A Woman's Face (1941) watch online HD

"A Woman's Face" is a film that shows George Cukor, one of the best film directors of all times, at the top of his profession. In fact, this film precedes probably his "Gaslight", which might be one of his best movies he directed. The screen play is by another man who had a knack for adapting theater material for the screen, Donald Ogden Stewart. The combination of both these men give the viewer a film with a rich texture.

This film belongs to Joan Crawford, who carries it with style and panache. This role ranks as one of the most complex Ms. Crawford ever played in the movies. Her characterization was molded by Mr. Cukor who clearly understood how to get a good performance from his star. In fact, Ana Holm, is one of the best things Ms. Crawford portrayed in the movies and she is seen without the excessive makeup.

Conrad Veidt is also one of the assets of the film. He is perfect for his part and holds his own playing against Joan Crawford. Melvyn Douglas, on the other hand, doesn't fare as well, perhaps because of the way his character is written. There are also wonderful performances by Richard Nicholas who is seen as the young boy Lars-Erik. Marjorie Main. Osa Masser, and Reginald Owen are seen in supporting roles.

The film is a must see for all Joan Crawford and George Cukor fans.

This film may surpass even Joan Crawford's Oscar-winning performance in `Mildred Pierce' as the best of her career. `A Woman's Face' is part courtroom drama, part mystery, and unfolds in the form of flashbacks through the eyes of no less than half a dozen questionable characters. Crawford plays Anna Holm, a facially scarred woman whose disfigurement has led her to an embittered life of crime.

Melvyn Douglas is perfectly cast as the handsome and heroic Dr. Segert, and Conrad Veidt plays Torsten Barring, the despicable charmer. Crawford's interpretation of a genuinely mean-spirited and heartless Anna develops into a complex character who wins our sympathy despite her evil intentions. It's a breath of fresh air to see Crawford not made up glamorously. There are no dazzling gowns or mascara-ed lashes to distract the viewer from Crawford's fabulous performance.

With a brilliant supporting cast (including the adorable Richard Nichols as the 4 year-old Lars-Erik, and Marjorie Main as the suspicious housekeeper), `A Woman's Face' ranks among the best Crawford films of all time. It is a must-see for anyone who wishes to see a well-made, fascinating tale of intrigue, love and human frailty.

Crawford has one of the more complex roles ever given her. Playing a scarred woman who hates everything and everybody, she shows depth in her performance that she'd never shown before. Director Cukor got her to tone done her usual overacting (no mean feat) and she beautifully underplays the role. Exciting story, beautiful settings, good acting, incredible directing...it's a wonder this film isn't better known. Well worth seeing, especially if you're a Crawford fan.

Joan Crawford has one of her first great roles in this 1941 remake of a Swedish film that starred Ingrid Bergman. And she is superb. She plays a complex woman scarred in a fire caused by her drunken father. She has grown up as an outcast of society and turns to blackmailing as a way to make a living. Through a series of events she meets a plastic surgeon (Melvyn Douglas) who operates and transforms her life. But she is ensnared with villainous Conrad Veidt who wants to kill his nephew so he can inherit the family fortune.

Part thriller part courtroom drama, A Woman's Face gives Crawford the kind of role that showed off all her talents as an actress. This film, along with Mildred Pierce, Possessed, and Humoresque, ranks as one of her best. The entire cast is top notch.

Douglas is fine as the compassionate surgeon and Veidt is terrific as the murderous uncle. Marjorie Main has one of her best roles as the jealous housekeeper. Reginald Owen, Connie Gilchrist, and Donald Meek are Crawford's band of thieves. Albert Basserman is the old counsel. Richard Nichols is the cute kid. Osa Massen is Douglas' pig of a wife. Henry Kolker is the judge and Henry Daniell a lawyer.

Great direction (George Cukor) and cinematography. Exciting sleigh race at the finale. But first and foremost this is a Joan Crawford picture. Why didn't she get Oscar nominated for this gem?

Scarred on the outside, scarred on the inside. That is the central theme of A WOMAN'S FACE, George Cukor's 1941 film that starred Joan Crawford in what could be the best role of her entire career. As Anna Holm, she continued her winning streak of critical performances even though the film itself garnered no awards of any kind. With this film it seems she believed she was back on track at MGM because she campaigned to star in THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE in the central role but was denied the chance because Louis B. Mayer did not want to see her play "more cripples or maimed women." It's because of this that A WOMAN'S FACE was her last quality film at MGM; she'd do three more films of much lesser quality before leaving MGM for good and going into a two year hiatus before making her great "comeback" in MILDRED PIERCE.

Joan Crawford herself was quoted as saying that her Oscar win for MILDRED PIERCE was more a tribute to her career as a whole up until then and credited A WOMAN'S FACE for her 1946 win. When comparing the two, she gave great performances in each, but somehow, as Anna Holm she was more effective in her restraint, the inner hurt coming out in her expressive eyes and defeated look throughout. Much, if not all, of the credit could be given to Cukor himself who was keen on erasing all of the quirks that made her the star and the fact that she trusted his direction only enhanced the resulting product. Watching the sequence when her disfigured face is shown for the first time when she takes her hat off -- as if she were expecting a reaction of horror of the character who witnesses it -- and seeing the anguish in her eyes which betray her sarcastic view on life, it is possible to see the real actress within. Another scene has her recite the events that led to her disfigurement. Her voice remains in one note, her expression almost blank -- she is on the edge of pain itself, a freak being told to spill its guts out as to why she became a freak. A great moment in film and acting, as she could have overdone it at any time, and chose not to.

A WOMAN'S FACE is linked, albeit in an indirect way, to film noir. I don't believe it is, and much of it is due to a sunnier, glossy feel the film develops during a dance sequence. Film noir is unrelenting and grim. This movie is closer to romantic suspense, even when scenes involving romantic encounters are almost nowhere to be seen. It's possible that Cukor's visual style is to blame. However, Anna Holm is a woman in the middle of a blackmail ring and thus living in the underbelly of a society that has betrayed her, so it must be considered as such. The opening sequence in which she is led by guards to her cell is done in odd angles and we never see her face, only her back. She is dressed in black throughout the entire film. We only see the left side of her face throughout the first half, and Cukor is able to use the simplest of things -- lighting, objects placed on the right side of Crawford's face, throwing a sliver of light on top of her uncovered eye after yet another operation, illuminating her left profile during her court scene. Suspense is well-drawn, we want to see her unwrap the gauze, and that simple notion drives the entire movie. Very sharp.

A WOMAN'S FACE is thus, one of Crawford's finest efforts filled with small moments -- watch her take a walk in the park and react to daylight with a bouquet of flowers in her arms -- among the greater scenes. Great support by Melvin Douglas, Marjorie Main (in a dramatic, dour turn), and especially Conrad Veidt, excellent as the scheming Torsten. A shame it got lost in the awards shuffle come 1942 and that it ultimately went to Joan Fontaine for SUSPICION. Recommendable.

Joan Crawford has one of her more complex roles and plays it brilliantly in 'A Woman's Face'. It ranks with her work in 'Mildred Pierce' and 'Possessed'. Matching her is Conrad Veidt, always the suave villain (who also specialized in playing Nazi types). Crawford excels as a scarred woman who undergoes plastic surgery to change her life. The situations become more melodramatic as the plot gets thicker and there are a few too many flashbacks--but overall, the effect is a stunning film that makes you think about how one's appearance shapes one's life--for better or worse.

Certain sequences have a stark, no holds barred manner of storytelling, grim and suspenseful--as when Anna Holm considers pushing a child to his death from a cable car. The wintry landscapes and glittering interiors are all handsomely photographed. Melvyn Douglas doesn't register too strongly at all. It's strictly Crawford's picture with some superb help from Conrad Veidt.

The pace is rather leisurely under George Cukor's direction but quickens midway to a smashing climax. By all means, see it. A strong melodrama with some unexpected twists.

Joan Crawford, in a rare case of very sly, very competent underplaying, is cast as a facially scarred woman who falls in league (and perhaps in lust) with a blackmailing schemer with murder on his mind. The blackmail part of the deal is foiled when accomplice Crawford is befriended by Melvyn Douglas, the victim's husband (and plastic surgeon!); after restoring her beauty, Douglas must then stop Joan from carrying out the murder plot, targeting a child no less! Remake of an early Ingrid Bergman movie (1938's "En Kvinnas ansikte"), which in turn was based upon a French play, the film is over-plotted and over-flowing with hectic minutiae and chatty supporting characters. Also complicating matters is a story-frame set in the Royal Swedish Court: seems Joan is indeed on trial for murder, but whom did she kill? Despite a slow beginning, this turns out to be a rather shrewdly devised, sharply written melodrama, with some delicious turns of the screw. Crawford and Douglas work smoothly together (they were reteamed for a comedy the following year, "They All Kissed the Bride"), and the cinematography and art direction are marvelous. George Cukor directed, without a sense of humor, and the script might've stood some paring down. Otherwise, shamefully entertaining. **1/2 from ****

An exciting cast, an excellent story, excellent acting. Joan Crawford is perfect as a malevolent blackmailer who has a change of heart after her facial disfigurement is repaired.

The story progresses in an interesting way, with the plot unfolding during a murder trial. Each witness builds the story line, and the script has many unexpected plot twists, making this film anything but predictable.

This film is a good example of how skillful film makers create special effects without high-tech gadgetry. It's wonderful that we have films like this to show us what real movie-making is like.

I agree with reviewer Alice Liddell that this film, directed by 'women's director' George Cukor (I felt this was his work, even before I saw the credits) slyly points up the limitations of women's experience. The lead character, Anna (Crawford) is a potentially beautiful woman but for one thing: as a child, she was horribly disfigured by a burn scar which she received at the hands of her brutal, drunken father. Cukor is the perfect director for this type of woman's film, this is his element. This is not merely a noirish, humid romance/murder saga, the director gives us a sensitive essay on the effects of beauty in a woman's life. This isn't a simple parable of "beauty is as beauty does". After Anna's restoration, people react differently to her. The unfairness of this is made obvious. All of a sudden the ugly ducking, mean and ignored by others is fawned over by the very same men who passed her over in years past. Ignore the plot and the surface gloss; this is a master director's essay on the tragedy of beauty and its possibilities. Once ugliness is behind her, Anna is still intent on bettering her own status at the expense of others. The story hints that all this loveliness mellows and sweetens our dark heroine. Don't believe it; she does, in fact, walk off with the man of her dreams, in true movie star fashion. But what sort of life is she walking into? Years of domestic boredom? Cukor wisely leaves this a secret--we can read anything into Anns's final destiny.

Interestingly, the most sexually charged moments in the film are between Crawford and her earlier lover, a manipulative, evil man played to perfection by Conrad Veidt. One scene between them in electrifying. "The world is evil" he tells her. Yet she loves him because he does pay attention, and not all of his interest may be selfish. They have much in common. They are aware of their needs and know their faults. This may be the true message of this multi-layered masterpiece.

Joan Crawford looks handsome, though a certain mournful quality began to set in by her mid thirties. She is too old for the role, but she's still the perfect choice to play this bitter, damaged social reject. Joan came from a dark place, the product of a nasty, poverty stricken childhood. In her later career she excelled in roles of this type, playing women from tainted backgrounds who transcend their outcast status by dint of hard work, ambition, beauty and cleverness. Her women often achieve material success, only to realize (often too late) that such success does not equal real transcendence.

The fact that Joan Crawford failed to win an Oscar nomination for her magnificent performance in this film is a travesty! Her talents as an actress were never more evident in her portrayal of a bitter woman who hates the world because of her disfigurement.

Thanks to "A Woman's Face," Joan Crawford's slumped career had a badly needed revival, and Greta Garbo's career ended. Garbo had a choice of "A Woman's Face" or "Two-Faced Woman," but she refused to play a character with a deformity. So she made the disastrous "Two-Faced Woman" instead and retired, her face free of scars and her life free of films.

Ingrid Bergman made the original movie in Sweden, and in the hands of MGM, it translated quite well with a superb performance from Joan Crawford, perhaps the best of her career, as a scarred, bitter woman who makes her living from blackmail. Her story is told in a series of flashbacks, as each character testifies at the woman's trial.

The performances, from MGM's able stable, are very good - Melvyn Douglas as a doctor, Conrad Veidt as an evil man who wants to use Crawford for his own ends (he described himself in this film as "Lucifer in a tuxedo"), Osa Massen, Albert Basserman, Donald Meek, Henry Daniell, George Zucco, and Marjorie Main. Richard Nichols, as the little boy Lars-Erik, sports the same southern accent in Sweden as he did in France in "All This and Heaven, Too." Crawford is excellent, and one wonders if the role of Anna didn't strike a chord with her given her difficult childhood. Under Cukor's direction, she handles the role beautifully.

A very good movie, and an exciting sleigh ride at the end that you won't want to miss.

It's not every classic-era Hollywood film that has as its heroine a thief, blackmailer, murderer and intended infanticide (as well, of course, as a poet and musician - this IS Joan Crawford), but this isn't your average classic-era Hollywood film. it is one of Cukor's best, and echoes its theme of transformation - from scarred freak to beauty; from independent transgressor to adoring wife; from poor daughter of drunk to frequenter of chateaux; from warped criminal to protector of innocence - in its very form, as it moves from rich melodrama to unbelievably tense Hitchcockian thriller, in a way Cukor would do later with 'Gaslight'; or in the way it turns from christian allegory (Barring identifies himself with the Devil; Segert the 'scientist' (like Elaine Benes' pediatrist boyfriend, this plastic surgeon has ideas above his station) as Frankenstein/God; and Anna is repeatedly referred to as an angel, not always ironically) to a savage critique of the cinema and its assumptions, or vice versa.

Every great director has an overriding theme he asserts and develops throughout his oeuvre. The common element in Cukor's films is his recurrent interest in the theatricality of everyday life, the way identity is conceived as a performance, to be constantly negotiated through an artificial society. Think of Eliza becoming a 'lady' in 'My Fair Lady'. 'A Woman's face' opens with a court-bill proclaiming the case to be tried; it is like a play-bill, and Cukor pulls back to reveal a group of potential punters reading it. The trial itself is theatricalised, from the shoving, gasping audience, to the ritualistic introduction of the dramatis personae, while the film is full of role-playing and deception, where costume is of crucial importance; of playwrights devising plays for actresses (poets or not).

This elaborate artifice points to the pathos of the main theme, that of a potentially beautiful woman hideously scarred and mocked by her peers. It is a cliche that good looks can mask a vicious heart, and vice versa, but Anna's case is more complex. In a world of appearances, where one's character is literally judged by the face one presents to the world, than Anna must play her role. As her face is horribly disfigured, than so must her soul, her body reuniting the division enacted by Dorian Gray. Likewise, when her face is restored, or, more accurately, recreated, she becomes a nicer person. No wonder, even today, most young girls want some kind of reconstructive surgery - it's an easy ticket to moral and social improvement.

Cukor is too sympathetic to his heroines to allow this poisonous morality to stand. His film is one of the great melodramas, as he reveals the limitations of female experience in a self-interested male world. Barring picks on Anna because he sees her self-loathing can be manipulated for his own ends. Although Anna is a criminal, she is a moral force - she plays on the hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie; the scene where she strikes Segert has an overwhelming S&M charge, and is mirrored later when Barring whips his pursuers.

In the first half, Anna is a femme fatale, economically independent, preying on a weak middle-class. Her normalising into society, first by improving her face, is shown as an imprisonment - the barred door leading to Barring's (get it?) apartment; the hall of mirrors her identity gets lost in as she admires herself (an amazing shot); the literal prison she finds herself in after the murder; the ironic bars that overlook the seemingly redemptive talk of marriage with Segert; the uncertain ending, where Anna hasn't been acquitted yet - Cukor knows she's just exchanging one prison for another.

This sense of entrapment is embodied in the narrative, where her story is submerged in a host of others' stories, all unreliable and diminishing, reducing her to a woman's face. This wider social analysis of women's role is tied specifically to the role of actresses in the film industry, their dependence on facial beauty, their collusion in 'false' or unrealistic images of femininity - the film is full of lamps being switched on to light up women's faces, but they are harsh and exposing rather than flattering. The initially sadistic concept of disfiguring Joan Crawford becomes a sympathetic narrative of her plight.

This is a shaded Crawford performance, showing her dramatic range better than most. As the conflicted Anna, she goes through a number of emotional changes in subtle fashion. Defaced by a facial scar, Anna strikes back at the world by heading up a blackmail ring. Then, by chance, she meets up with cosmetic surgeon Dr, Segert (Douglas), who restores her underlying beauty. Too bad he's married.

With the operation, Anna can now lead a normal life, except her cruel boyfriend Torsten (Veidt) has a hold on her, and dispatches Anna to kill his toddler nephew who stands to inherit the fortune Torsten would otherwise inherit. So what's she going to do now that she has a chance to lead a normal life. Will Torsten's hold cause a relapse into her former criminal life.

The sleigh chase and roaring cataract below may be the most exciting sequence in any of Joan's many dramatic films. It's certainly the high point here. Douglas and Veidt are excellent in their roles; however, Massen's over the top as Douglas's unfaithful wife. On the whole, the MGM production is excellent, especially the ballroom scenes. However, some of the outdoor process shots and miniatures are sometimes apparent. Director Cukor's a little out of his usual sophisticated element, but keeps things moving seamlessly.

Too bad the film has drifted around in the Crawford canon because it's one of Joan's best, both for her and for the audience.

This film was made in 194l, so naturally it reflects that time period in film making and story telling and would undoubtedly be done somewhat differently today. Nonetheless, it is a film that can still be enjoyed by a 21st century audience.

The storyline is well paced, and extremely well told, with some surprises, and great acting by the cast, especially Ms. Crawford.

In this film, Joan Crawford plays a woman whose face was damaged in a fire when she was a child, this has caused her to feel like an outcast, and she has grown up to be a hard, bitter woman.

She has few scruples, nor do the people who work for her at the restaurant she owns. They are all party to various scams and cons, including blackmail.

She has never known love, and is an easy victim to the attentions of a handsome man, Tarten Barring. Despite her own cynicalism, she believes Barring loves her, and is so grateful for his attentions, she is willing to do anything for him.

This leads her into a situation where she takes on a false identity as she and Tarten plot together to commit the heinous murder of a child.

As the film opens, she is on trial for murder - the story unfolds as various witnesses testify.

What can I say? They did it better in those days.

The studios tried to make movies that would work on many levels, for many audiences.

You could see a sugar spun romance when you were fifteen and think it was all sweetness and light, and go back and watch the same studio- era movie when you have come of age and suddenly *get* all the sexual innuendo beneath the spun sugar. And, then, as a middle-aged person, again, you see that movie as if anew -- you see its dark side, its slide towards wisdom, maturity, death.

Look at casts for these old movies. There were, simply, more old women. More middle-aged women. More children. You can easily go to a Vin Deisel movie and see *no* children, no middle aged women, no women with gray hair.

Not so in studio-era movies. Characters lived in full worlds, with mothers, cleaning ladies, babies ...

Too, when you've been watching movies for a while ... it's easy to get bored. You want there to be more on the screen than mere plot.

This movie offers so much more --

Cukor was, of course gay, and known as a woman's director. His direction of this movie is breathtaking. The actors give better performances than I've seen from any of them in any other movie.

One of the things that reward me while watching YET ANOTHER MOVIE is little moments that say something true about life, or that rock me.

This movie offers moment after moment like that - a scene where two women dance together in a sexually provocative way, meant to communicate decadence. A scene where a petty con man cons a rich man out of his pocket change, only he isn't rich, and it isn't his pocket. You only realize much later about how phony that apparently poignant scene is.

A scene where a husband confronts a wife with her affairs, and she blurts out the name of a lover, not realizing that her husband was thinking of a *different* lover.

A scene where a jealous old maid refuses to reveal the existence of a letter that could mean the difference between life and death.

Postures, gestures, line delivery -- *all* show the intense concentration of a virtuoso.

And ...Joan Crawford. Not a fan. When news came out about child abuse, I was not surprised. I always saw that in her.

But that's essentially, the part she plays, here -- a bit of herself -- utterly driven, self-disciplined, with a vulnerable, scarred heart.

SHE IS SO GOOD.

Even Conrad Veidt, Major Strasser from "Casablanca," is *sexy* here. I never would have thunk it. As a friend of mine used to say, "It's called 'acting.'"

It's a really revolting form of sexuality. Like the man who sells you your heroin. Very bad.

Melvyn Douglas, utterly different than Veidt, is also superb. Like William Powell, like George Brent, Douglas is one of those actors we don't seem to have anymore -- his weapon, his appeal, is not his biceps, his great hair, or his dewy features, cause these guys had none of these things, and, furthermore, they all seemed born middle aged.

They just had charm. The charm of a guy who if you dropped him in the middle of anywhere on the planet, he'd know the cool people and the best places to eat and be wearing the suavest wardrobe, within moments, and not break a sweat doing so, and never stop delivering subtle bon mots.

There's a tension in any fiction -- will I make this character so lovable that she's boring? Will I make this character so interesting that she's unbearable?

One of the great things art can do is it can make the most horrible crime appear justifiable, logical, if you look at it a certain way.

There is a scene in a spider-web-draped Swedish folk attic in this movie in which Conrad Veidt gives a twisted little speech that makes a heinous crime appear justifiable. Fascinating. I was being manipulated and I loved it.

A murder mystery. Tense, film noir-esquire.

A love story. Moving. One of those great love stories that saves the "I love you", or, as it happens, "I love her" scene for the last minute, and you love having to wait that long for it, because it seems all the more real. And this is real love -- not just "I love her because she is pretty and I am handsome and she is the lead and so I am," but "I love her because of her soul." Get out your handkerchief.

But, most of all -- a fabulous commentary on the pressure on women to be something that they are not -- objects on a pedestal for men to gaze at, and how destructive men's obsession with turning women into that is.

A woman is hated by other women because she is ugly. A woman is hated by other women because she is beautiful. A woman is invisible to men because she is ugly. A woman is almost destroyed by men because she is beautiful.

Who but a gay man could do such a fine job telling that story with heat, with heart, with ice, with brains, and with guts -- and leave you with a smile?

This is one of Joan Crawford's better films. It has so much going for it: the full energy and finances of MGM (the film looks great and features many of MGM's best players), a wonderful plot (packed with lots of cynicism) and a decent acting job by Joan. Although I was able to generally predict where this unusual movie would go, I was so impressed at how good a job was done with the film that I really didn't mind that the suspense elements weren't quite as surprising as they might have intended.

Aside from Ms. Crawford, I really loved the horrid villain played by Conrad Veidt--he was absolutely slimy and easy to hate. Also, it was fun to see Marjorie Main made up so differently than usual--at first, I didn't even recognize her. I also LOVED the part played by Albert Bassermann--he was so wonderful and lovable.

All-in-all, a wonderful film with nothing negative to say about it other than one minor gripe. Why is it in so many Crawford movies does she play a woman obviously a lot younger than she really was. This wasn't as bad as most of her films of the 50s (where she played women 20 years younger), but according to the numbers thrown about in the film, I reckon she was 27--while in real life she was close to 40 and definitely looked it. A great acting job, true, but why the big lie about the age?

We viewed this movie last night through TCM on demand; I'd only seen parts of it in the past, not the whole film. I was impressed by Joan Crawford's skillful depiction of a highly intelligent woman whose face had been disfigured when she was as child. Her character seemed to be a genius in her knowledge and musical abilities. Because of her appearance she'd been shunned and unjustly treated; this forced her to hide half of her face from others. She spends most of her time in seclusion with a band of misfits and crooks. Her rejection by society turned her into a seemingly heartless blackmailer among other things. We could see that beneath her bitterness was a spark of something else, something good perhaps; her doctor played by Melvyn Douglas sees this too. Her doctor presents her with hope to restore her face using his skill, but will it work? It was an unusual role for Ms. Crawford IMO, at this stage in her career I'd figured she'd always want to look her most beautiful in roles. I couldn't imagine her appearing less than attractive even for part of a film; yet here she allowed her face to appear disfigured in some scenes. It was reminiscent for me of scenes that Gloria Grahame did years later in 'The Big Heat', another excellent film. The supporting cast in 'A Woman's Face' is good, especially Conrad Veidt as the evil man who has her in his power because he finds her attractive. For him she is willing to do anything...almost. The unthinkable crime he wants her to commit is the crux of the story, I won't reveal it here except to say at times we were on the edge of our seats wondering would she do it. Also of note in the supporting cast are Marjorie Main as a servant jealous of Joan and Albert Bassermann as a kindly grandfather.

I highly recommend this film and give it a rating of 8 out of 10 stars.

Joan Crawford got a plum role in A Woman's Face and George Cukor got a very good performance out of her. Especially when you consider this role was originally intended for Greta Garbo. If Garbo had done it this film would have ranked among her best.

A Woman's Face casts Crawford as the scarred and cynical leader of a gang of blackmailers and thieves who use a roadhouse cafe that she owns as the place to lure rich suckers and trim them. She was scarred shortly after her birth and on her right side looks like Gloria Grahame after Lee Marvin scalded her in The Big Heat.

Among a crowd she has one night are plastic surgeon Melvyn Douglas and no account count Conrad Veidt. Douglas is interested in her professionally, thinking he can work his plastic surgical magic. The problem is that people scorning her all her life has given Crawford a really cynical and rotten outlook on the human race.

That outlook however is just what Veidt wants. He wants to rope her into a plan to kill his young nephew so that he inherits the vast estate. On his recommendation Crawford is sent to Uncle Albert Basserman's estate to be Richard Nichols's governess. The better to gain access to the kid.

Still Crawford sees a chance for a new life and she's conflicted.

Considering this role looks tailor made for Garbo, Crawford delivers a very good performance running the gamut of emotions on screen. I also have to say that Veidt was one cunning devil of a villain. His scene with Crawford where he declares what he intends to do with the money from the estate is both chilling and timely for 1941. Definitely one of Veidt's best English language performances.

This one is a must for Joan Crawford fans.

Joan Crawford is wonderful as a bitter woman with a scarred face. Her performance is both convincing and touching. Be sure to catch the original as well starring Ingrid Bergman- "En Kvinnas Ansikte (A Woman's Face)" (1938). Both actresses tackled this role like the professionals they were.

George Cukor casts a beautifully nourish climate, setting this edgy drama in Stockholm, opening on a late night in a rural Swedish tavern where Conrad Veidt, playing a ritzy gentleman, hosts a party. When the tavern will no longer stretch his credit, he enraptures Joan Crawford, who engenders the feeling of the entire movie as the seriously scarred owner, into signing his check. Crawford is shortly revealed to be a cruel blackmailer. After a woman succumbs to her threats, Crawford hatefully demands more money because the woman is beautiful. The woman, played by glacial Osa Massen, is at first frightened by Crawford, but when the heartless blackmailer loses herself in a reverie talking about love, Massen maliciously shines a light on her face.

When weighing Crawford's performance in A Woman's Face against her Oscar-winning one in Mildred Pierce, she gave great performances in each despite Mildred Pierce being a lesser film, nevertheless in this brooding film, she is more effectual in her self-discipline, which was one thing she had that Bette Davis didn't. Her character's internal wounds emerging through her communicative and incidentally beautiful eyes and crushed gaze. (In spite of her character's horrendous disfigurement, she remains tremendously beautiful.) Seeing the scene in which her disfigured face is shown for the first time when she takes her hat off, as if she were expecting a reaction of horror from Veidt, and absorbing the true sorrow in her eyes and lips which, pertaining to her character, shows accidentally her cynical notions, the real actress owes the reality of her portrayal's nuances to her own chaotic personality.

There is a share of comparatively sluggish conformity that Cukor occasionally allows to peek around the corner, such as the oft-used device of telling the story through flashbacks from a courtroom of assorted caricatures, lending to its stock usage of Melvin Douglas, as per his usual, delivering a likable performance as a dashing good guy. robe the criminality allowed in a 1941 film. Crawford goes to Conrad Veidt, who by this time in the story temporarily lost touch with her, and he in a roundabout way tells her that his very old, very wealthy uncle is leaving everything to his four-year-old grandson, although if something happens to the child, Veidt himself will become heir to everything. The concept is then initiated, as Crawford poses as a new governess for the boy, who Cukor ruthlessly presents as one of the most adorable little kids in the history of movies.

This intriguing stranger of a movie is film noir that, in the face of its obedience to convention, rises above said genre by unfolding with sympathy and hope. Film noir, done right anyway, is unyielding and severe. Film noir illustrates the soul of nature inside, the unwitting impulses of the characters, their material depths, jealousy, greed, resentment, deceit, and all known vices of the unaware, which can show in two ways, a beautiful way and an evil way. The film's central character is a misunderstood woman in the halfway point of a blackmail mob and as a result living on the underside of a world that has rejected her, hence it has to be measured as such. Cukor utilizes simplicity in his manipulation of the film's world through her mind's eye, employing lighting, things positioned on the scarred side of her face, tossing a shard of light on top of her open eye after an operation and other such subtleties. The suspense is fluent, we want to see her unwrap the gauze, in many respects, and that uncomplicated idea steers the whole film. This is my first Cukor film, and I see that he is a very able director. His production values in 1941 are comparable to today's. The film's music score is, save for the conventional closing, very effective and not at all trite.

This Crawford vehicle has been noted as one of her finest films she did during her MGM period (1925-1943). It has been regarded as a classic, but also bizarre, strange and trashy. I think the film is *** out of ****, and yes Joan gives a performance that should have been nominated for an Oscar, but the story is rather unbelievable and some of the dialogue is plain stupid. It is a complicated story of a scarred female black-mailer who undergoes plastic surgery that changes her ways and attitude towards life. There are some wonderful climatic moments here, but also some odd ones. The cinematography is certainly a stand-out.

Joan Crawford (Anna) is on trial for the murder of her boyfriend Conrad Veidt (Torsten). We follow her story in flashback as told by selected witnesses before the judge makes his decision.

This is an entertaining film with many memorable scenes, eg, Anna contemplating killing the child Richard Nichols (Lars-Erik) by unlocking the safety gate as he leans against it while travelling on a cable car. You just know that she's capable and the scene is very tense. Another is the scene where Crawford has gone round to blackmail Osa Massen (Vera) about having an affair and a situation unfolds where Crawford slaps Massen. She does it several times and she really means it! The main characters all do well with Crawford stealing the show as the bitter woman with a scarred face who has reconciled herself to a life of blackmailing others. Crawford's performance allows the audience to sympathize with this rather nasty character as the film evolves. The minor characters are OK but the film does contain an extremely annoying Donald Meek who plays 'Herman' the barman. He plays for comedy. He's not funny.

It's an engaging film - far-fetched but go along with it and it will entertain you.

A Woman's Face is a trashy, pseudo-horror movie like film but one presented as an A-picture melodrama. I've watched A Woman's Face five times as of writing this review and gets better every time I watch it. Within the last year, I've felt the motivation to watch the film three times, something which is almost unheard of for me; this movie is that good. I've now decided, screw it, this is my favourite Joan Crawford film and considering there's tough competition from Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, Mildred Pierce and The Women, that's saying a lot.

Every major cast member in A Woman's Face is superb. I know that sounds like a generalization but it's true. Firstly there's Conrad Veidt as Torsten Barring. I adore every second this man is on screen; he's just so delightfully sinister but in the most absorbingly charming manner - I'm swept off my feet by his presence. I can completely buy into the romance he shares with Anna Holm (Crawford) because he looks past her facial disfigurement and is unbothered by it. Melvyn Douglas is the other great charmer of the cast, whom I've yet to see paired with an actress who he didn't share great chemistry. Ossa Massen, Reginald Owen, Albert Bassermann, Marjorie Main (unrecognisable here) and Donald Meek are also all equally memorable and stand in the strong characterisations of their roles. Likewise on re-watching look out for the moments of foreshadowing ("You love children? I loathe them").

Then there's Crawford herself in a once in a lifetime role as a facially disfigured woman, a part few actresses would be prepared to play. Her character of Anna Holm only engages in deceitful acts because of society's mistreatment of her since childhood but is otherwise good at heart. Anna tries to make the best for herself and doesn't dwell into a victimhood complex ("I don't care for pity ether"); she runs her own tavern, pursues different talents and less virtuously is involved in criminality. Regardless throughout the film my heart pours out for the poor woman and yet even with the disfigurement I still find Crawford to be incredibly beautiful in this film, nor does the disfigurement ever take away from the asset that is her stunning body. If anything the moment in which Anna returns from a shopping trip and is wearing a very excessive blouse to take attention away from her face is the one moment in the film in which her character comes off to me as pathetic sight.

A Woman's Face is one of the few thrillers George Cukor directed with echoes of Hitchcock throughout, such as the shots of the smelter plant and a waterfall in the background (similar to the scenery in films such as Foreign Correspondent), to the film's suspenseful scenes such as that atop the cable car. This sequence itself is absent of any music, simply allowing the sound of the nearby waterfall and the smelter plant increase the tension while the film's climax, on the other hand, offers a sort of Ben-Hur on sleds finale. Since I consider this film far superior to Hitchcock's thriller offering that year of Suspicion, Cukor out Hitchcocked Hitchcock. With Cukor being one of the great masters of his trade, the cinematography of A Woman's Face is a feast for the eyes. Technically speaking, the scenes at the hospital and Anna's subsequent unbandaging are my favourite part of the film. Along with A Woman's Face and the 1934 medical drama Men In White, it makes me wonder if it's just me or do medical interiors and apparatuses make for some of the best subjects to capture on film.

Being a remake of a Swedish film, there's something somewhat unconventional about A Woman's Face for a Hollywood film. The movie does manage to capture the essence of its Northern European setting (despite much of the cast supporting American accents) and offers a slice of Swedish culture with its dancing sequence.

I consider 1941 to be the greatest year in the history of cinema. The output of this single year is the jealous vain of entire decades and A Woman's Face just adds to this. Melodrama seems to have a bad reputation for no good reason. Like many things, it can be done well and done poorly. A Woman's Face represents the old Hollywood melodrama tailored to perfection.

A Woman's Face (1941)

*** (out of 4)

Interesting thriller has Joan Crawford playing criminal Anna Holm who takes her partially deformed face out on others by living a life of crime. She meets a kind plastic surgeon (Melvyn Douglas) who agrees to fix her face but before doing so she ends up with the evil Torsten Barring (Conrad Veidt) who plans to make her carry out a murder. A WOMAN'S FACE basically asks if a heartless ugly woman can become beautiful and then grow a heart. Shallow? I'm sure in lesser hands it could have been but director George Cukor and star Crawford do a terrific job at building up the story, the characters and end with an incredibly intense sequence that's very memorable. Apparently everyone in the world tries to talk Crawford out of doing this picture because a "beautiful" woman should never "ugly" herself up. It's easy to see why the legend would want to do this part because it was certainly one of the best of her career. It allows her to play an incredibly cold character that goes through a certain development and turns into something special. I thought Crawford was flawless early in the film when it was time for her to play evil but she was also very believable during the transformation. It certainly doesn't hurt that she's surrounded by a terrific group of character actors. Douglas is his usual wonderful self as the married doctor who finds himself falling for the woman. Veidt plays a cold-blooded snake like no other and makes for a great villain. Osa Massen Albert Bassermann, Reginald Owen, Donald Meek and Marjorie Main are all very good as well. Henry Daniell and George Zucco also have brief roles during the court room sequence. The film moves along at a very good pace but there's no question that the highlight comes towards the end during a thrilling and extremely intense chase sequence. I'm not going to spoil what happens but it's certainly a very memorable sequence that will have you on the edge of your seat. Fans of Crawford are certainly going to enjoy getting to see two sides of the actress.

Joan Crawford plays a woman who had her face disfigured as a child and has grown up hating the world. So now she's a criminal who runs a blackmail gang. In the middle of one of her blackmail schemes she is caught by plastic surgeon Melvyn Douglas, who decides to help her look normal. But just because she looks good doesn't mean it's easy for her to forget her way of life. In steps slimy Conrad Veidt, who uses his charm to manipulate Joan into helping him with a plot to kill a little boy.

One of Joan Crawford's best movies. Her acting is terrific. Veidt is a particularly scummy villain. Great supporting cast that includes Reginald Owen, George Zucco, Donald Meek, Albert Bassermann, Marjorie Main, Connie Gilchrist, and the lovely Osa Massen. All superb. The story is told through flashbacks via testimony at Joan's trial. It's an excellent film, wonderfully directed by George Cukor.