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<blockquote data-quote="Crimson" data-source="post: 437688" data-attributes="member: 5079">Joan&#039;s MGM films have their flaws -- but she is not one of them. I went through some of her MGM cycle a few years ago and was consistently impressed by her.&nbsp; She was dynamic and vibrant; not even Gable could eclipse her.&nbsp; No film demonstrates how well Crawford&#039;s acting has aged than GRAND HOTEL.&nbsp; While Garbo and the Barrymore&#039;s acting looks antiquated, Joan&#039;s performance still feels fresh.As a longtime Crawford (onscreen) defender, I have been gratified by the recent rehabilitation of her professional image.&nbsp; The most unfortunate impact of MOMMIE DEAREST was the decades-long poo-pooing of Joan&#039;s work; as if being a (probably) terrible mother had to mean she was also a bad actress.The biggest drawback to Crawford&#039;s career is that she didn&#039;t often get great material.&nbsp; No one was better at elevating trash than Joan, but it&#039;s a shame she had to carry so many movies entirely on her shoulders.&nbsp; And sometimes even when she had good material, she wasn&#039;t ideally cast.&nbsp; My hot take: I&#039;d swap Stanwyck&#039;s and Crawford&#039;s noir defining roles, Crawford in DOUBLE INDEMNITY, Stanwyck in MILDRED PIERCE.&nbsp; Maternal warmth -- as one can imagine -- wasn&#039;t Joan&#039;s forte, but Stanwyck could be genuinely warm and sympathetic on screen in a way that neither Crawford nor Davis could be.&nbsp; My mind reels at the thought of Joan as a femme fatale, while she was at the cusp of sexy and flinty.Perhaps my most controversial Old Hollywood opinion has long been that Davis is overrated; her reputation has been self-perpetuating.&nbsp; Some roles (EVE; JANE; CHARLOTTE) made perfect use of her drag queen flamboyance and in THE LITTLE FOXES at least she shrewdly underplayed; but I find much of her screen work to be overwrought and stagey.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Crimson, post: 437688, member: 5079"] Joan's MGM films have their flaws -- but she is not one of them. I went through some of her MGM cycle a few years ago and was consistently impressed by her. She was dynamic and vibrant; not even Gable could eclipse her. No film demonstrates how well Crawford's acting has aged than GRAND HOTEL. While Garbo and the Barrymore's acting looks antiquated, Joan's performance still feels fresh. As a longtime Crawford ([I]onscreen[/I]) defender, I have been gratified by the recent rehabilitation of her professional image. The most unfortunate impact of MOMMIE DEAREST was the decades-long poo-pooing of Joan's work; as if being a (probably) terrible mother had to mean she was also a bad actress. The biggest drawback to Crawford's career is that she didn't often get great material. No one was better at elevating trash than Joan, but it's a shame she had to carry so many movies entirely on her shoulders. And sometimes even when she had good material, she wasn't ideally cast. My hot take: I'd swap Stanwyck's and Crawford's noir defining roles, Crawford in DOUBLE INDEMNITY, Stanwyck in MILDRED PIERCE. Maternal warmth -- as one can imagine -- wasn't Joan's forte, but Stanwyck could be genuinely warm and sympathetic on screen in a way that neither Crawford nor Davis could be. My mind reels at the thought of Joan as a femme fatale, while she was at the cusp of sexy and flinty. Perhaps my most controversial Old Hollywood opinion has long been that Davis is overrated; her reputation has been self-perpetuating. Some roles (EVE; JANE; CHARLOTTE) made perfect use of her drag queen flamboyance and in THE LITTLE FOXES at least she shrewdly underplayed; but I find much of her screen work to be overwrought and stagey. [/QUOTE]

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Who played JR Ewing?