Thursday Movie Picks- Female Bosses

 

I was just, what’s the technical term?? Oh yes, blecchhh last week after the failed colonoscopy. For the next 3 days I felt like my walls were being stretched and I was in quite a bit of pain Which makes me wonder if diverticulitis is the culprit. I will have to go through it again but this time, no f#@,! 4L jug to drink. All I need is some vile Jim Jones juice to down and that should do it. 

This week, over at Wandering Through The Shelves, it’s about female bosses and I was quite surprised at how many movies had female bosses that were just mean bitches. I wanted to try and find 3 women bosses who were good and not vicious, sexually charged(or under-charged) harpies. I think I found 3 so let’s get the show on the road.

1. MILDRED PIERCE-1945

You can rely on Joan Crawford to be her own woman and this is the perfect part albeit kind of wild considering she was not the best mom in the world. She plays a wonderful wife and mom to 2 girls, one sweet and the other a total mean little bitch. The marriage is not the best and when the good little girl dies, the marriage falls apart mainly because Crawford’s mommy ways are beyond stupid when it comes to her mean, vile daughter played brilliantly by Ann Blyth. Crawford decides to get a job at a restaurant and soon learns the ropes and exceeds it becoming her own boss to a very successful restaurant of her own all the while giving in to the demands of this beast of a daughter. Her best friend, played by Eve Arden, knows who this gal is when she states,  "Crocodiles have the right idea...they eat their young.” Or something to that effect. Crawford won the Oscar for her role which she graciously accepted while “sick in bed with the flu” all dussied up in her best boudoir outfit.

2. THE FAR COUNTRY-1954

This is a western that stars James Stewart as a man who was swindled out of his cattle by a corrupt judge but takes them anyway, crossing into Canada with the herd. Along with his best friend, played by Walter Brennan, they decide to try their hand at gold prospecting and making a point of staying out of the less than savoury goings on at the lawless place called Dawson. The saloon owner and very wealthy owner of other business ventures, Ruth Roman, has the hots for James Stewart but also likes to own the town along with the judge. She makes sure she buys the food plus make herself richer with gals and gambling, so as to have the main competition go under. It finally comes to a head and Stewart must take sides but what will the owner of the saloon do now that she sees hubba hubba Stewart is silent no more? This is a pretty good western and the scenery is stunning. I had just visited Athabaskan glacier and was shocked when I saw this film because it has 2 great scenes at this famous glacier. You can see how much the glacier has shrunk since this film was made which is quite sad.

3. IT HAPPENED TO JANE-1959

You know that I had to choose a Doris Day movie because, in many of her comedies if the late 50s/ early 60s, she played a self made woman who was her own boss. This film tanked at the box office possibly due to the title of the movie but I found it fun. It's not an earth shattering comedy classic but a fun Doris Day romp as a widowed business lady of a lobster business. She sells her lobsters to businesses but when the railway screws up causing  her lobsters to bite the dust, she loses her biggest contract. Well, this won't do for this headstrong, spunky gal so she insists that the local lawyer  played by Jack Lemmon, take on the railway. The head of the railway is played to evil perfection by Ernie Kovacs with Granite-faced Steve Forrest wanting to make Day his own much to Lemmon's dismay. I have not seen this in years, but would like to watch this again because I found it thoroughly engaging.

Which female boss movies can you think of?

I have to put this hilarious send-up of Mildred Pierce by Carol Burnett because it's just perfect but don't watch it if you have not seen the movie and want to.