A fresh look at a complicated woman. The author weaves an intriguing story & pulls back the layers of the inner workings of Crawford.

Okay, so I think this is a verrrrry niche concept, best unravelled by a bit of a context.

I was given this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This author has brought Crawford into the 21st Century. At first, quite unique, although this continued in the book. To the extent where it got, frankly a little odd. It was a dissection of any film Crawford had done by applying a 'What would it have been like for this character in 202something?'

I don't think it would suit everyone but this could be a worthy beach read.

As a lover of Old Hollywood and its many fabulous icons, I absolutely loved this book and plan on buying a physical copy for my personal collection! I loved the way Bernstein blended current pop culture references to those of the Golden Age of Hollywood, and I found myself laughing out loud multiple times at their wit throughout. I appreciated the extensive and beautiful photos in addition to the synopses of all of Crawford's movies. I can tell that so much time, research, and love went into the making of this book, and I feel so lucky I was able to get an ARC! I would've liked for it to go a bit more into detail as far as Crawford's personal life was concerned, but overall I really enjoyed this book and the decision to remember her as a hardworking actor first, and not as the monster her daughter made her out to be.

Starting with a gorgeous cover and an introduction by John Epperson (Lypsinka), I knew this would be a fun read! It definitely fulfilled my expectations! The book is grouped into different categories and interweaves of Joan Crawford's life and her films. I appreciated that at the end of each section, he lists each of the films with a short synopsis and a full list of cast and crew. He also includes excerpts of reviews from the time as well as reviews from Pauline Kael this added a great deal to the narrative. Even though I am a movie buff, there are many films I have never heard of and want to see because of this book. One of them is called "Paid" directed by Sam Wood. who went on to direct a lot more well-known movies. The other thing I like is he includes film posters throughout which makes this a very visually appealing book. Another imaginative part of the book, is the recasting of current day films (such as "Barbie") with Joan Crawford and other stars of her era. And to top it off, at the end of the book, are recreated movie posters depicting this new casting -- really imaginative and made me smile! Thank you for such an enjoyable read!!! I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Globe Pequot | Applause for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

In one of the best films ever made about Hollywood, “Sunset Boulevard,” fading film star Gloria Swanson tells writer William Holden: “I am big. It’s the pictures that got small.” That memorable quote could sum up the career of Joan Crawford. At one time, Crawford was perhaps the top actress in Hollywood. She was acknowledged as the “Queen of Hollywood” by “Life Magazine” in 1937 and 15 years later as Photoplay’s Favorite Actress. The movies that vaulted Crawford to that career pinnacle are now largely forgotten by most filmgoers. Most people today remember her for only two movies, one of which (“Mommie Dearest”) she didn’t appear in. To aid modern-day filmgoers’ memories, author Samuel Garza Bernstein examines Crawford’s life and career in an extensively researched tribute, “Starring Joan Crawford.” The well-written book gives readers insight into some aspects of Crawford’s life and career I was unaware of. It also contains dozens of rare poster photos and stills from all stages of her career. But it’s marred by some unfortunate editorial choices that bog the material down in needless, confusing trivia.

“Starring Joan Crawford” primarily focuses on the approximately 90 movies and a handful of TV appearances Crawford made. When she arrived in Hollywood in 1925, she signed a contract with MGM, which kept her busy. She appeared in almost 30 silent films, many as mere extras. But gradually, the parts became more prominent, and the public noticed.

What’s noteworthy throughout the book is the degree to which Crawford kept driving and promoting herself. Although the author discusses every film Crawford made, he devotes most of his attention to those that shaped her career, starting with “Rain” in 1932. Crawford lobbied for the role of prostitute Sadie Thompson, who brings down a religious hypocrite, and Crawford gives one of her better performances. But the film was a flop, and she got much of the blame. (Contemporary reviews were far harsher than more recent ones.) As a result, she retreated to lighter romantic comedies for the rest of the 1930s.

When Crawford aged out of those roles, she let her contract with MGM expire and signed instead with Warner Brothers, a studio with a reputation for edgier noir fare. Her first film for Warner was “Mildred Pierce,” which won her an Oscar. She followed that with a series of more serious, often downer, melodramas. The roles sometimes became outlandish, as in the cult Western “Johnny Guitar,” which helped cement Crawford’s subsequent legacy as a drag icon. Finally, she had her last career hit, “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” in 1962, opposite longtime rival Bette Davis. The author discusses the abovementioned movies in detail, as well as two films Crawford didn’t make. She was in line for the lead in “From Here to Eternity,” a role eventually played by Deborah Kerr. Later, after the success of “Baby Jane,” Crawford was again cast opposite Davis in “Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte,” but was replaced after filming began by Olivia de Haviland. Crawford claimed she was ill, but the severity of her illness has often been questioned over the years.

“Starring Joan Crawford” may be one of the best analyses of the actress’s film career outside of scholarly works. However, regarding Crawford’s personal life, this book is somewhat hit-and-miss. The author covers her four marriages, but only her first marriage to Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. gets substantial discussion. This relative lack of detail results from the author’s decision to include several period articles in various magazines discussing those aspects of Crawford’s life and career. These magazine articles, which met with the studios’ tacit approval, were often puff pieces whose accuracy is questionable today. They are interesting for how they presented Crawford to moviegoers of the day, but not necessarily as accurate sources of film history.

The book also covers Joan Crawford’s troubled relationship with her adopted daughter, Christina, although not in the detail many readers would like. The author never takes a definitive stand on how accurate Christina’s accusations of abuse are, as detailed in her expose, “Mommie Dearest.” However, he includes a 1960 article by Morton Goulding in “Redbook,” in which Goulding interviewed both Joan and Christina. I found this article to be the most fascinating piece in the book because of how Goulding hints at more significant problems between mother and daughter but never explicitly says so. Nobody knows what Christina may have told him or what Goulding might have guessed, but I know “Redbook” would never publish a mini-version of “Mommie Dearest” in 1960.

I appreciate the posters and photos the author includes. They show how stunningly beautiful Crawford was in her silent film days, something many readers who are more familiar with the aging Crawford will be surprised to realize. The posters come from the author’s personal collection and are extremely rare. Even though the films they promoted have often been forgotten, the posters show how the studios publicized Crawford and how her look and fashions changed over the years.

My biggest beef with “Starring Joan Crawford” is what the author calls his “flights of fancy.” He imagines what would happen if Crawford were alive today, appearing in films like a Dr. Strange movie opposite her real-life occasional lover Clark Gable. The fake poster for the fake movie is more entertaining than the author’s flight of fancy. The author also includes an exhaustive cast and crew listing for every movie Crawford made. These credits sometimes include people who aren’t listed on the film’s IMDB pages and include the credits’ actual wording. It’s a tribute to the author’s thoroughness to mention that 1931’s “This Modern Age” credits Sylvia Thalberg (Irving Thalberg’s sister) and Frank Butler for “dialogue continuity” (whatever that means), but I don’t understand how that factoid increases one’s understanding of Joan Crawford or this movie. Including all those cast and crew credits adds dozens of useless pages to the book. That material also separates the author’s primary discussion about the movie from the additional details he mentions in the cast and crew listings. For example, he mentions that “This Modern Age” is “another mistress film” that was a major hit with audiences. However, readers must wait another 30 pages to learn any plot details and get a brief excerpt from a “Chicago Tribune” review about the movie.

I was also disappointed with one significant omission from “Starring Joan Crawford.” The author mentions Crawford’s feud with Bette Davis several times but doesn’t mention a stunt that Crawford is remembered for today, even among casual film buffs. I’m referring to her appearance at the 1963 Oscars, where she accepted the Best Actress award for Anne Bancroft, a huge in-your-face slam of Bette Davis, who was also nominated for “Baby Jane.” To his credit, author Bernstein discusses the recent “Feud” limited series, featuring Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon as Crawford and Davis. He has an excellent meta line about the series: “Perhaps in twenty years we will have two future Oscar winners playing Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon playing Joan Crawford and Bette Davis playing Blanche and Baby Jane Hudson.”

I’m giving “Starring Joan Crawford” a three-star rating and a mild recommendation. Books like this will primarily appeal to fans of the actress or the era, and I learned quite a few things I didn’t know about Crawford. I also enjoyed the author’s at-times witty observations and his insight into Crawford’s career and what drove her. However, the book has too much extraneous material of little interest. The organization is, at times, confusing, and the book is needlessly cluttered. There’s always room for another solid analysis of Joan Crawford’s life and career. Unfortunately, “Starring Joan Crawford” misses the mark too often to rank in the top tier of such analyses.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.

Who can resist this cover? A fun look at n0t only the life but the impact of Joan Crawford though the lens of her being an "it girl"
and influencer. This made the book seem contemporary and set it apart from other books about Joan Crawford I've read. I did find it odd he didn't explore more about the abuse allegations made by her daughter--that is a huge part of how people remember her today, possibly even more than her movie career.

this book was very unique in its accessibility to both Joan Crawford fans and those who just want to learn more about her. I think it is a decent addition to the canon of Crawford biographies. I am not a huge Crawford fan specifically, but I do love old Hollywood and so I know a bit about her from that, and this was a solid read for me. It had a lot of good information that I found interesting. I couldn't quite figure out how I felt about the whole "imagining what movies Crawford would have been in if she were alive today" though. There were definitely aspects of the writing that screamed millennial cringe, which is a criticism I've had for a lot of my reads lately. My only other criticism was that it was occasionally difficult to tell if the author was quoting someone or not, but hopefully that was just in the ARC and will not be present in the finished book.

INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO JOAN CRAWFORD, WHICH SOMETIMES MISSED THE MARK FOR ME

Joan Crawford has always fascinated me with her choice in roles. This book is a fascinating look into her inner workings seen through exactly that - the roles the chose to (or was forced to) play.

What I liked

👍 Approach: Crawford is, in many ways, an enigma. Perhaps because her carrier was so broad. Or perhaps because so many have had so much to say about her. Her life itself has been the subject of movies. I liked how Bernstein tried to get to the heart of the enigma through the movies Crawford made. It was innovative and interesting.

What I didn't like

👎 Beginning: It took a while to get going, the introduction was a bit long and it took some time before the intent and scope of the book was finally stated.

👎 "Modern Joan": At the end of every chapter, Bernstein reimagines Joan as she would have been today at the different stages of her life. I.e. Influencer-Joan or Barbie-Joan. While it was a fun thought-experiment, it mostly fell a bit flat for me simply because I didn't get many of the references.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

Love Joan Crawford and have always been fascinated by her
This is wonderful
A slightly different take on the usual biographical genre which was fantastic

I learnt so much

A comprehensive study of all the films that were made by Joan Crawford together with a critical appraisal of each of them. There was also biographical details relating to Ms Crawford’s life especially pertaining to their relationship to a particular film. Not a biography as such but an in-depth study of the movies..
Interesting.

I received a free copy from Netgalley for my honest review. I enjoyed this book, being a fan of old movies and Joan Crawford. Her 50 or so years career is discussed, as well as her campy popularity because of Mommie Dearest. It shows a talented and versatile actress who clawed her way to the top from humble beginnings. This is a must read for any movie or Joan fan.

A really great and thorough approach to the star that we gays have spent so much energy venerating and destroying. It does a lot to humanize the woman that we hav essentially treated as a ragdoll for our own pleasure and fantasy and mockery and projection an ddestruction. Very thorough historical approach, great visuals, great contextualization, great reference to resource.

My only negative is that the self-indulgent imagining of Joan as a 2024 Instagram Influencer character gives right back in to the appropriative gay destructive tendency to turn women into paperdolls that we get to toy with and turn into our objects of affection and rejection. It slips back uncomfortably into appropriating her, rather than liberating her, as the book had done so well apart from those moments.

Also, the photoshopped Eyes of Tammy Faye/AHS/Multiverse Of Madness posts are creepy and also very paperdoll-y.

#Netgalley #FromNetgalley

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
I enjoyed learning more about Hollywood icon Joan Crawford. I like the way it was written in chronological order from the beginning of her career to the end. The only parts I skipped over was when the author tried to put Joan Crawford into modern day life-I didn't see the point. Other than that, it was a good overview of her life and career.

This biography/ filmography was a lot of fun,, despite some rather serious flaws. I liked how it was organized - with Crawford’s life broken into phases, with the biography of each period, followed by a breakdown of Crawford’s films from the period, with a brief synopsis of each film. What I didn’t like was the little section in each phase with an alternative look about what Crawford might have been up to if she had been that phase’s age during modern times. This seemed self indulgent and unnecessary. And the whole book badly needed another pass or three with the editor. The narration would frequently slide without warning (or punctuation) into a lengthy (and often unattributed) quote.

But, for a person like myself who loves both golden-age Hollywood history, it was just so much fun I couldn’t hold a grudge. I dropped two stars for the flaws, but added one back in for the fun!

I found the format of this book very challenging. We’re recounting the past. Now we’re pretending Joan Crawford is starring in Barbie. Now we’re actually listing her films. If I thought many of the pretend modern day film castings made sense, I would have enjoyed them more.

I found the biographical information to be more shallow than I would’ve liked. I suppose this book might be for Joan Crawford super fans, and I do not qualify.

This was a great read to explore the life of Joan Crawford with information that I didn't about her previously.

I’ve always had an interest in knowing more sbtbJoan Crawford. I cannot wait to share my thoughts on this. She is a Hollywood legend.