When she died in 1977, Joan Crawford was remembered as an icon of Hollywood's Golden Age until publication the following year of her daughter's memoir, Mommie Dearest.
Christina Crawford's book was an immediate bestseller, addressing the infrequently discussed topic of child abuse.
When Paramount Pictures released the film, starring Faye Dunaway as Crawford, it was critically panned, and remains one of the most legendary critical bombs in film history. The lavish, big-screen adaptation drew unexpected laughter in the scenes depicting life in the Crawford household. Rarely have such good intentions been met with such ridicule.
Despite this, the movie was a commercial success and remains, four decades later, immensely popular. With Love, Mommie Dearest details the writing and selling of Christina's book and the aftermath of its publication, as well as the filming of the motion picture, whose backstage drama almost surpassed what was viewed onscreen in the film.
Based on new interviews with people connected to the book and the film, Hollywood historian A. Ashley Hoff explores the phenomenon, the camp, and the very real social issues addressed by the book and film.
Table of Contents:
Prologue
1. Because I Am Not One of Your Fans!
2. Tina, Bring Me the Axe!
3. Too Many Cooks
4. Feud
5. The Director’s Eye
6. We Got Annie
7. Enter Faye Dunaway
8. The Illusion of Perfection
9. This Mysterious Truth
10. A Bucket of Ice
11. The Ice Follies of 1939
12. Carol Ann
13. The End of Hollywood’s Golden Age
14. Aces Beats Queens
15. We’re Ready for You Now, Miss Crawford
16. I’m Mad at the Dirt
17. I Can Handle the Socks
18. An Unsuitable Candidate
19. Dammit! Perino’s Is My Place!
20. She Can Make You Disappear
21. The Three Faces of Christina
22. Mara Hobel
23. The Happiest Life a Girl Could Ever Dream
24. Christopher
25. I Will Always Beat You
26. Life and Death to Me
27. No Wire Hangers Ever!
28. A Christmas Visit with the Crawfords
29. Uncle Charlie and Uncle Ted
30. I Don’t Ask Much from You, Girl!
31. Mildred Pierce
32. Barbara, Please!
33. That Bitch of a Bearing Wall
34. First Time at the Rodeo
35. The Secret Storm
36. A Director for Hire
37. For Reasons Which Are Well Known to Them
38. Cut. That’s a Wrap.
39. Mayhem and Music
40. The Biggest Mother of Them All
41. Box-Office Poison
42. Mother’s Day
43. Joan Crawford Has Risen from the Dead!
44. The Last Word
