MovieChat Forums > Mildred Pierce (1945) Discussion > Do you think Barbara Stanwyck would have...

Do you think Barbara Stanwyck would have been better?

posted 6 years ago by LetThemEatCake (2717)
6 replies | jump to latest

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Depends what you like.

Crawford wasn't an actress, she was a movie star!

[–] LetThemEatCake (2717) 6 years ago

I love stars, and I love Joan Crawford, but the director wanted Stanwyck and Crawford herself said Stanwyck would have been better anyway, and I just kinda got a vision of what Stanwyck could have been.,

[–] Otter (24464) 6 years ago

With Stanwyck, it would have been a movie about a real person experiencing real-life problems, as much as the films of the 1940s ever resembled real life. Perhaps the recent miniseries remake with Kate Winslet captured that, I haven't seen it so I can't comment.

As it is, it's a movie about an extremely photogenic and charismatic movie star suffering nobly, which I happen to find VERY entertaining. Vive la Craword!

[–] [email protected] (1732) 6 years ago

Yes, Stanwyck was the better actor, but give the devil his due. Crawford gave a great performance, with only a hint
of the melodramatic "suffering" she would employ in most of her movies.

I'm no fan of Crawford, but she gives great performances in both "The Women" and "Strange Cargo." She's
also very good in "Baby Jane." It's not "just" a Bette Davis vehicle. Both women are superb.

[–] rudeboymurray (3241) 4 years ago

As already mentioned above... Stanwyck was by far the greater actress, but Crawford is wonderful here in what is probably her signature role. It’s hard to imagine even Stanwyck doing a better job.

[–] liscarkat (16530) 23 days ago

I'm a big Stanwyck fan, but no.