Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star Page #2

Synopsis: In this documentary on the life of 'Joan Crawford', we learn why she should be remembered as the great actress she was, and not only as the "mommie dearest." caricature she has become. Friends, fellow actors, directors, and others reminisce about their association with her, and numerous film clips show off her talent from her start in silents to bad science fiction/horror movies at the end of her career. Daughter 'Christina Crawford' even explains the origin of the phrase "No more wire hangers!".
Genre: Documentary
Director(s): Peter Fitzgerald
Production: Fitzfilm
 
IMDB:
6.2
UNRATED
Year:
2002
87 min
73 Views


No, not in the beginning at all.

The studio was uncertain about what

to do with their free-spirited starlet...

...and tried her out

in comedies, dramas...

...and even Westerns,

to moderate response.

But L. B. Mayer followed a hunch,

and took a chance on her...

... with a starring role

in The Taxi Dancer.

Crawford was a natural on the screen.

Whether from a youthful zeal,

or a lack of education...

...she came across as a fresh, new face

in an age of affectation.

But industry opinion rumored

that Joan 's inexperience...

...contributed to the film 's failure.

Once again, she was assigned

to supporting roles.

In her next film, Joan played

a seedy carnival performer...

...opposite Lon Chaney in The Unknown.

It was on this project

that she received an education...

...by observing her costar's

total immersion in his character.

She was learning to use

inner resources...

...from an unhappy

and abused childhood...

... to make her scenes jump

from the screen.

The starlet was becoming an actress.

With renewed interest,

MGM made her a leading lady...

... to the studio 's top star,

John Gilbert, in Twelve Miles Out.

Their on-screen chemistry

struck a chord with audiences.

Off-screen, Crawford continued

to better herself at MGM.

She went on the other sound stages

to watch the other productions.

She took that time to learn as much as

she could, and also to make friends...

...because she found out that

your friends behind the camera...

...were more important than your

fellow players in front of the camera.

Joan 's achievements were noted

in Mayer's office.

She was one of his greatest discoveries,

and was rewarded in kind...

... with a down payment

for her first home, in Beverly Hills.

She was even given a new car

by the studio...

...but not all was going well

for Crawford, whose reckless drinking...

...led to her involvement as the driver

in a hit-and-run accident.

A matter which was silenced

by the studio.

Joan 's friend William Haines advised

discretion to protect her public image.

As a gay leading man,

he knew the price of fame.

Crawford and Haines remained the best

of friends for the rest of their lives.

MGM cashed in on their

much publicized friendship...

...by teaming them romantically

in two films.

He was already playing leads

at that point.

He kind of let her in

on the rules of the game.

The two of them were just friends.

They could be comfortable

with each other.

They'd share a lot of intimacies,

as far as their little secrets.

Actually, it was when she was back

in New York doing West Point...

...with Billy Haines that she got into

probably her first trouble...

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes

Peter Fitzgerald

All Peter Fitzgerald scripts | Peter Fitzgerald Scripts

0 fans

Submitted on August 05, 2018

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/joan_crawford:_the_ultimate_movie_star_11329>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star

    Browse Scripts.com

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.