I love film--good, old-fashioned silver nitrate, restored Hollywood. Grainy, moody movies viewed best at night, while snuggled into a chair with a glass of wine. Vintage Hollywood greats take us on a tour of life, speaking universal truths that broaden our own lives.
Bette Davis in Now, Voyager turns the negative, natural response to life's misery inside out. Even though her mother is abusive, and her lover is untouchable, Davis' Charlotte Vale is never bitter or angry, optimistically surviving it all, contented to the end. It's a great film for the holiday weekend. Davis is at her best. You can never go wrong the big name, Warner Brothers star-driven dramas of the late 'thirties/early 'forties.
In the '20s MGM trained its young hopefuls in a boot camp of sorts. An early-to-bed-early-to-rise regime book-ended classes in diction, poise, dancing, camera technique, modeling, and makeup. After these glamour lessons, women would be tested in short films for their audience appeal. Being cut anywhere along the way meant a ride back home, or worse -- a life as a beautiful, young girl alone in Los Angeles. Before they even left LA's Union Station, untold numbers of starlets even fell victim to train station swindles and worse.
In 1924 dancer Lucille LeSueur boarded her Pullman car in Kansas City for Tinseltown. She had stars in her eyes, a dream in her head, and determination in her soul. MGM changed her name, she took her knocks, and Hollywood gave America Joan Crawford. Her performance in 1932's Rain -- a perfect film about religious hypocrisy -- sealed her stardom. Joan Crawford would remain an iconic star the rest of her life.
Joan presented a near-perfectly choreographed pubic persona, and her body of work speaks for itself. My favorite, Mildred Pierce, led to her only Oscar. Its pacing, screenplay, and acting make for a timeless film. If you haven't seen it, rent it. If you don't love it, rethink your life: you're either moving too fast or you only respond to a loud movie. Today's high budget, over-produced films either sugar coat life or are full of violent noise. The audience is listening all right, but nothing much is ever said in the big blockbusters.
Thankfully, for those questions of life that cause me to get frustrated or simply knock me into a quandary, Joan's 1971 book, Joan Crawford: My Way of Life, sits on my desk, a ready manual on how to handle anything life might throw you in the most "Joan" of ways.
Get up early. Put on a happy face, and get to work. Don't put anything off. Make a list, and get things done - no old business hanging over your head. As she recounts "Putting off hard work for thirty years means you're going to have to do thirty years work in one day." Volunteer and stay busy. Be a doer; you won't have time to complain, only time to laugh at your own mistakes. Stand on the shoulders of those who came before you and the work you accomplished yesterday.
Life is short, so Joan has mapped out chapter after chapter about how a woman of the last generation became, and remained, bigger than life. It was never entitlement, just hard work, determination, and good luck.
Stardom was something Joan wore on her sleeve every public moment of her life. By writing this book she makes aspects of her private life public. On raising her children, Joan says, "I think I was a good mother. I was strict about some things. When they were old enough to stand on a stool at the sink, they washed out their shoelaces, polished their little white shoes everyday before putting them away. I balanced it with love, tenderness, and plenty of time." And: "My twins tell me they had a marvelous childhood. A parent has to guide, advise, educate, and love their children. If they're sure of love, they'll accept the guidance."
"Cleanliness is next to Godliness" was a tenet of the last couple of generations. Joan exclaims, "Scrubbing (the floor) for me is the greatest exercise in the world. It gives me rosy cheeks, and I just have a ball."
Most of the book recounts her years with Alfred Steele, chairman of PEPSICO, and the years following his death when she remained on the board of directors.
Packing for a long trip? Joan shares her experience: "First choose the dresses and assemble the accessories on the bed. Stuff the sleeves with tissue so they won't wrinkle. At the end you have 12-15 suitcases for a one week trip. In a public relations job like mine, a varied wardrobe is what people expect."
Joan's tongue in-cheek book is a bible for today's lost Americans who are looking for a better life. Stop looking so far; it's all right there inside of you. All you have to do is act on it. The world will always welcome people who get things done.
Joan reminds us, if you want a perfect, clean world, you need to live perfectly and clean. If you want a happy world free of violence and negativity, be happy; don't be violent and negative. Today's obsession with the negative behavior of a few starlets impedes a happier life.
Crawford's rich, opulent life was a lot of work. Joan writes that the good old days never really existed. Then like now, happiness was measured in work, good deeds, love, and the legacy you leave. Sadly, Joan never got to comment on her daughter's highly debated story. My hope is that future generations will only remember Joan's body of work and that which she wanted us to know about the good life.
Before hosting holiday parties Joan advises walking through the living room greeting imaginary guests before they arrive. Say wonderful, upbeat things and throw compliments throughout the room to the invisible guests. That wacky Joan! Friends said Crawford's parties were a hoot. They said, "Joan not only gives a party, she goes to it!"
If you give a party, be sure to go to it. Be like Joan, and all your holidays will be merry and bright.