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Not the Girl Next Door: Joan Crawford: A Personal Biography
As Charlotte Chandler did so well in her previous biographies, she will again draw on the recorded words of Joan Crawford and those who knew her well to paint a rich portrait of the woman and the star.
Joan Crawford was born Lucille LeSueur in Texas in 1908. She became a chorus girl in silent films before finding her voice in Possessed(1931) with Clark Gable. Their affair would continue, on and off screen, for many years. Throughout the thirties, Joan continued to earn critical acclaim for her forte of playing career women who never gave up. Her Oscar-winning film Mildred Piercein 1945 began the long-running feud between Joan and Bette Davis, which reached its height with Whatever Happened to Baby Janein 1962. Joan was married four times including once to Douglas Fairbanks Jr, who spoke extensively to Charlotte Chandler for this book. Following her death, Joan's decision to cut her eldest children out of her will prompted her daughter Christina to write the damning bookMommie Dearest which changed Joan's image forever.
Charlotte Chandler spent many hours recording interviews with Joan and also those closest to her. What emerges is a subtle portrait of a complex women and a new insight into the legendary actress.
Joan Crawford was born Lucille LeSueur in Texas in 1908. She became a chorus girl in silent films before finding her voice in Possessed(1931) with Clark Gable. Their affair would continue, on and off screen, for many years. Throughout the thirties, Joan continued to earn critical acclaim for her forte of playing career women who never gave up. Her Oscar-winning film Mildred Piercein 1945 began the long-running feud between Joan and Bette Davis, which reached its height with Whatever Happened to Baby Janein 1962. Joan was married four times including once to Douglas Fairbanks Jr, who spoke extensively to Charlotte Chandler for this book. Following her death, Joan's decision to cut her eldest children out of her will prompted her daughter Christina to write the damning bookMommie Dearest which changed Joan's image forever.
Charlotte Chandler spent many hours recording interviews with Joan and also those closest to her. What emerges is a subtle portrait of a complex women and a new insight into the legendary actress.
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
December 7, 2024
If you love biographies, you love the history of the real Hollywood of the golden era of the cinema, the true films stars and legends, then this author, this biography you will enjoy and of course her many other biographies, I am already onto the Bette Davis biography.
As Charlotte Chandler did so well in her previous biographies, and her enormous work and interviews, she will again , draw on the recorded words of Joan Crawford and those who knew her well to paint a rich portrait of the woman and the star.
Joan Crawford was born Lucille LeSueur in Texas in 1905 (although she maintained it was in 1908). She became a chorus girl in silent films before finding her voice in Possessed (1931) with Clark Gable. Their affair would continue, on and off screen, for many years. Throughout the thirties, Joan continued to earn critical acclaim for her forte of playing career women who never gave up. Her Oscar-winning film Mildred Pierce in 1945 began the long-running feud between Joan and Bette Davis, which reached its height with Whatever Happened to Baby Jane in 1962. Joan was married four times including once to Douglas Fairbanks Jr, who spoke extensively to Charlotte Chandler for this book.
Following her death, Joan's decision to cut her eldest children out of her will prompted her daughter Christina to write the damning book MOMMIE DEAREST and changed Joan's image forever.
Charlotte Chandler spent many hours recording interviews with Joan and also those closest to her.
What emerges is a subtle portrait of a complex women and gives us a new insight into the legendary actress, with my opinion changing quite strongly after this book, a powerful, strong lady who respected her fans, appreciated them.
A good four stars from Me
As Charlotte Chandler did so well in her previous biographies, and her enormous work and interviews, she will again , draw on the recorded words of Joan Crawford and those who knew her well to paint a rich portrait of the woman and the star.
Joan Crawford was born Lucille LeSueur in Texas in 1905 (although she maintained it was in 1908). She became a chorus girl in silent films before finding her voice in Possessed (1931) with Clark Gable. Their affair would continue, on and off screen, for many years. Throughout the thirties, Joan continued to earn critical acclaim for her forte of playing career women who never gave up. Her Oscar-winning film Mildred Pierce in 1945 began the long-running feud between Joan and Bette Davis, which reached its height with Whatever Happened to Baby Jane in 1962. Joan was married four times including once to Douglas Fairbanks Jr, who spoke extensively to Charlotte Chandler for this book.
Following her death, Joan's decision to cut her eldest children out of her will prompted her daughter Christina to write the damning book MOMMIE DEAREST and changed Joan's image forever.
Charlotte Chandler spent many hours recording interviews with Joan and also those closest to her.
What emerges is a subtle portrait of a complex women and gives us a new insight into the legendary actress, with my opinion changing quite strongly after this book, a powerful, strong lady who respected her fans, appreciated them.
A good four stars from Me
December 11, 2009
List of the worst mothers in history:
1)Andrea Yates
2)Joan Crawford
3)Whatever animal happens to eat their own young
The irony is this book was NOT Mommy Dearest. It was supposed to be praising Joan with 80% in her own words. By page 2 she had already condemned herself. She only adopted her children as a publicity stunt, she admits to strapping them down, etc. etc. etc. She even cut them out of her will when they embarrassed her. The one daughter (she had 4 poor kids) who tried to say she was the best mommy ever sounded like she never knew her and her words sounded rehearsed. This is a good author, but by the end of the book she let Joan's words speak for themselves as she should have. This was one messed up lady. She should have stuck to "acting" and left the "mothering" to some hammerhead sharks: They would have done it better.
1)Andrea Yates
2)Joan Crawford
3)Whatever animal happens to eat their own young
The irony is this book was NOT Mommy Dearest. It was supposed to be praising Joan with 80% in her own words. By page 2 she had already condemned herself. She only adopted her children as a publicity stunt, she admits to strapping them down, etc. etc. etc. She even cut them out of her will when they embarrassed her. The one daughter (she had 4 poor kids) who tried to say she was the best mommy ever sounded like she never knew her and her words sounded rehearsed. This is a good author, but by the end of the book she let Joan's words speak for themselves as she should have. This was one messed up lady. She should have stuck to "acting" and left the "mothering" to some hammerhead sharks: They would have done it better.
April 25, 2017
I was expecting a little more information. I thought it was a little light weight and was expecting more from Charlotte Chandler. I will have to look for a another biography of Joan with a little more detail. There was a lot of good information on her movies though.
October 20, 2018
Nothing new here really. Considering this is subtitled “a personal biography” I was expecting a book that was more devoted to Joan’s personal life, her life outside of the movies, nope. What we have here is much the same as Possessed by Donald Spoto, a good and thorough look at Joan’s film career. Charlotte Chandler writes really beautifully though and she’s obviously very passionate about her subjects.
I learnt a few little tidbits that I didn’t know before, there’s certainly more about her childhood and upbringing in this, more than in any other book about Joan that I’ve ever read. I did really enjoy the story about how when Joan was married to Douglas Fairbanks Jr and one of his fans used to sit out the front of their house in the hopes of catching a glimpse of him, Joan invited her in and gave the young girl a job assisting her with her letters that she wrote to her fans, a lovely example of just how kind of a person she was. I also loved reading about Joan’s “correspondence gown” which was a particular dress she wore when she was writing letters to her fans because “they deserved it”, such a beautiful soul.
Joan Crawford: Her Life in Letters is still the very best book I’ve ever read about Joan and I’ve learnt the most about her from that, this certainly pales in comparison to that but at the same time I still had fun reading it, Joan was such a fascinating woman and I will never tire of reading about her.
3.5 Stars.
I learnt a few little tidbits that I didn’t know before, there’s certainly more about her childhood and upbringing in this, more than in any other book about Joan that I’ve ever read. I did really enjoy the story about how when Joan was married to Douglas Fairbanks Jr and one of his fans used to sit out the front of their house in the hopes of catching a glimpse of him, Joan invited her in and gave the young girl a job assisting her with her letters that she wrote to her fans, a lovely example of just how kind of a person she was. I also loved reading about Joan’s “correspondence gown” which was a particular dress she wore when she was writing letters to her fans because “they deserved it”, such a beautiful soul.
Joan Crawford: Her Life in Letters is still the very best book I’ve ever read about Joan and I’ve learnt the most about her from that, this certainly pales in comparison to that but at the same time I still had fun reading it, Joan was such a fascinating woman and I will never tire of reading about her.
3.5 Stars.
June 12, 2013
I had enjoyed Charlotte Chandler's book about Bette Davis, so had high hopes for her one about Joan Crawford, but was disappointed. Both books are constructed around detailed interviews with the stars carried out many years ago, but, whereas Davis' voice comes across vividly, Crawford's doesn't. Chandler never seems to get below the surface of her life; it's mostly rather sweet and insipid, and a lot of space is wasted on detailed plot summaries of every Crawford film. The book also seems biased over the whole 'Mommie, Dearest' controversy, dismissing it out of hand and claiming that Joan Crawford was a great mother because her younger daughters say so - but surely the experience of the older and younger children could have been different, and it is quite possible both have told the truth about their own memories.
July 6, 2020
A fascinating look at Crawford's life. I read Mommie Dearest years ago so it was interesting to read something that offered a different perspective. The truth is probably somewhere between the two books.
December 26, 2019
This is a difficult book to judge, in that it’s very interesting but it’s not really a biography in the conventional sense. The author had the great fortune to extensively interview Joan Crawford in the 1970s and during those interviews Crawford reflected on her extraordinary life. The problem with this for “Not the Girl Next Door” lies in the fact that, for pages upon pages, the transcripts of those interviews are given to the reader and accepted at face-value. This is occasionally thrillingly interesting - such as with Crawford’s accounts of her self-discipline and her love for the movie industry. However, the refusal to set her testimony within context, much less to critique it, occasionally leads to problematic assertions - this is particularly obvious in the descriptions of Crawford’s childhood. We know from other biographies of her that Crawford endured an abusive childhood at the hands of her mother and stepfather. She, however, like many victims at that time, believed abuse was a sign of weakness and in consequence she presented a sanitised version of her youth to the public - here, for page upon page, Crawford’s glowingly affectionate assessment of her stepfather is recounted without any qualifier.
Only once does the book really query its sources, in this case by dedicating itself to demolishing many of the claims made against Crawford by her eldest daughter Christina in her infamous memoir “Mommie Dearest”. The author does so thoroughly, by quoting interviews she conducted with Crawford’s staff, co-stars, and two other daughters, Cathy and Cynthia.
“Not the Girl Next Door” is such an interesting account, by preserving so many of Joan Crawford’s own words for posterity, which means that those familiar with the so-called “Golden Age of Hollywood” or Crawford’s story will potentially find it a fascinating addition to their library.
Only once does the book really query its sources, in this case by dedicating itself to demolishing many of the claims made against Crawford by her eldest daughter Christina in her infamous memoir “Mommie Dearest”. The author does so thoroughly, by quoting interviews she conducted with Crawford’s staff, co-stars, and two other daughters, Cathy and Cynthia.
“Not the Girl Next Door” is such an interesting account, by preserving so many of Joan Crawford’s own words for posterity, which means that those familiar with the so-called “Golden Age of Hollywood” or Crawford’s story will potentially find it a fascinating addition to their library.
July 1, 2008
A not very well-written, kinda tacky treatment of an enduring Hollywood icon: Joan Crawford. And I doubt the validity of some of the quotes offered up in the book. Unfortunately Ms. Chandler supplies no information about when or how or how many interviews she conducted with Miss Crawford or Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Crawford was famously shy about talking about her own life and later admitted privately that her autobiography (published in 1962) was somewhat fanciful. In this book, Chandler quotes Douglas Fairbanks Jr. revealing some pretty intimate detail about his marriage to Miss Crawford, but checking out his own autobiography Salad Days there is no such intimate candor. I'm suspicious. And with so many of the people quoted now deceased there has not been any hue and cry about the book's credentials. I'm happy to see that Joan Crawford's reputation and an appreciation of her work is recovering after the thirty-year drubbing she received (after her death) with the publication of her daughter's "memoir". A better place to look for the real Joan Crawford is to track down a copy of Conversations With Joan Crawford by Roy Newquist. Or, as she would undoubtedly wish, check out her work in her films. They still deliver the goods.
June 7, 2019
If you don't know anything about Joan Crawford, I suppose this is an okay place to start. If you do know anything about Joan Crawford, this isn't going to tell you anything new.
But the important thing to know here is that Charlotte Chandler takes the existing material of others and passes it off as her own. Chapter seven of this book lifts and mildly reworks wholesale the JC chapter from Vincent Sherman's 1996 memoir, passing it off as an interview. Most of the book purports to be interviews Chandler conducted, so everything is in quotation marks, but many of the stories are things I've seen elsewhere, and there is no attribution. My guess is Chandler may have spoken with the people quoted, so she can technically say she interviewed them, but the "quotes" she uses are from interviews and books compiled by others.
Save your time for another book.
But the important thing to know here is that Charlotte Chandler takes the existing material of others and passes it off as her own. Chapter seven of this book lifts and mildly reworks wholesale the JC chapter from Vincent Sherman's 1996 memoir, passing it off as an interview. Most of the book purports to be interviews Chandler conducted, so everything is in quotation marks, but many of the stories are things I've seen elsewhere, and there is no attribution. My guess is Chandler may have spoken with the people quoted, so she can technically say she interviewed them, but the "quotes" she uses are from interviews and books compiled by others.
Save your time for another book.
March 20, 2015
I read Mommie Dearest years ago and, unfortunately, took that picture of Joan Crawford as the true one. Mommie Dearest was written by a person who appeared to truly despise her. Having just finished Not the Girl Next Door by someone who adored Miss Crawford I now have another perspective. I suspect neither book is 100% or even 80% true...only true for the person who wrote each book. But, Not the Girl Next Door is a wonderful historical view of the old Hollywood studio system and the stars who lived in it. Joan Crawford was a huge star in Hollywood for many years and she played the star better than anyone else...you go girl. As always, the pictures in the book were fun.
February 18, 2022
When I first read this book I had no real knowledge of Joan Crawford except the horrible, negative claims made by her daughter. After reading this book I got insight into the actress and woman. The book was pretty good. Unfortunately a lot of Chandler's books have been proven to contain inaccuracies and false information. This book especially, contains conversations with Joan that have been proven to never have happened. Such as, Joan did not know about the book that her daughter was writing. I loved that Chandler painted Joan in a very positive way and allowed me to get to know her. The basic information is true and interesting if you didn't know anything about the actor/actress. I read several of Chandler's books before realizing there was false and made up information. It is a shame because after reading this book (years ago), it led me to read more and get to know all about the real Joan Crawford.
August 12, 2017
I have found it very difficult to find a biography of this lady that isn't either hagiography or hatchet job. Not the Girl Next Door hews a little closer to the former, which is preferable, but still not terribly trustworthy.
Charlotte Chandler knew (and clearly liked) Joan Crawford, and this book stems from a series of conversations the two had over the later years of Joan's life. Also included are memories from Bette Davis, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and John Springer, among a few others. There is an endnote from one of Joan's twin daughters, adopted after the first two whose story with Joan is so unclear.
So, this reads more like memoir with a few anecdotes provided by others, than it does like a true biography. Joan's memories are presented without refutation or, it appears, fact-checking. It is assumed that she didn't lie about her own life. Maybe she didn't, but her memories of her own behavior were fairly rosey. Perhaps at that point in her life, it made more sense to leave out the unpleasant stuff (not getting along with Norma Shearer, for instance) and concentrate on the nicer things. I would want to do that, too, but it doesn't make for scintillating reading.
Joan is fairly open (as she was in her own lifetime) about her difficulties with Christina and Christopher, the first two children she adopted, with whom relations were so strained that she didn't include them in her Will when she passed. Somewhere between the horror show that was presented in Christina's book and then the 1981 film, and Joan's avowed “I never laid a hand on my children” is the truth. Physical discipline was standard in Joan's day, so do I think Christina and Christopher may have gotten a swat on the bottom when they misbehaved? But Joan's longtime secretary (who had nothing to lose or gain by speaking her truth after Joan's passing) remembers nothing untoward, and neither do either of the twins or any of Joan's friends (people who didn't like her to begin with had plenty to say).
I'm still looking for a more even-handed treatment of Joan's life. This was “okay,” but not quite the more objective view for which I was hoping. I'll continue my search.
Charlotte Chandler knew (and clearly liked) Joan Crawford, and this book stems from a series of conversations the two had over the later years of Joan's life. Also included are memories from Bette Davis, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and John Springer, among a few others. There is an endnote from one of Joan's twin daughters, adopted after the first two whose story with Joan is so unclear.
So, this reads more like memoir with a few anecdotes provided by others, than it does like a true biography. Joan's memories are presented without refutation or, it appears, fact-checking. It is assumed that she didn't lie about her own life. Maybe she didn't, but her memories of her own behavior were fairly rosey. Perhaps at that point in her life, it made more sense to leave out the unpleasant stuff (not getting along with Norma Shearer, for instance) and concentrate on the nicer things. I would want to do that, too, but it doesn't make for scintillating reading.
Joan is fairly open (as she was in her own lifetime) about her difficulties with Christina and Christopher, the first two children she adopted, with whom relations were so strained that she didn't include them in her Will when she passed. Somewhere between the horror show that was presented in Christina's book and then the 1981 film, and Joan's avowed “I never laid a hand on my children” is the truth. Physical discipline was standard in Joan's day, so do I think Christina and Christopher may have gotten a swat on the bottom when they misbehaved? But Joan's longtime secretary (who had nothing to lose or gain by speaking her truth after Joan's passing) remembers nothing untoward, and neither do either of the twins or any of Joan's friends (people who didn't like her to begin with had plenty to say).
I'm still looking for a more even-handed treatment of Joan's life. This was “okay,” but not quite the more objective view for which I was hoping. I'll continue my search.
April 19, 2023
I found this to be a very interesting look into Joan Crawford’s life. I enjoyed how brief but personal this book is, as it contains mostly Joan’s own words.
The only major downside to this book was the author’s constant assertions that Crawford was nothing like her “Mommie Dearest” image. It seemed like a majority of this biography was dedicated to vilifying Christina Crawford and portraying Joan as a loving mother and wonderful human being. But, on the contrary, Joan’s own words speak otherwise. In the book, she talks about her children as if they were her pets and is quite cruel in talking about Christina and Christopher. There’s one specific portion of the book where she rants about the “pain” her children caused her and complains how she was a victim of her children’s rebelliousness. I agree that Christina was kind of a brat, and probably exaggerated about her mother, but Joan Crawford was in no way a great parent either. If anything, Joan comes off as a narcissist who was obsessed with stardom, even if the author tried to convince us otherwise.
The only major downside to this book was the author’s constant assertions that Crawford was nothing like her “Mommie Dearest” image. It seemed like a majority of this biography was dedicated to vilifying Christina Crawford and portraying Joan as a loving mother and wonderful human being. But, on the contrary, Joan’s own words speak otherwise. In the book, she talks about her children as if they were her pets and is quite cruel in talking about Christina and Christopher. There’s one specific portion of the book where she rants about the “pain” her children caused her and complains how she was a victim of her children’s rebelliousness. I agree that Christina was kind of a brat, and probably exaggerated about her mother, but Joan Crawford was in no way a great parent either. If anything, Joan comes off as a narcissist who was obsessed with stardom, even if the author tried to convince us otherwise.
April 6, 2025
Book 8 read (written by a female author) for Women's History Month, 2025.
Funnily enough, I began this biography of Joan Crawford coincidentally on her 121st birthday (she was born March 23 between 1904 and 1908) and ended it today, April 5th, 2025 which would have been Bette Davis' 117th birthday! I would say that Crawford was possibly born in 1904-1906 since there is documentation of her teenage years well into the middle of the 1910s.
Charlotte Chandler's personal biography of Miss Davis is one of my favorite books about her. She captures a famously caustic, but humorous and vulnerable Bette Davis using her own words that made that she came alive in their interviews.
I thought that Ms. Chandler would be able to pull the same magic off writing and working with the equally legendary Miss Crawford.
Sadly, this book confirmed for me that most of the biographies I have read (and one of Crawford's memoirs) that she is a difficult subject to write about.
Crawford comes across obtuse and tight lipped about herself. While coming across as warm, gracious, and even a bit abrasive, It seems to me that she always hid her true self behind the facade of the great star she was. Crawford is always performing for the public: excessively dedicated and slavishly acting out the Hollywood persona she engineered for herself.
She does not allow Ms. Chandler to truly capture who the woman behind the star, and it is maddening. It seemed to me these were a series of a few quotes Joan Crawford gave Chandler to write about- with little to work on.
Joan Crawford is one of the most legendary actresses in film history. She had an acting style that was instinctive, yet internal and vulnerable that arguably survived better than contemporaries Ingrid Bergman, Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn’s simply because those actresses, despite having been theatrically trained, can arguably be seen as mannered.
Crawford, on the other hand, like Greta Garbo, photographed gorgeously like no other did.
Joan Crawford’s entertainment phases have been well documented. As a talented dancer, she began her acting years as a flapper/silent screen siren. As she got older, she became a long suffering noir protagonist. When acting roles waned, she was widowed by fourth husband Al Steele, and became a Pepsi magnate.
I’d argue most gay middle aged men like myself remember her in her final phase: a horror camp star has been so caricatured by drag performers, with an image forever captured by Faye Dunaway’s ferocious performance as Crawford in the biopic “Mommie Dearest” adapted from daughter Christina Crawford’s memoir.
Dunaway’s infamous and iconic take on Crawford as a boozy alcoholic who was mean and sadistic to the kids she adopted partially for publicity will forever be etched in the minds of those who have seen this film on midnight drag screenings, and repeated clips on YouTube. With exaggerated eyebrows, shoulder pads, and lipstick, Dunaway gives us a walking drag performance of Crawford that eclipses so much of the carefully crafted image Joan Crawford made of herself.
As much as I love that film- I’m always saddened to know it’s how much most will remember Joan Crawford until they actually see her movies. She was sexy, subtle, ferociously hungry, and deeply vulnerable.
Chandler writes of the storied Crawford accounts well, but it seems that really hearing her private voice will never be fully captured.
Chandler makes a valiant attempt at capturing Crawford at her most vulnerable and relaxed. She does capture disturbing instances of where Joan Crawford really did believe in the strictest discipline possible for both Christina, and her son Christopher- and Crawford describes in casual detail that she used a harness on him while he slept; and she made all her children curtsey and bow ending with them saying “I love you Mommie Dearesr”.
It is horrifying to me that Miss Crawford, with her all her piety, would believe in this torturous ways in admonishing children.
Crawford casually uses words such as punishment, obey, and discipline that it reads like she was adding an insidious amount of BDSM kinks to her raising children, particularly Christina and Christopher.
So Chandler was able to get Crawford to admit some of the hideous practices she used in child rearing that is seen as abuse, no matter what her intention is. This can fuck up a child for life.
Indeed there are truths to Mommie Dearest, as found in Bob Thomas’ equally entertaining and disjointed biography of Miss Crawford that have been documented.
Chandler has in depth conversations with Crawford's one time lover, director Vincent Sherman and first husband, actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr., who both write that while Crawford was a lovely woman to have spent time with- her ego and need to use sex as a means to exert control was always apparent, a survival mechanism that probably stemmed from a childhood of sexual abuse.
One thing I did not like is that Chandler copied and pasted conversations she had with Bette Davis from her previous book "The Girl Who Walked Home Alone" rather than write completely new passages.
Had Crawford been alive, she would have been mad that Chandler was lazy about writing the Davis-Crawford passages for a book about Crawford alone, never mind that the two women will forever be linked through "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" (1962).
Though this was a fun read, nothing new about Joan Crawford was illuminated in this book. It’s still the same old story.
If I had to make recommendations of what Crawford pictures there are to see: "Mildred Pierce", "Autumn Leaves", "Baby Jane", "Sudden Fear", "A Woman's Face", "Grand Hotel", "The Women", "Strait Jacket", "Possessed" “Queen Bee”, and "Humoresque" in no particular order.
She is indeed more than the camp icon that she's become- she's the true definition of having been one of the greatest actresses who ever lived.
Funnily enough, I began this biography of Joan Crawford coincidentally on her 121st birthday (she was born March 23 between 1904 and 1908) and ended it today, April 5th, 2025 which would have been Bette Davis' 117th birthday! I would say that Crawford was possibly born in 1904-1906 since there is documentation of her teenage years well into the middle of the 1910s.
Charlotte Chandler's personal biography of Miss Davis is one of my favorite books about her. She captures a famously caustic, but humorous and vulnerable Bette Davis using her own words that made that she came alive in their interviews.
I thought that Ms. Chandler would be able to pull the same magic off writing and working with the equally legendary Miss Crawford.
Sadly, this book confirmed for me that most of the biographies I have read (and one of Crawford's memoirs) that she is a difficult subject to write about.
Crawford comes across obtuse and tight lipped about herself. While coming across as warm, gracious, and even a bit abrasive, It seems to me that she always hid her true self behind the facade of the great star she was. Crawford is always performing for the public: excessively dedicated and slavishly acting out the Hollywood persona she engineered for herself.
She does not allow Ms. Chandler to truly capture who the woman behind the star, and it is maddening. It seemed to me these were a series of a few quotes Joan Crawford gave Chandler to write about- with little to work on.
Joan Crawford is one of the most legendary actresses in film history. She had an acting style that was instinctive, yet internal and vulnerable that arguably survived better than contemporaries Ingrid Bergman, Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn’s simply because those actresses, despite having been theatrically trained, can arguably be seen as mannered.
Crawford, on the other hand, like Greta Garbo, photographed gorgeously like no other did.
Joan Crawford’s entertainment phases have been well documented. As a talented dancer, she began her acting years as a flapper/silent screen siren. As she got older, she became a long suffering noir protagonist. When acting roles waned, she was widowed by fourth husband Al Steele, and became a Pepsi magnate.
I’d argue most gay middle aged men like myself remember her in her final phase: a horror camp star has been so caricatured by drag performers, with an image forever captured by Faye Dunaway’s ferocious performance as Crawford in the biopic “Mommie Dearest” adapted from daughter Christina Crawford’s memoir.
Dunaway’s infamous and iconic take on Crawford as a boozy alcoholic who was mean and sadistic to the kids she adopted partially for publicity will forever be etched in the minds of those who have seen this film on midnight drag screenings, and repeated clips on YouTube. With exaggerated eyebrows, shoulder pads, and lipstick, Dunaway gives us a walking drag performance of Crawford that eclipses so much of the carefully crafted image Joan Crawford made of herself.
As much as I love that film- I’m always saddened to know it’s how much most will remember Joan Crawford until they actually see her movies. She was sexy, subtle, ferociously hungry, and deeply vulnerable.
Chandler writes of the storied Crawford accounts well, but it seems that really hearing her private voice will never be fully captured.
Chandler makes a valiant attempt at capturing Crawford at her most vulnerable and relaxed. She does capture disturbing instances of where Joan Crawford really did believe in the strictest discipline possible for both Christina, and her son Christopher- and Crawford describes in casual detail that she used a harness on him while he slept; and she made all her children curtsey and bow ending with them saying “I love you Mommie Dearesr”.
It is horrifying to me that Miss Crawford, with her all her piety, would believe in this torturous ways in admonishing children.
Crawford casually uses words such as punishment, obey, and discipline that it reads like she was adding an insidious amount of BDSM kinks to her raising children, particularly Christina and Christopher.
So Chandler was able to get Crawford to admit some of the hideous practices she used in child rearing that is seen as abuse, no matter what her intention is. This can fuck up a child for life.
Indeed there are truths to Mommie Dearest, as found in Bob Thomas’ equally entertaining and disjointed biography of Miss Crawford that have been documented.
Chandler has in depth conversations with Crawford's one time lover, director Vincent Sherman and first husband, actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr., who both write that while Crawford was a lovely woman to have spent time with- her ego and need to use sex as a means to exert control was always apparent, a survival mechanism that probably stemmed from a childhood of sexual abuse.
One thing I did not like is that Chandler copied and pasted conversations she had with Bette Davis from her previous book "The Girl Who Walked Home Alone" rather than write completely new passages.
Had Crawford been alive, she would have been mad that Chandler was lazy about writing the Davis-Crawford passages for a book about Crawford alone, never mind that the two women will forever be linked through "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" (1962).
Though this was a fun read, nothing new about Joan Crawford was illuminated in this book. It’s still the same old story.
If I had to make recommendations of what Crawford pictures there are to see: "Mildred Pierce", "Autumn Leaves", "Baby Jane", "Sudden Fear", "A Woman's Face", "Grand Hotel", "The Women", "Strait Jacket", "Possessed" “Queen Bee”, and "Humoresque" in no particular order.
She is indeed more than the camp icon that she's become- she's the true definition of having been one of the greatest actresses who ever lived.
November 7, 2024
An alright, and quick, read if you want some basic info on the life of Joan Crawford. If you've already read books about her, there's nothing new or revolutionary here.
This is a whistle-stop tour of Crawford's life and films, and it touches briefly on both. We don't get too deep into anything though, nothing too much about the impact her films made, or anything much about her feelings re personal and professional events. This is a good place to start with Crawford to be honest - there's a full filmography, and descriptions of her films throughout. The problem with things like "personal biographies" is that you don't tend to get much in the way of juicy details.
An easy read of Old Hollywood though.
This is a whistle-stop tour of Crawford's life and films, and it touches briefly on both. We don't get too deep into anything though, nothing too much about the impact her films made, or anything much about her feelings re personal and professional events. This is a good place to start with Crawford to be honest - there's a full filmography, and descriptions of her films throughout. The problem with things like "personal biographies" is that you don't tend to get much in the way of juicy details.
An easy read of Old Hollywood though.
February 6, 2017
Is this a biography of Joan Crawford or Mother Theresa??? The author wrote good bios of Hitchcock and Bette Davis, so I had hopes for this one. Ugh. A puff piece filled mostly with quotes from Joan and movie synopses. She was clearly the kindest, sweetest, most generous, attractive, and intelligent woman around. According to her.
The real kicker was her claim that her children were 'difficult' and 'willful' and she did everything she could to be Mother of the Year. Give me a break. A waste of time if you want any unvarnished truths.
The real kicker was her claim that her children were 'difficult' and 'willful' and she did everything she could to be Mother of the Year. Give me a break. A waste of time if you want any unvarnished truths.
March 28, 2009
The only redeeming thing about this book was the list of Joan Crawford's work. What I was hoping to be a revealing look at her life was more like a sickly sweet love letter to the image of Joan Crawford and not the person.
May 16, 2013
This book should have been titled Saint Joan. There is no way Joan Crawford could have achieved all she had in Hollywood being as goody two shoes as this book claims. There are too many accounts of her being otherwise!
October 31, 2020
This book introduces the reader to a very different Joan Crawford to the one represented by her daughter, Christina, in her book "Mommie Dearest". Joan wasn't a saint but she was undoubtedly a fine actress, a great star and at heart a kind and caring woman who tried to always do her best.
December 11, 2025
Extremely well put together showing each movie (with story line) and after each one a section on life events. This author has written several other books on stars of this era which I will certainly source from my library to enjoy.
July 23, 2011
Not so much a biography as summaries of the plots of all her movies.
June 9, 2016
This is a sympathetic look at Joan Crawford, and I feel, written in part as a corrective to the notorious "Mommie Dearest" written by her daughter, Christina Crawford. However, there's no doubt that while Crawford had a demanding and hyper-perfectionist streak that probably mitigated against her being a good parent, she could also be generous and kind, especially to her fans and to her exes .An example of this is her treatment of Franchot Tone (husband number 2).
Tone was involved in a fracas with actor Tom Neal over a starlet, that occurred years after the Crawford divorce. He was punched in the face so hard that he was unconscious of 18 hours and the bones of one side of his face were demolished. Plastic surgery in the 1940s was no where as developed a field as it is today, and Tone's face was not wholly restored. He also endured financial losses and suffered from lung cancer late in life that would eventually kill him. (He was a lifelong smoker.) Crawford oversaw his healthcare, providing much of it herself. When Tone asked her to oversee his cremation and the scattering of his ashes in Canada, she faithfully undertook the tasks. She also helped him financially.
A few things stand out for me in view of Crawford's portrayal in (the book) "Mommie Dearest."
--Crawford seemed to over idealize both marriage and motherhood and would brook no failures or imperfections. Her expectations for both were horribly unrealistic and were based on an unhappy, impoverished childhood that she could never let go.
--Her marriages supposedly ended in large part over and over for the same reason: she was more successful and was paid far more than were her spouses. It seemed to bother her as much or more as it did them. Nevertheless, the happiest marriage (to Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) was NOT helped when she informed her husband that she had rented an apartment, wanted no questions, and left neither address nor phone number. Apparently, she was having assignations with Clark Gable, her costar in several films at that location.
--Crawford admitted to Ms. Chandler that the most important thing in her life was not her marriages but her career.
Thirdly, for a woman obsessed with cleanliness, raising children--largely alone--had to be difficult. Kids are messy and have the even more challenging feature of developing their own personalities, likes and dislikes. Crawford did not seem to have either the flexibility or the sense of humor to be a successful parent or to enjoy her children.
At least one episode in Mommie Dearest was reported by the late actor James MacArthur, son of actress Helen Hayes and playwright Charles MacArthur who were neighbors of the Crawford family. In an article in Parade Magazine that ran YEARS BEFORE the book was published, the original "Danno" of "Hawaii Five-O" mentioned visiting Christina who was a friend of his, and seeing her adoptive brother Christopher, tied to the bedpost because he'd run away! (I actually read the Parade article.)
Crawford's description of Christopher suggest that he might be autistic although Chandler never suggests this. (The book was published in 2008. Crawford died in May 1977.) For example, he rejected being picked up and cuddled even as an infant, which is very unusual. Also, he was a chronic runaway. We're never told how he did in school or if he had friends; just that he was devoted to his big sister, Christina, and followed her lead in everything. Joan always felt that her two older children ganged up on her and sought ways to make her life unpleasant!
Men went in and out of their lives as well, husbands, lovers, professional colleagues. Christopher seemed to resent either Joan's domination, or female domination, but bonded well with his stepfathers (including Philip Terry and Alfred Sloane). It must have been traumatic for him when they vanished from his life.
Years later, when Christopher, by now a military veteran with a wife and child comes to visit Joan at long last, she turns his family away, telling Chandler that he once spit in her face and told her he hated her!
Joan's children were always her "adopted" children, which I suspect may also have been another problem. At the end of her life, Joan asked her daughter, Cathy, if her children regarded Joan as their "real" grandmother, since Cathy was adopted! Cathy told Joan that they did, which made her very happy.
Another fact that was a bit unsettling to read is Joan's commenting over and over about her children being "blond." Would she have loved them less or sent them back if she'd been offered brunette Caucasian children?
Several sources claim that Cathy and her "twin" Cindy, were not twins at all, but were adopted separately from 2 different families a few months apart. Charlotte Chandler claims that they WERE twins and provides a birth date for them. Whether this is accurate or just a birth date for one of the girls is conjectural at this point. They were raised as twins all their lives.
Cathy Crawford LaLonde speaks about what a wonderful mother Joan was on the last two pages of the book. Curiously, Cindy is not interviewed and her childhood memories are not recorded.
The book is an easy read and it's obvious that Charlotte Chandler genuinely like and admired Crawford and there WAS much to admire. The actress was a terrific dancer, and in fact, began her career as a chorus dancer. She was disciplined to a fault, but made it on her own. She had a fantastic figure and exercised religiously. She could be wonderfully charming and spent hours answering fan mail and meeting with fans. She was a tireless, patriotic worker for the LA Stage Door Canteen, during World War II. Stories of her kindness and patience with even young fans abound. (They make you wonder even more why she seemed to have so little patience with her own children...perhaps she gave too much at the office!)
The best parts of the book for me where the lengthy interviews with the charming and cultured Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., replete with a story from there wedding night that illustrates the "Mommie Dearest" side of Joan's persona (you'll have to read it for yourself!) and the reminiscences of movie director Vincent Sherman, who had an extra-marital affair with Crawford that the actress commenced quite blatantly (again, you'll have to read this for yourself!).
Fairbanks in particular, is so handsome, charming, patient and forgiving, I half fell in love with him myself. SHE initiated their divorce, to which he, ever the gentleman, acquiesced. He discusses their relationship and marriage at length and it's alternately charming and quite funny, although it's obvious, even decades later, that she broke his heart....
This is a great fun read and I would recommend it to anyone interested in Crawford, early motion picture history (remember, she began in silent films!) and who's interested in trying to decipher the truth(s) of the complex, sexy, smart, talented woman who was one of the greatest stars ever to come out of Hollywood.
(Caveat: The author never tells us where or when or how many interviews she held with Crawford and there is no bibliography.)
Tone was involved in a fracas with actor Tom Neal over a starlet, that occurred years after the Crawford divorce. He was punched in the face so hard that he was unconscious of 18 hours and the bones of one side of his face were demolished. Plastic surgery in the 1940s was no where as developed a field as it is today, and Tone's face was not wholly restored. He also endured financial losses and suffered from lung cancer late in life that would eventually kill him. (He was a lifelong smoker.) Crawford oversaw his healthcare, providing much of it herself. When Tone asked her to oversee his cremation and the scattering of his ashes in Canada, she faithfully undertook the tasks. She also helped him financially.
A few things stand out for me in view of Crawford's portrayal in (the book) "Mommie Dearest."
--Crawford seemed to over idealize both marriage and motherhood and would brook no failures or imperfections. Her expectations for both were horribly unrealistic and were based on an unhappy, impoverished childhood that she could never let go.
--Her marriages supposedly ended in large part over and over for the same reason: she was more successful and was paid far more than were her spouses. It seemed to bother her as much or more as it did them. Nevertheless, the happiest marriage (to Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) was NOT helped when she informed her husband that she had rented an apartment, wanted no questions, and left neither address nor phone number. Apparently, she was having assignations with Clark Gable, her costar in several films at that location.
--Crawford admitted to Ms. Chandler that the most important thing in her life was not her marriages but her career.
Thirdly, for a woman obsessed with cleanliness, raising children--largely alone--had to be difficult. Kids are messy and have the even more challenging feature of developing their own personalities, likes and dislikes. Crawford did not seem to have either the flexibility or the sense of humor to be a successful parent or to enjoy her children.
At least one episode in Mommie Dearest was reported by the late actor James MacArthur, son of actress Helen Hayes and playwright Charles MacArthur who were neighbors of the Crawford family. In an article in Parade Magazine that ran YEARS BEFORE the book was published, the original "Danno" of "Hawaii Five-O" mentioned visiting Christina who was a friend of his, and seeing her adoptive brother Christopher, tied to the bedpost because he'd run away! (I actually read the Parade article.)
Crawford's description of Christopher suggest that he might be autistic although Chandler never suggests this. (The book was published in 2008. Crawford died in May 1977.) For example, he rejected being picked up and cuddled even as an infant, which is very unusual. Also, he was a chronic runaway. We're never told how he did in school or if he had friends; just that he was devoted to his big sister, Christina, and followed her lead in everything. Joan always felt that her two older children ganged up on her and sought ways to make her life unpleasant!
Men went in and out of their lives as well, husbands, lovers, professional colleagues. Christopher seemed to resent either Joan's domination, or female domination, but bonded well with his stepfathers (including Philip Terry and Alfred Sloane). It must have been traumatic for him when they vanished from his life.
Years later, when Christopher, by now a military veteran with a wife and child comes to visit Joan at long last, she turns his family away, telling Chandler that he once spit in her face and told her he hated her!
Joan's children were always her "adopted" children, which I suspect may also have been another problem. At the end of her life, Joan asked her daughter, Cathy, if her children regarded Joan as their "real" grandmother, since Cathy was adopted! Cathy told Joan that they did, which made her very happy.
Another fact that was a bit unsettling to read is Joan's commenting over and over about her children being "blond." Would she have loved them less or sent them back if she'd been offered brunette Caucasian children?
Several sources claim that Cathy and her "twin" Cindy, were not twins at all, but were adopted separately from 2 different families a few months apart. Charlotte Chandler claims that they WERE twins and provides a birth date for them. Whether this is accurate or just a birth date for one of the girls is conjectural at this point. They were raised as twins all their lives.
Cathy Crawford LaLonde speaks about what a wonderful mother Joan was on the last two pages of the book. Curiously, Cindy is not interviewed and her childhood memories are not recorded.
The book is an easy read and it's obvious that Charlotte Chandler genuinely like and admired Crawford and there WAS much to admire. The actress was a terrific dancer, and in fact, began her career as a chorus dancer. She was disciplined to a fault, but made it on her own. She had a fantastic figure and exercised religiously. She could be wonderfully charming and spent hours answering fan mail and meeting with fans. She was a tireless, patriotic worker for the LA Stage Door Canteen, during World War II. Stories of her kindness and patience with even young fans abound. (They make you wonder even more why she seemed to have so little patience with her own children...perhaps she gave too much at the office!)
The best parts of the book for me where the lengthy interviews with the charming and cultured Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., replete with a story from there wedding night that illustrates the "Mommie Dearest" side of Joan's persona (you'll have to read it for yourself!) and the reminiscences of movie director Vincent Sherman, who had an extra-marital affair with Crawford that the actress commenced quite blatantly (again, you'll have to read this for yourself!).
Fairbanks in particular, is so handsome, charming, patient and forgiving, I half fell in love with him myself. SHE initiated their divorce, to which he, ever the gentleman, acquiesced. He discusses their relationship and marriage at length and it's alternately charming and quite funny, although it's obvious, even decades later, that she broke his heart....
This is a great fun read and I would recommend it to anyone interested in Crawford, early motion picture history (remember, she began in silent films!) and who's interested in trying to decipher the truth(s) of the complex, sexy, smart, talented woman who was one of the greatest stars ever to come out of Hollywood.
(Caveat: The author never tells us where or when or how many interviews she held with Crawford and there is no bibliography.)
May 16, 2018
This is not an actually 5-star book. It's not even the best biography written by Charlotte Chandler. Sometimes it sins of excessive simplicity and passes over certain events in Joan's life too quickly, while re-creating with others without fully explaining why. Maybe lack of sources or simply personal interest, who knows. Also, the semblance that makes of Joan is relatively flat.
But I'll give it 5 star anyway. Why? Because the book is, either way, thrilling. Because Joan Crawford deserved it. Because her life and her legacy deserved it. Because the Hollywood of the great studios, with all its harshness and occasional moral turpitude, was one of the most interesting periods to which it is worthwhile to look back.
Joan Crawford has fascinated me since I discovered her in Mildred Pierce. I have studied it as a historian for years, only being able to come to the conclusion that, no, Joan was not perfect. Nobody is. But she was a good person. In fact, exceptionally good for the environment in which she developed his career for so many years. She had lights and shadows, but at the end of the road she was a good person who was betrayed. And without a doubt, she was a great (not sufficiently recognized) actress and even better star.
"Mommie Dearest" was a stab wound made by a daughter who will have to settle accounts with her own conscience. Wanting to destroy her mother, only once she died, so that she could not defend herself, in the end she has condemned herself to live under the name of Joan Crawford, even if it is for the bad. The film, with the horrific performance of Faye Dunaway, created an icon of totally undeserved evil.
It is up to the reader to decide what Joan Crawford stays with. With the Joan who flattered friends and even enemies. The Joan, who was adored by her other two daughters and grandchildren. The kind Joan, extremely professional, lover of their fans, unique and supportive. Or the Joan that only Christina and Christopher seem to have ever seen. It is your decision.
But I'll give it 5 star anyway. Why? Because the book is, either way, thrilling. Because Joan Crawford deserved it. Because her life and her legacy deserved it. Because the Hollywood of the great studios, with all its harshness and occasional moral turpitude, was one of the most interesting periods to which it is worthwhile to look back.
Joan Crawford has fascinated me since I discovered her in Mildred Pierce. I have studied it as a historian for years, only being able to come to the conclusion that, no, Joan was not perfect. Nobody is. But she was a good person. In fact, exceptionally good for the environment in which she developed his career for so many years. She had lights and shadows, but at the end of the road she was a good person who was betrayed. And without a doubt, she was a great (not sufficiently recognized) actress and even better star.
"Mommie Dearest" was a stab wound made by a daughter who will have to settle accounts with her own conscience. Wanting to destroy her mother, only once she died, so that she could not defend herself, in the end she has condemned herself to live under the name of Joan Crawford, even if it is for the bad. The film, with the horrific performance of Faye Dunaway, created an icon of totally undeserved evil.
It is up to the reader to decide what Joan Crawford stays with. With the Joan who flattered friends and even enemies. The Joan, who was adored by her other two daughters and grandchildren. The kind Joan, extremely professional, lover of their fans, unique and supportive. Or the Joan that only Christina and Christopher seem to have ever seen. It is your decision.
December 6, 2025
“That led my mind back to a childhood memory of myself and my mother working in a laundry, which was our home. My mother was hidden behind a pile of clothes, and all I could see were her small red, rough hands. For a few seconds those horrible smells that made me feel sick—lye, solvent, bleach, grease, and steam—came back to me.“The memory flashback fortunately didn’t last long, and I was again in the beauty of Pickfair with the scent of fragrant flowers, expensive ladies perfume, everything fresh and clean. I was glad to be far from the laundry and its smells.“‘Memory is so strange,’ I thought. Sitting there and watching the film, I was certainly the only person at Pickfair who had that memory.”
They could never make me hate you
They could never make me hate you
June 10, 2017
Joan Crawford: so successful in her career, obviously, but never truly happy. A cautionary tale for anyone who places more importance on career than people, family, love and a personal life.
I still can't help but picture Faye Dunaway playing her in "Mommie Dearest", even after reading this and recently seeing "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" (which I recommend). I want to read more about her, in part because in this book I learned that she died of cancer, but also that she became a Christian Scientist at some point, so now I am curious: did she refuse medical treatment?
I still can't help but picture Faye Dunaway playing her in "Mommie Dearest", even after reading this and recently seeing "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" (which I recommend). I want to read more about her, in part because in this book I learned that she died of cancer, but also that she became a Christian Scientist at some point, so now I am curious: did she refuse medical treatment?
March 5, 2018
I’m glad I chose to read this personal biography first, so I could get a good idea as to what type of work Joan Crawford did besides Mildred Pierce and so I could get an idea what type of life she had. It all makes sense as to the rumors of her family life after reading this book. The author just touched on the “mommy dearest “ and to her adoptive children.
Now, I feel I can read the book that her oldest daughter wrote about Joan and know maybe the why she was like that with her children. It will be an interesting perspective to read coming from her oldest daughter, Christina.
Now, I feel I can read the book that her oldest daughter wrote about Joan and know maybe the why she was like that with her children. It will be an interesting perspective to read coming from her oldest daughter, Christina.
February 25, 2022
I adore Charlotte Chandler’s biographies. Easy to read, full of interviews with the subjects of each book as well as with people who knew the subjects. After reading this, I fully believe Joan Crawford has been wrongly accused by her adoptive daughter Christina. Joan’s reputation suffered and has never fully recovered from the book and movie put out by Christina and it’s a shame. Joan was one of the last great starlets who had a heart of gold behind the stardom. One of my favorite actresses and it’s good to know she was a genuinely good person, kind and gracious to everyone famous or not.
May 1, 2025
An iconic movie queen for the ages, nothing more to say. And all that garbage from her ungrateful adopted daughter. Horrible. I thoroughly enjoyed this bio, although I admit I cannot be objective as I am a fan through and through. The world will never see another Joan Crawford, of that, I am sure. Wonderful book. So many stories, memories, snippets of her life told by her closest friends. I will say that her story is told with both sides represented. There is a refreshing mix of viewpoints here, and the author has captured the essence of who Joan was. Highly recommend.
May 22, 2022
"A personal biography" means transcripts, I suppose. It is interesting to hear Joan's own words, and those who knew her well. This is written in long quoted photographs, interrupted by summaries of her films. That's what you'll get. Tear the film list out of the back and leave the rest in the next Little Library hut you pass. Spend a few minutes contemplating Chandler's author photo and ponder why no one has written a book about that.
January 7, 2025
An interesting read of one of the most talented hardest working actresses in Hollywood.A wonderful biography .Joan was a superstar and she earned it through hard work and perseverance RESPECT. and I love how the author has put this book together giving us insight into her early years of life in Texas to her aspirations first as a Dancer and then her introduction into acting and the movies.This book is worth 4 stars.
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