Harriet Craig

Vincent Sherman's 1950 film is about a woman who has made keeping a perfect house the single purpose of her life. For Harriet Craig the placement of the furniture, the position of a vase and the behaviour of guests are not negotiable, and that exactness slowly drives away her husband, her relatives and her servants. The film is adapted from George Kelly's play, which Dorothy Arzner had also filmed in 1936. What distinguishes this version is Joan Crawford's reading: Harriet is not simply cruel but someone who has attached her own safety to objects, and the reason is explained late in the film. A woman at the centre of the domestic kingdom means household power is shown more openly here than was usual in Hollywood melodrama of the period. Even so the film punishes Harriet, which is the limit of its moral frame. Who it's for: those who love classic Hollywood melodrama and Joan Crawford's roles. Who it's not for: viewers who want to sympathise with the character; the film makes that deliberately impossible.