Mommie Dearest (1981) is a film about the life of screen actress
Joan Crawford (played by
Faye Dunaway). Directed by
Frank Perry, the film spans from
1939 to
1977, chronicling the
mental and
physical abuse that one of
Hollywood's greatest actresses inflicted on her two
adopted children. The film is an adaptation of the book of the same name, written by
Christina Crawford.
What inpsired Christina to write this book?
After enduring years of pain and making peace with her adopted mother, she attended the reading of Joan Crawford's last will and testament.
To my Daughter Christina and to my son Christopher
I leave nothing...for reasons known only to them.
Talk about a
slap in the face from beyond the
grave!
Christina vowed to have the last laugh with her
cathartic retelling of her life with the late Ms Crawford.
What made this film so popular?
NO WIRE HANGERS!!!
The famous line shouted by
Faye Dunaway in this
campy cult classic.
Immediately after
screaming the words, Joan energetically beats little
Christina Crawford (played by
Mara Hobel) with one of the actual wire hangers.
Little known fact: Diana Scarwid plays the adult Christina Crawford. She appears in the film What Lies Beneath opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford twenty years after her work in Mommie Dearest.
Some information provided courtesy of www.IMDB.com