A remake of CRAIG'S WIFE (1936) which was based on a Broadway play.
This third version still has a lot of that theatre style in both the physical and vocal performances, and if you're looking for subtlety then you're not going to find it here.
The movie opens with a jolly, faux-hysterical scene reminiscent of the typical kitchen havoc in UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS (or any of those light-hearted British "bonnet" dramas) and for a moment I thought that this movie wasn't for me.
After that, the reason for all the panic is revealed as being Joan Crawford who delivers her lines at high-speed, and for the second time I began to doubt my choice for youtube-movie-of-the-day.
Thankfully it doesn't take long to see what this Harriet Craig is all about: a bossy control freak who makes it very clear that the main staircase is not meant to be trampled on by servants, and that was reason enough for me to take the bait.
Her diva-esque behaviour is rooted in a fear of loss and abadonment which is based on her belief that all men are genetically designed to cause exactly
that, intentional or not.
In a way it reminded me of Sable Colby who was also fighting a problem that wasn't really
there, and that problem became a reality
because of her shenanigans.
The problem (real or not) was more high-stakes in THE COLBYS but I find the angle rather similar.
The wife of Mr. Craig's boss is the Constance Patterson who complicates the situation even further, and not without a whiff of glee.
All of that still isn't an excuse for the way Harriet treats the people around her and yet I found myself rooting for her a little bit.
She's created her imaginary "perfect" world and she desperately tries to hold on to it which suggests an appreciation for what she has, her warped interpretation thereof notwithstanding.
But at least she's not greedy, she doesn't want
more.
The uploader has classified HARRIET CRAIG as film noir so I expected something more sinister in the style of ALL ABOUT EVE.
Harriet's niece Clare (played by LeAnn Rimes look-alike K.T. Stevens) seems a little too devoted to her aunt's well-being and Harriet's know-nothing-about-anything husband Walter seems a little too comfortable with his wife's endless list of rules and demands.
Influenced by the misguided "film noir" tag I was waiting for the murder plot to happen. That doesn't happen and that itself is not a problem but it does make Walter and Clare look very weak and gullible, to the point of suspending disbelief.
Oddly enough that makes them even more unlikeable than the could-have-been murder plotters. It's almost as if they deserve the Harriet Craig treatment.
This also applies to the widow neighbour and her cute kid (I found him terribly annoying).
The soapiest part is when Harriet sabotages Walter's promotion, a promotion that could lead to the top of the company. Again, Harriet is not interested in more or bigger, she wants
exactly what she already has.
The sabotage scene looks remarkably subtle (by soap standards anyway) and it's yet another thing that would suit THE COLBYS very well.
I'm not sure where to place the reveal of her faked barrenness other than being the final nail in the coffin, a coffin that had looked pretty nailed down from the outset.
The momentum just isn't there.
And so the story ends with everything she's desperately tried to avoid, but since I simply couldn't expect a different outcome it all feels a bit underwhelming.
Not that the ending or final twist is the most important part of a movie - to me it's more important to enjoy what's happening on screen rather than the analyses afterwards - but it does help to make the story linger on.
Perhaps I've watched it the wrong way, perhaps it was meant to be watched as a comedy of sorts. Come to think of it, that makes more sense.
