Mildred Fierce
Last week, Slate.com ran a fine appreciation of James M. Cain’s Mildred Pierce which I managed to miss until today. Like the author, the Vintage paperback reissue served as my introduction to Cain. I was transfixed by how much more gritty and earthy the novel was compared to the movie. It was also interesting that Cain described Mildred as a petite woman with blonde curly hair and penetrating eyes — more a Bette Davis than Joan Crawford type. In the film, Ann Blyth plays the daughter (wonderfully) as a spoiled brat, but the novel’s Veda is a hundred times more insidious and manipulative. Plus, naturally, Cain supplies the story with a lot more evilness than anything the 1940s movie production code would allow. It’s a great read.
I also got a small kick out of this other Slate feature — classic lit book covers redone as pulp fiction. You just know that Lewis Carrol intended Alice to resemble a saucy little minx.
June 1st, 2006 at 7:04 am
I have never seen the movie or read the book, but it is forever linked in my mind to Carol Burnett’s fabulous “Mildred Fierce” take-off with Vicki Lawrence as the daughter.
I should give the book a try- the article made a great case for it.
June 2nd, 2006 at 6:04 pm
Carol Burnett did a great Mildred, or more accurately Joan-as-Mildred.
June 13th, 2006 at 4:17 pm
Is there a copy of the Carol Burnett Show with her glorious rendering of “Mildred Fierce” available?
June 13th, 2006 at 7:16 pm
There might have been a VHS release years ago, but as far as I know it’s not on DVD anywhere.