Product Details

• Actors: Joan Crawford, Fredric March, Ruth Hussey, John Carroll, Rita Hayworth
• Directors: George Cukor
• Writers: Anita Loos, Rachel Crothers
• Producers: Hunt Stromberg
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Warner)
• VHS Release Date: September 1, 1998
• Run Time: 117 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302413508
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #347 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Crawford Near Her Peak, December 8, 1998

By A Customer

This film is an odd one in Joan Crawford's MGM films, but entertaining and well worth viewing for one of Crawford's better, more carefully thought-out performances. Originally purchased for Norma Shearer (who balked at playing the mother of a teenager), this dramatic comedy provides a fine framework for one of Crawford's few successful comedy portrayals. Widely faulted at the time for too closely copying Gertrude Lawrence's stage performance (in the same role), today it is apparent how much originality and commitment Crawford brought to the part of Susan, a flighty upper-crust socialite hell bent on bringing her newfound religious enlightenment to her family and friends, with disasterous results. Frederick March turns in a fine, delicately shaded performance as Susan's long suffering husband who is driven to drink by her fecklessness. This is a first rate MGM production of its day, with stunning costumes and brilliant supporting players. Majorie Main, as Susan's down-to-earth housekeeper, almost steals the film and Rose Hobart gives a brilliant, tense performance as Susan's unhappy best friend. This film has often been overlooked by fans and critics alike, but it offers many delights and highlights excellent contributions by George Cukor, the director, and the rest of the MGM production team. The subject (born again religious mania) is rather an odd one for Golden Age Hollywood to have touched on at all, but it is handled with care and Susan, in the end, emerges a wiser, happier woman. No Joan Crawford fan should miss it!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Offbeat subject, unmannered Crawford make this worthwhile, September 12, 2000

By A Customer

George Cukor's Susan and God has a couple of things going for it. First the subject matter, religion, which is not treated in depth but provides material for a satire of spiritual faddism circa 1940. Second, Joan Crawford before her late-phase bulldozer style had taken over entirely. Crawford plays a thoroughly silly rich matron whose latest fling with a self-analytic cult becomes her crusade, much to the chagrin of her family, friends and household staff. Of course her conviction runs just about as deep as her makeup. The movie's priceless line is delivered by housekeeper Marjorie Main who, taking Crawford's exhortations that they're equals quite literally, purrs an insolent "Suuuuuusan" back at her.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars WORTH A LOOK, October 10, 2001

By	"scotsladdie" (GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Because religion coupled with sophisticated comedy was such an unusual subject for the Hollywood of 1940 to dabble with at all, this little movie is a curio. This film, which is based upon Rachel Crother's comedy of manners is not really in Joan Crawford's range; supposedly, she failed to provide the charm that Gertrude Lawrence reportedly gave the role on Broadway. When Crawford is being intellectually frivolous, it's merely tiresome. The director, George Cukor and the scenarist, Anita Loos, must certainly have been aware of the problem, because Loos supplied some new characters and Cukor lavished affection on the actresses - Marjorie Main and Constance Collier - who played them. Joan plays a woman who finds religion and drives her husband (Frederic March) and friends up the wall with her pious attitudes and newly found graces. Rita Quigley plays her discontented daughter and Marjorie Main steals the show when Susan insists that she (as the housekeeper) refer to her by her first name. Susan enters her summer cottage and asks Main how long ago the new decorating was done. Main replies heartily "About six months ago - SUSAN!!" to a hilariously shocked Joan. While not considered a completely successful transfer of the play, it is untypical for its subject matter and you can see a youthful Rita Hayworth in a supporting role as one of Susan's bewildered victims!