It was supposed to be an Oscar-caliber production that would bring prestige and golden statues to Paramount Pictures. Everyone on the set left the production believing that they were destined to meet again on the awards circuit. Nobody was more sure of it than Faye Dunaway, who expected that her star turn as Joan Crawford would be heralded by audiences and critics alike. Mommie Dearest was primed for its time in the Hollywood sun.
For those who have never seen it, Mommie Dearest was based on the memoirs of Christina Crawford, who painted a violent, abusive picture of her mother, Hollywood legend Joan Crawford. Adopted as a prop to further her mother's career, Christina painted a bleak depiction of her life as a Hollywood daughter. Though the book was released after Joan's death, the two had become estranged long before then and Joan was written out of Joan's will. Some say that Joan had caught wind of Christina's book project and the change to her will was a last minute slap in the face.
Regardless of whether one believes Christina's side of the story, there's no debate over the campiness of the film. Instead of being greeted with applause, Mommie Dearest received laughs and jeers. Faye Dunaway's over the top performance was not seen as being a huge joke; it was a stark lesson in what happens when an ego-centric actress is not reigned in by the director. Paramount quickly withdrew its serious ad campaign and substituted one that depicted the film as a campy comedy. Faye Dunaway was devastated. Paramount Pictures, on the other hand, found itself with a decent hit on its hands, one that made more money than it would have as the Oscar-bait film everyone originally thought it was.
When thinking about what still picture from the film perfectly encapsulates its insanity, it would be easy to choose one from the notorious wire hangers scene. Instead, we chose this one. Faye Dunaway looks like a man in drag, painted up like a cartoon version of Joan Crawford, brutalizing her daughter with an open handed slap. Instead of feeling the horror we're supposed to feel about this abuse, the scene instead elicits laughs like the rest of the over the top film. It's hard to see what made this film's cast and crew think they were making a best picture caliber film and easy to see where it all went horribly, terribly wrong.
