Customer Reviews

Harriet Craig [VHS]

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an engrossing film of a cold, calculating, and manipulative woman, Harriet Craig, who is married to Walter Craig, a very nice man who adores her. She lives in an impeccably appointed mansion with him, has two servants, and a poor relation, Claire, who caters to her every whim. Life should be great. Wrong!

Harriet is not happy, unless she is able to control everyone and everything around her. A regular martinet and perfectionist, she is cruel to the servants and totally self absorbed. If something does not revolve around Harriet, then it is of no import. She stops at nothing to get what she wants, even if it means destroying those who love her.

Harriet keeps her husband on a short lease, and he is so besotted by her that, at first, he does not even notice. She is a master at maintaining her own status quo. Then, one day she goes too far. Walter is going get a long awaited promotion that will require him to travel abroad. As this does not fit in with Harriet's plans, she surreptitiously moves heaven and earth to quash the promotion. At first, Walter is puzzled by his change of circumstances, but when he discovers Harriet's treachery, no more Mr. Nice Guy.

Joan Crawford is magnificent as the cold, implacable, and shrewish Harriet. Wendell Corey is wonderful as the besotted husband, who has his kind heart ripped out by his wife's perfidy. Look for a wonderful performance by the delightful Lucille Watson, as the perceptive wife of Walter's boss. While Harriet may have fooled everyone else, she certainly did not fool her.

This is a wonderful film that all Joan Crawford fans will love. Aficionados of classic films will, likewise, enjoy it. Bravo!

"Harriet Craig" is a startling and awe inspiring movie which is dominated from beginning to end by Joan Crawford in a standout performance as the character of the title, a cold and calculating woman used to getting her own way in all things. Never was a role more tailor made for an actress than this one and it is a tribute to Joan Crawford's great (and often underrated) talent that she manages to pull it off and add extra dimension to an otherwise unlikeable character.

This film was based on the stage play and previous movie starring Rosalind Russell called "Craig's Wife" and deals with a domineering and manipulative woman who runs her beautifully furnished home like an army base and also controls the lives of her husband and servants as she sees fit. Despite having everything in life to make her happy Harriet is only content when she has people to herself, namely her Husband Walter played superbly by Wendall Corey and her cousin Clare (KT Stevens). What transpires is in a way a very sad tale of a woman who by her perfectionism destroys everything she ever had.

Despite being the monster she undoubtedly is there is one scene were Harriet retells some of her childhood history and it goes along way towards explaining her current manical behaviour. Joan Crawford is always superb in playing anguished women forced into hazardous situations. Here she is in her element as she manages to stop Walter obtaining a great job promotion to Japan to keep him with her, manages to break up Clare's relationship with Wes Millar, Walter's assistant and stricks terror into all her staff when they fail to meet her impossibly high standards.

Wendall Corey, an often underrated actor, is excellent in the role of Harriet's besotted husband who ultimately learns the hard way about Harriet's calculating ways. the scenes after he realizes Harriets calculating manipulation are superb as he turns the tables on her at the dinner table and flushes out all the deceit and lies that Harriet has told about all those who are supposedly dear to her. He proceeds to smash one of Harriet's prized Chinese antique vases and that is a symbol that what Harriet had is now finished, broken and cannot be repaired. Fiona O'Sheil and Ellen Corby also score in the roles of Harriet's domestic staff who suffer under her perfectionist yoke. O'Sheil in particular has a wonderfully dramatic scene when she resigns from the staff and warns Harriet about having a beautiful house which has no warmth or love in it.

"Harriet Craig" while a quite disturbing film to watch, filled as it is with a manipulative central character and surrounding people who in one way or the other are victims, is a splendidly acted piece of movie making which is totally engrossing. Despite her character's faults I still feel an element of pity for Harriet, in particular during the scenes with her mother where the lack of love and deprivation of her childhood goes at least part of the way towards explaining her adult actions. Joan Crawford is of course the whole movie and she makes "Harriet Craig" a memorable viewing experience. If like me you are a Crawford fan you will definately see it as one of Joan's very best later performances. Enjoy!

The play "Craig's Wife"(title of an earlier movie version with Roz Russell) may have been a daring-for-its-day look at a phenomenon of Depression-era America's upwardly-mobile middle class: the empty shell of a woman for whom position and appearance mean everything. (Mary Tyler Moore played an updated version in "Ordinary People.") But when Crawford the control-freak assumed the role, it took on grotesque dimensions -- down to her 1950 hairdo that looks like an Oreo with a bite out of it. This is one role Crawford played that must have been completely natural to her -- the narcissistic despot of "Mommie Dearest." (And with tired old Wendell Corey as her spouse and foil, she steals every scene.) Still, it's fun to watch this cool schemer get her comeuppance -- but, when she regally ascends her spiral staircase in the last shot, alone among the splendor of her possessions, you wonder who has won after all.

Wow! What a great film! If you enjoy Joan Crawford, you'll love this film. She is at her manipulative best, controlling everyone around her. Who would complain when it is Joan Crawford? Highly recommended Crawford film!

If you're a fan of Joan Crawford, this was one of her best movies! I paid a fortune for the videotape because the movie has not been released on dvd. I think I've seen just about every Joan Crawford movie ever made, and this is my all time favorite. It's a must for any Joan Crawford fan!

Wow, I have not bought a movie tape since 96 and I can only hope that this movie will be released to DVD. I recently purchased this movie on VHS and I have to say that I was amazed about the performance that Joan delivers here. Her usually over the top dramatic acting is toned down a lot. Yet it gives you a cold shiver when you see her running that house. The calculating moves she pulls off to keep her life the way it is are revolting and evil. One can only feel sorry for her, since she alienates everyone and everything around her by doing so. I personally feel that this movie was one of her best performances. Yet it seems to be little known.
Although when you watch Mommie Dearest you'll understand where they got their material from. The Ming Vase has to be exactly where Joan ..... sorry Harriet wants it.

This is a fun movie to watch. After that put in Mommie Dearest and start comparing!

Harriet Craig has a serious personality disorder. She is a skilled manipulator, and justifies her destructive lies by blaming her father. Seems that way back when little Harriet was 14, she caught her father with another woman, and in a rage she turned her back on him completely. Extreme behavior for a 14 year-old--but she was vindictive then, too. There is no room for forgiveness or understanding in her perfectionist personality.
Anyway, Harriet is so controlling that she does great harm to the lives of all those around her, mostly by sowing discord with lies, and also with her husband using sex to keep him tied to her leash.
It all comes crashing down when her web of lies ensnares her.
In today's day and age, she would need counseling and therapy, and her wounded vicitms would need years of therapy to recover, too.
Was Joan Crawford like this character in real life? I would wager yes.
Christina was scarred for life. But Miss Crawford's mental illness was not obsessive compulsive; it's diagnosed now as a borderline personality disorder. And that's what we see on screen. A human train wreck.
In sum, a meaningful, brave movie, and a time capsule back to a vanished era.

This is the kind of role which fans of Crawford ( I'm not one of them particularly ) love watching; it seems tailor made to meet her needs! Harriet Craig is a domineering shrew whose only real love is her meticulously kept and richly appointed house. A neurotic perfectionist and a stickler for absolute cleanliness (shades of Mommie Dearest!) Ms. Craig makes it impossible for her husband Walter (Wendell Corey) to feel at ease in his own home. Eventually, Walter begins to get intimations of his wife's true character and when he finally sees the light, he smashes her favourite vase and walks out! Bravo! Joan Crawford does a prime job of putting over the selfish title - character, equipping it with enough sock to cloak the obviousness that motivates the dramatics. The original (and rather better) screen version of this story was made in 1936 as CRAIG'S WIFE with Rosalind Russell in the title role; it was faithfully directed by Dorothy Arzner.

this is a brilliant role for Joan Crawford, but i would advise to people who don't want to see absolutely every single Joan Crawford movie, to see "queen bee" first. She's at her best here too, as a dominative, determined and manipulative woman. If you already saw "queen bee", don't hesitate and see this one as well

Joan Crawford at her most magnificent BEST. This movie is the predecesssor of the "MOMMIE DEAREST" genre that she's famous for. I think it is better than "Mildred Pierce", much better.