Product: The Hollywood Collection - Joan Crawford: Always The Star
Rating: 4.0
Pretty good overview
To my knowledge there are only two biographies of Joan Crawford available on DVD:- this item, produced in the 1990s by Janson Media/Wombat Productions and- "Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star," produced in 2002 by Turner Classic Movies and included as a bonus feature onMildred Pierce (Keepcase).This DVD is shorter than the TCM program, but both are very good overviews of Crawford's life and career. Which one you prefer will likely depend on which of Joan's children you believe is telling the truth about her alleged abusive behavior (I know, it is terrible how any discussion of Crawford will invariably lead to this subject but since the two programs differ significantly in their presentation of it, it bears mentioning). This program does not interview Christina Crawford (author ofMommie Dearest) but instead interviews one of Joan's other daughters who says she never witnessed such behavior and doubts that it ever existed. The TCM program, however, features Christina as a main interviewee and in it she mentions several incidents of abuse.Watch both and decide for yourself. That point aside, this is worth adding to your classic Hollywood DVD library.