A Woman's Face

A Woman's Face, directed by George Cukor, is a Hollywood remake of the 1938 Swedish film En kvinnas ansikte, in which a young Ingrid Bergman played the same role; both films are based on a French play by Francis de Croisset. Joan Crawford stars as a blackmailer who hates everyone she meets because of a severe scar on her face; Melvyn Douglas and Conrad Veidt round out the cast. When a plastic surgeon repairs the scar, the character is torn between the hope of a new life and her dark past. Crawford had hoped this role would earn her an Academy Award nomination, but it did not; she later said the performance contributed to the Oscar she won in 1945 for Mildred Pierce. Who it's for: anyone curious about a classic Hollywood drama, adapted from Swedish cinema, questioning whether a change in physical appearance can also change identity and moral direction. Who it's not for: those who think the film earned Crawford an Oscar, since it did not receive an official nomination.