I used my body, my face, my walk, my mannerisms to project what the character is.
– Joan Crawford
Joan’s career, which spanned almost half a century, spawned over 83 films— from silents to talkies to technicolor. With these pictures, she was given a wide variety of roles: extra, chorine, flapper, shopgirl, the other woman, scarred lady, trucking magnate, restaurant owner, dancer, stenographer, playwright, Western boss, crippled lady, psychotic woman, circus owner, doctor… all the possible roles you could imagine!
But out of all the characters she portrayed, there are few which definitely stand out until now. These roles have cemented her name in the motion picture industry and made her beyond famous. These characters have made their way into our hearts, as well. Sometimes, we even associate Joan with the roles she played. That’s how big the impact of her roles are.
Here are, in my opinion, Joan’s most memorable roles ever:
(Nanon Zanzi in The Unknown, 1927)
(Diana Medford in Our Dancing Daughters, 1928)
(Marian Martin in Possessed, 1931)
(Letty Lynton in Letty Lynton, 1932)
(Sadie Thompson in Rain, 1932)
(Janie Barlow in Dancing Lady, 1933)
(Sadie McKee in Sadie McKee, 1934)
(Crystal Allen in The Women, 1939)
(Anna Holm in A Woman’s Face, 1941)
(Mildred Pierce in Mildred Pierce, 1945)
(Helen Wright in Humoresque, 1946)
(Louise Howell in Possessed, 1947)
(Myra Hudson in Sudden Fear, 1952)
(Jenny Stewart in Torch Song, 1953)
(Vienna in Johnny Guitar, 1954)
(Eva Phillips in Queen Bee, 1955)
(Millicent Wetherby in Autumn Leaves, 1956)
(Blance Hudson in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, 1962)
(Lucy Harbin in Strait Jacket, 1964)
Agree or disagree? Feel free to comment— just no bashing or irrational, violent reactions. 🙂 Thank you!
Happy blogging (and fangirling!)
(All photos from Joan Crawford Best)
Etcetera 