{"id":5323,"date":"2008-02-28T13:40:52","date_gmt":"2008-02-28T20:40:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5323"},"modified":"2021-01-27T11:08:37","modified_gmt":"2021-01-27T18:08:37","slug":"womans-face-a-1941","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5323","title":{"rendered":"Woman&#8217;s Face, A (1941)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;You felt reborn: after all your agony, life was beginning anew.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Womans-Face-Poster-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Womans-Face-Poster-1-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-66359\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Womans-Face-Poster-1-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Womans-Face-Poster-1-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Womans-Face-Poster-1-179x270.jpg 179w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Womans-Face-Poster-1.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA scarred, bitter woman (Joan Crawford) falls in love with a sociopathic blackmailer (Conrad Veidt), whose plot to kill his young nephew (Richard Nichols) involves asking Crawford to pose as his governess. When a kind plastic surgeon (Melvyn Douglas) successfully heals Crawford&#8217;s face, however, she finds herself beginning to question her bleak outlook on life &#8212; and her commitment to Veidt&#8217;s nefarious plan.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Blackmail<\/li>\n<li>Character Arc<\/li>\n<li>Conrad Veidt Films<\/li>\n<li>Courtroom Dramas<\/li>\n<li>Disfigured Faces<\/li>\n<li>Flashback Films<\/li>\n<li>George Cukor Films<\/li>\n<li>Ingrid Bergman Films<\/li>\n<li>Joan Crawford Films<\/li>\n<li>Melvyn Douglas Films<\/li>\n<li>Plot to Murder<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nMade several years before her Oscar-winning turn in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5008\"><em>Mildred Pierce<\/em> (1945)<\/a>, this remake of a <a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0030337\/\">1938 Swedish film<\/a> (starring Ingrid Bergman) provided Joan Crawford with one of her best cinematic roles. As the bitterly scarred Anna Holm, Crawford &#8212; thanks in large part to George Cukor&#8217;s steady direction &#8212; successfully avoids histrionics or melodrama, instead convincingly showing us the depth of Anna&#8217;s lifelong pain through subtle facial expressions. Even after her character&#8217;s successful surgery, for instance, Crawford continues to act as though half of her face is still hideously paralyzed; the effect is both realistic and haunting. Equally effective &#8212; albeit in a much campier fashion (!) &#8212; is Conrad Veidt as Anna&#8217;s partner in crime and love, a sociopath who is genuinely able to see beyond Anna&#8217;s face, yet who ultimately demands far too much from her grateful loyalty. The story itself &#8212; framed as a courtroom flashback &#8212; runs for perhaps a bit too long, but there are several tense, exciting moments along the way, and we&#8217;re kept in suspense the entire time about whether or not Anna really is guilty of murder.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Joan Crawford as Anna Holm<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/womans-face-crawford.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/womans-face-crawford.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5324\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Conrad Veidt as Anna&#8217;s duplicitous lover, Torsten Barring<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/womans-face-veidt.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/womans-face-veidt.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5325\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The well-edited scene in which Anna&#8217;s surgery results are revealed for the first time<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/womans-face-unveiling.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/womans-face-unveiling.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5326\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Robert Planck&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/womans-face-cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/womans-face-cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5327\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as one of Crawford&#8217;s notable performances.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0034399\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1941\/05\/16\/archives\/at-the-capitol.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2511joan.html\">DVD Savant Review (scroll down to third review)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/507\/a-womans-face\/#articles-reviews?articleId=107524\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/a-womans-face\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You felt reborn: after all your agony, life was beginning anew.&#8221; Synopsis: A scarred, bitter woman (Joan Crawford) falls in love with a sociopathic blackmailer (Conrad Veidt), whose plot to kill his young nephew (Richard Nichols) involves asking Crawford to pose as his governess. When a kind plastic surgeon (Melvyn Douglas) successfully heals Crawford&#8217;s face, however, she finds herself beginning to question her bleak outlook on life &#8212; and her commitment to Veidt&#8217;s nefarious plan. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5323\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5323"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5323\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63794,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5323\/revisions\/63794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}