Melvyn Douglas on Joan Crawford

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One of my favorite hobbies is collecting and reading the autobiographies of classic movie stars. Last week, I finished Melvyn Douglas' fantastic autobiography, See You at the Movies. Douglas focuses on his theater work and political activism over the details of his film career, and shares his personal reflections on his life with candor and humor. Douglas does, however, illuminate the reader with his experiences on some of his films and his relationships with a handful of his costars.  I have a habit of immediately checking the index of an autobiography for Franchot's name. Although Franchot is mentioned, it is only briefly and not enlightening information. However, Melvyn Douglas does go into detail about Joan Crawford across the four films they made together. The quotes below are Melvyn's view of Joan and should not be attributed to Franchot, but I thought I would include them here for you to read anyway.

“None of the so-called Hollywood glamour queens, besides Garbo and Swanson, have aroused as much interest and given rise to as much out-and-out mythology as Joan Crawford, which is perhaps what the lady intended. Miss Crawford and I did four films together between 1935 and 1942, and she too struck me as a most unusual person.”

On the set of The Gorgeous Hussy: "I went onto the set where Miss Crawford, whom I scarcely knew, made a grand entrance in costume through one of the doors. She greeted me in a gracious and distinctly southern manner, less as if I was a fellow player than a guest in her house. This atmosphere continued throughout the making of the picture…In addition to Miss Crawford, the film included a number of other well-known players, such as the man she had just married, former Group Theatre actor Franchot Tone… Joan’s delicate comportment during the making of the picture was a surprise because, before coming on the set I had heard stories about her being a hail-fellow-well-met sort of person whose language was not exactly sanitary."

On the set of The Shining Hour and A Woman's Face: "By the time I made my next picture with her in 1938, she had again become rough, bluff and hearty. However, during the 1941 filming of A Woman’s Face, yet another Crawford persona emerged. She had at that time just adopted a little girl who would be led on to the set at about three-thirty or four every afternoon by a real English nanny. The arrival of this child, dressed in a pinafore, patent leather shoes, peek-a-boo gloves, ribbons in her hair and bonnet, would stop production for about a half hour while everyone gathered in a circle and Joan made a great show of being a mother."

During and after World War II: “Sometime during the first year of the war I helped to arrange a luncheon…and Joan showed up in yet another role. She had by this time divorced Tone and remarried. She arrived in an enormous picture hat and a long flowing skirt looking like an eighteen-year-old blushing bride. With eyes downcast and virginal hand timidly outstretched, she was introduced to the guest of honor… Over a period of time, and after witnessing a number of these transformations, one came to the conclusion that Joan played as many parts off the stage as on. She became an effective spokeswoman for Pepsi-Cola after the death of her fourth husband, and it is an interesting question whether she developed into a top-level executive out of an innate talent for administration or her ability to absorb and live a role. During the period when I knew her, I am not sure that, for better or worse, she would have recognized the difference—or even that there was a difference.”

Source: Douglas, Melvyn, and Tom Arthur. See You at the Movies: The Autobiography of Melvyn Douglas. Lanham, Md.: U of America ; 1986. 89-91. Print.