So we all went goo goo and ga ga over wonderful mothers and that’s great but there are mothers that never should have had children because they were awful. I could have chosen “Mommie Dearest” THE film for bad moms. Let’s face it, Joan Crawford was not a great mother and, actually, not a great person, with many issues, so this flick is an easy go to, but I decided to choose 3 other mothers that define horrible and here they are…
1. NOW, VOYAGER- 1942
Bette Davis shines in this great film about a mousy, scared of her shadow, woman beaten down by her over-bearing, nasty, manipulative bitch of a mother, played to the hilt by Gladys Cooper who was nominated for an Oscar. Bette ends up in a sanitarium and with the help of a gentle psychiatrist, played by Claude Rains( Bette’s favourite co-star) gains confidence and beams as the new Charlotte. She goes on a cruise where she meets Paul Henreid and they have an affair hinted at by him lighting 2 cigarettes and handing her one. This sexy move followed Henreid for the rest of his life, much to his chagrin. They also shared a sleeping bag and could look at the stars. When she returns, she could hold her own against her mother. It is well acted, romantic and empowering.
2. THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE-1962
This film was banned for decades ( so I have read in many books but this seems to be incorrect) and only came back in the 1990s, I believe. It was considered too volatile on the political manipulations that occur in this film. Lawrence Harvey plays a troubled war hero who is trying to rebuild his life with a Wonderful girl but has nightmares. Frank Sinatra was also part of a group of soldiers, in Korea, who is also having nightmares and Harvey was part of this team who, apparently, saved everyone but, in fact, these soldiers were brain washed by the communists and Harvey is the key component in their plan to take over the U.S. government. You find out his mother is all part of this plan. She has so much ambition that she will have her son tortured and brainwashed just so she can get ahead. Actually, considering how Putin has his fingers in the U.S. government and Trumpy is his puppet…this is not far off. This is a dour but brilliant film and worth seeing.
3. SYBIL-1976
This is a TV movie starring Sally Field as the multiple personality, Sybil. Her performance drew rave reviews and showed the film industry that she had real talent. In this 2 part TV movie you find out that Sybil has many personalities and is under the care of a psychiatrist, played by Joanne Woodward. You slowly see Sybil implode before she starts to get better and get to the root of her mental disorder. Can you take a guess? Yup, her mom is one of the worst mothers ever! When I watched this I thought her mother belonged in a horror film because she was beyond disgusting and that green kitchen is the worst place to be since mom sexually abused her daughter with utensils. It's abhorrent but brilliantly acted by the whole cast. The mother, played by Martine Bartlett, drew accolades for her disgusting portrayal. It's a must see for TV movies.
What horrible moms come to your mind?
Beautiful blog
ReplyDeleteI've seen all three of these. I rarely talk about my mother since there is little good I can say that isn't outweighed by the bad.
ReplyDeleteHi Birgit!
ReplyDeleteGreat picks! Those are some awful women and both Gladys Cooper and Angela Lansbury were robbed come Oscar time! I think Teresa Wright’s win was inevitable against Gladys with her dual nomination for Mrs. Miniver in support and Pride of the Yankees in lead but Gladys is inimitable. Angela on the other hand fell victim to category fraud. Patty Duke is beyond amazing in The Miracle Worker and deserved an award…but that award should have been a shared lead actress Oscar with Anne Bancroft! If ever a film was a two hander it’s The Miracle Worker. No other supporting performance that year female or male could touch Angela Lansbury’s cool depiction of malevolence.
As far as Sybil, Martine Bartlett is a revelation. I was vaguely familiar with her before the film from various movie and TV episodic appearance, but she was most often the sympathetic wife, schoolteacher, nurse etc. nothing that prepared me for the diabolical force she projected as Sybil’s monster of a mother. She apparently did a lot of stage work so perhaps she was afforded better opportunities there.
The three that occurred to me are older films as well. The first The Silver Cord (1933) stars Laura Hope Crews recreating her stage triumph as a madly possessive mother of two sons who manipulates all around her and them to keep them to herself until Irene Dunne gets a clue about what hides behind Laura sweet mask. A little tidbit-Joel McCrea plays one of the sons and Frances Dee the girlfriend of the other brother, they met on the set of this film and married soon after remaining together for the rest of their lives.
The next-The Baby (1973) is one wild crazy ride starring one of my all-time faves, Ruth Roman who along with her two strange daughters keeps her adult son infantilized (to the point of making him wear diapers) to live off the benefits they received for him until a social worker (with a few screws loose herself) intervenes!! Murder and madness follow. It’s a nutty but compelling film.
The last-Frances (1982)-isn’t a great movie (not bad just rather muddled) but Jessica Lange is brilliant as the deeply troubled Frances Farmer. Kim Stanley was nominated for her role as Frances’s mother Lillian, in life as monstrous a person as can be imagined. She and Frances’s father committed her to an insane asylum and left her there for years rather than deal with her problems. Her father only got her released when Lillian became terminally ill, and he needed her help to care for her. Despicable people.
I've never seen The Manchurian Candidate, but of course I've heard of it. I do love Now, Voyager. I don't think I've seen Sybil all the way through. My mother had the book back in the day, and I attempted to read it. (I was waaaay too young for it.)
ReplyDeleteSybil scarred me for life. I remember watching that with my mom on Lifetime. I really hate that she made me watch so many movies on that channel with her. Now, Voyager is great! I have the Manchurian Candidate on my Blindspot list this year but haven't gotten to it yet.
ReplyDeleteThis one struck a chord, Birgit, as my mother falls into the category of "never should have been a parent". Not that she was as bad as these women! I've seen all three movies and they were truly evil.
ReplyDeleteWow, I haven't been here for ages. My apologies.
ReplyDeleteManchurian Candidate - shivers...
I'm going to offer Ordinary People. Mind you, I can't imagine what it can possibly be like to lose a child, no matter how.
Good to see that Angela Lansbury was much more than Jessica Fletcher.
ReplyDelete