focus on different aspects of the films. Well done WHV, this is a great salute to Joan.
films with class June 24, 2008
These films have a class about them that the newer generation of films do not.All though the films are in black and white the stories go along with the non color whitch i think makes this period of films classic. This way you can immagine any color of a dress that you want.There is a fashion show in The Women that was shot in color.
The Damed Dont Cry and Mildred Pierce were my favorite out of the set. I am now watching vol. 2 , Joan Crawford.She is a star with class.
 TCM Runs All of These Movies for Free March 24, 2008
1 out of 10 found this review helpful
I know that my review will not be popular with Joan Crawford fans who simply want to put 5 stars up for their idol; however, this is a critique of the box set, not Joan Crawford. I won't buy the box set because I have already recorded all of the movies included in it for less than .25 cents a piece. Turner Classic Movies plays them repeatedly and is doing so currently. Thus, I find this collection to be old hat and too standard to get excited about at all. Plus, most of these DVDs were already available. Buying the set is certainly no financial discount either.
Wonderful February 6, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Having been brought up one block from 42nd St. and two blocks from Broadway, what can I tell you? At six years old, I was totally in love with Rita Hayworth, and wanted her to wait for me, but she went off and married some older, more wealthy men. (Go figure.) I also believed that all truly beautiful women were like Joan Crawford, e.g., "handle with care" and "proceed with caution". (Ha, ha)
I can tell you that "The Joan Crawford Collection, Vol. 1" is a keeper. It features her films: "The Women" with Rosalind Russell (1939), "Humoresque" with John Garfield, "Mildred Pierce" (1945) with Zachary Scott for which she won the Academy Award in 1946, "Possessed" (1947) with Van Heflin for which she was nominated for an Academy Award in 1948, and "The Damned Don't Cry" (1950) with Kent Smith. She was a wonderful actress, a Hollywood icon, a trailblazer for American women, and yet, very much, a woman of her time and culture.
My suggestion is to watch these films in chronological order to really get more of a feel for Joan's evolution at Warner Bros. My personal favorites are "Humoresque" (great score) with John Garfield and "Mildred Pierce" with Zachary Scott (an excellent, but underrated actor, except to those in the business). Nevertheless, all the films are worthwhile examples of film noir, romance, suspense, and melodrama.
I'm not especially thrilled with the film commentaries and support material, except on "Possessed", which is more informative. Also, Director Vincent Sherman's film commentary on "The Damned Don't Cry" was disappointingly redundant. Understandably, he was along in years when he did this commentary, and, in fact, died in 2006, a year after this DVD set was released. It's a shame because he could have provided so much more about the technical aspects of his direction of the film. Regrettably, Vincent Sherman, like John Garfield, had been caught up in the "Red Scare" and House on Un-American Activities in the late Forties, which resulted in the end of his career in Hollywood. Subsequently, he went on to work as a director in television.
While not a perfect set, Joan Crawford still makes it all worthwhile and five stars.
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