Joan Crawford in A Woman's Face

Crawford slowly works her way through the emotional and physical changes Anna endures. She doesn't try to work miracles. Anna has lived in torment for most of her life and she knows that sudden outer beauty cannot quickly or ever completely heal the emotional wounds within her.

In her first scenes, she combines forceful anger with a shy desire to embrace her tender side. She seethes with the frightened anger of one who knows she is being laughed at. When she gets a complement, her eyes turn bright and bitter, suspicious that the kind words are a trap.

Barring's love gives her more confidence, but Crawford shows that Anna is wary of him. She cannot let her guard down until Sergert has healed her face; it is as if she can only understand Barring's admiration of her when she herself feels worthy of it. Even then she is reluctant to open her heart, especially when she finds that it was her bitterness which attracted him to her.

With encouragement from her doctor, Anna protects herself, and an innocent child in Barring's crosshairs, by admitting that she is vulnerable to love. Crawford shows Anna's change of faith in wary, careful steps, always mindful of the confusion she must feel as the world suddenly smiles at her beauty, though she is the same woman underneath.

In this varied performance, one can see the birth of the actress who would one day play Mildred Pierce with such powerful emotion.

Books to Read :
Joan Crawford: The Last Word, by Fred Lawrence Guiles
Conversations With Joan Crawford, by Roy Newquist
The Films of Joan Crawford, by Lawrence Quirk

Websites to Browse:
Joan Crawford Heaven
Lynn's Tribute to Joan Crawford
Images Journal: Joan Crawford

Thank you to www.SilverScreenSirens.com for permission to use the photos of Joan Crawford.

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