Harriet Craig

11/2/19501h 30m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ What Was Harriet Craig's Lie? ~

Overview:

A perfectionist woman's devotion to her home drives away friends and family.

Director:

Vincent Sherman

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

obsession
based on play or musical
loneliness

Cast

Joan Crawford

~ as ~

Harriet Craig

Wendell Corey

~ as ~

Walter Craig

Lucile Watson

~ as ~

Celia Fenwick

Allyn Joslyn

~ as ~

Billy Birkmire

William Bishop

~ as ~

Wes Miller

K.T. Stevens

~ as ~

Clare Raymond

Viola Roache

~ as ~

Mrs. Harold

Raymond Greenleaf

~ as ~

Henry Fenwick

Ellen Corby

~ as ~

Lottie

Virginia Brissac

~ as ~

Mother of Harriet Craig (Uncredited)

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 2 year(s) ago
7
An elegant, demure, Joan Crawford is mesmerising in this compact and slightly menacing drama. She is the eponymous wife of "George" (Wendell Corey), on the face of it a happily married lady whose husband keeps her in a certain style. As we discover more about her personality, however, we encounter a controlling, lying, deviously manipulative creature who arranges the lives of those around her - her husband, her cousin "Claire" (K.T. Stevens), even the family retainers find themselves pawns in her game. It all comes to head, though, when his boss decides to promote "George" to a new position in Tokyo. She is having none of that and convinces him to cancel the appointment claiming her spouse has a gambling habit that only she can control. A combination of circumstances enable him to find out about her manoeuvrings and ensures their ensuing contretemps - including a reckoning with her cousin, and the housekeeper hanging up her apron for the last time - makes for a compelling scene that challenges any love the couple ever had for the other... Vincent Sherman and George Duning's score help the tension build successfully into quite a fitting ending. It features quite a nice little cameo from Lucile Watson as his bosses wife - who appears, at once, to see though much of the charade, packs a lot into 90 minutes, and is great watch.