Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Lumsdal Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

LouHomey From my favorite movies..

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

sol1218 ***SPOILERS*** Over the top drama with manipulating back stabbing and blackmailing Eva Phillips, Joan Crawford,trying to have things her way at the expense of everyone else in the movie. The Chicago born Eva had gotten hold of southern gentleman Avery "Scarface" Phillips (Barry Sullivan), who was in Chicago attending a business convention, to marry her 10 years ago by claiming that she was in the family way and that it was Avery who put her there.Now the big shot wife of the richest man in the county, outside of Atlanta Georgia, the power hungry and control freak Eve wants to keep things her way by controlling everyone in the Phillips household. It's when her cousin from the "Windy City" Jenniffer Stewart, Lucy Marion, shows up to look after the Phillips' kids Ted & Trissa, Tom Hovey & Linda Bennett, that things get real hot and heavy at the Phillips' Mansion. Eva who had a affair with her husband's best fiend and now textile mill manager Judson Paretiss, John Ireland, before they were married is a bit ticked off that he's now planning to marry her sister-in-law Carollee Phillips,Besty Palmer, since she still has the hots for Judson after all these years. Eva in spreading rumors that Judson is involved with another woman-and guess who that woman is-has a distraught and heart broken Carollee, and expert equestrian, go to the Phillips Mansion's horse stables and hang herself. Jennifer herself got a taste of Eva's hostility when she after telling her how great is was that Judson & Carollee were to be married,that's before Carollee did herself in,that she almost got a couple of her teeth knocked out by a vicious right that an enraged Eva threw at her.The already alcoholic Avery now drinking more then ever in order to get Eva out of his mind falls in love with Jennifer and secretly plans to marry her after dumping, via divorce, Eva. Finding that out Eva starts to plant rumors about her unfaithful husband Avery having an illicit affair with his new babysitter,Jennifer Stewart, that can destroy his standing as a God fearing and straight shooting southern gentleman in the close-nit and church going southern community. ****SPOILERS**** Judson who's life was already destroyed by his former lover Eva Phillips in driving his fiancée Carollee to suicide now takes matters into his own hand to finally put and end to Eva's jealous and insane tyranny that's destroying almost everyone that she comes in contact with in the movie. Having Avery get good and drunk, which wasn't that hard to do, Judson takes Eva out for a ride in the country that's to be the last ride that he and Eva will ever have. Thinking that Judson is taking her to some motel to rekindle their previous relationship Judson going at speeds of over 100 MPH on a rain slick highway drives the car off a cliff with a frantic Eva unsuccessfully, by him having the doors locked, trying to jump out before the car hit bottom!P.S Joan Crawford's performance as Eva Phillips was so much like her in real life that her 16 year old adopted and abused daughter Christina found it impossible to sit through a showing of the film and ran out of the movie house that was playing it before the movie ended!

writers_reign I remember stumbling on this several years ago and admiring Barry Sullivan's dialogue, both the dialogue itself and the way Sullivan delivered it. Although one line that stayed in my mind appears to be missing I still get a kick out of Sullivan's dialogue and even John Ireleand, a graduate of the Charlton Heston Redwood School Of Acting, weighs in with a half decent performance and handles a couple of Sullivan left-over zingers with something approaching style. They are, of course, merely the hors d'ouevres, setting up the palate for the caviar that is Joan Crawford and arguably the best example of late-blooming Crawford on celluloid. Although we're smack dab in the middle of decaying magnolia country no one makes much of a stab at a Southern accent but almost everyone makes a decent fist of this out-and-out meller.

RanchoTuVu Joan Crawford's least likable character could be the one she played in this film, as a controlling and vindictive woman of wealth who runs and ruins (or nearly ruins) the lives of all those whom she has relationships with in her large southern plantation mansion. Apparently the relationships come out of her money and their lack of it, as well as the level of her misdirected intelligence and lack of empathy for others, none of which gets explained very fully. Even to her own children, the product of her marriage to heavy drinking philosophizing character played by Barry Sullivan, she shows a cold disregard, especially the choice of a nanny, who's even meaner than Joan. Into this dysfunction comes Jennifer Stewart as a young cousin from Chicago who upsets the strange family chemistry that has been developing over the years, befriending the poor kids, and catching a lot of eyes. John Ireland seems a natural as the one guy who can and does (in some well done scenes) stand up to Queen Bee Joan, presenting his usual suppressed aversion to injustice while also straddling the fence. It's worth sticking with for the ending.

fimimix I really think that Ms. Crawford ("Eva Phillips") kept a bunch of writers on-salary to write these movies particularly for her. Randall MacDougall certainly was one of those ! Can't you see her deciding which lines to "keep" and which ones to "ditch" ?? "Avery Phillips" (Barry Sullivan) was truly good in his alcoholic role - didn't you know the end of the movie would involve a car-accident when he picked up "Eva's" keys from his desk? I really didn't understand why the niece committed suicide - it was plain to me that "Eva" had hitched-up with every male in The South. John Ireland ("Judson Prentiss") was good in his role, as were Betsy Palmer and all the rest.The star of the show, of course, is the wardrobe Ms. Crawford wears. I recall the TV-appeal they had her to do for poor people all around the world, some time ago. Everyone in the world could have, at that time, been fed if they just hocked the necklace she was wearing. True Crawford ! "Poor people, but keep you hands off my necklace !"Yeah, the drag-queens really got some fodder for their acts, especially the fabulous Charles Pearce, who did an act about a bitch-fight between Bette Davis and Crawford, just by turning his wig around......but by using his own material. For those of you who didn't have the privilege of seeing Pearce perform, you missed some great talent....almost as famous as the ladies he mimicked.You weren't aware that the lighting for this movie were designed to highlight Crawford's eyes - thick brows, or not ?I think this film was a story of Crawford's real life - her own daughter couldn't sit through it. I loved "Queen Bee", because it made me laugh at such meanness, although I've known a lot of those people, too. You gotta admit one thing: NO ONE does "queen of mean" like Crawford did. Today's actresses don't have it in them to be mean AND glamorous - younger people may not realize that movies, in those days, ALWAYS had lines in them to say "how beautiful" the leading lady was.I'm not a hard-core fan of hers, but I truly enjoyed Crawford in "Queen Bee". Bravo to all!