CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Donald Seymour This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Matho The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Mikel3 We viewed this movie last night through TCM on demand; I'd only seen parts of it in the past, not the whole film. I was impressed by Joan Crawford's skillful depiction of a highly intelligent woman whose face had been disfigured when she was as child. Her character seemed to be a genius in her knowledge and musical abilities. Because of her appearance she'd been shunned and unjustly treated; this forced her to hide half of her face from others. She spends most of her time in seclusion with a band of misfits and crooks. Her rejection by society turned her into a seemingly heartless blackmailer among other things. We could see that beneath her bitterness was a spark of something else, something good perhaps; her doctor played by Melvyn Douglas sees this too. Her doctor presents her with hope to restore her face using his skill, but will it work? It was an unusual role for Ms. Crawford IMO, at this stage in her career I'd figured she'd always want to look her most beautiful in roles. I couldn't imagine her appearing less than attractive even for part of a film; yet here she allowed her face to appear disfigured in some scenes. It was reminiscent for me of scenes that Gloria Grahame did years later in 'The Big Heat', another excellent film. The supporting cast in 'A Woman's Face' is good, especially Conrad Veidt as the evil man who has her in his power because he finds her attractive. For him she is willing to do anything...almost. The unthinkable crime he wants her to commit is the crux of the story, I won't reveal it here except to say at times we were on the edge of our seats wondering would she do it. Also of note in the supporting cast are Marjorie Main as a servant jealous of Joan and Albert Bassermann as a kindly grandfather. I highly recommend this film and give it a rating of 8 out of 10 stars.

JohnHowardReid Copyright 6 May 1941 by Loew's Inc. An M-G-M picture. New York opening at the Capitol: 15 May 1941. U.S. release: 23 May 1941. U.K. release: 30 August 1941. Australian release: 9 October 1941. Length: 9,565 feet. 106 minutes. (The Warner DVD rates ten out of ten).NOTES: Cukor told me that the wonderful snowstorm climax was shot by a second unit under the direction of producer Victor Saville.COMMENT: After a most impressive opening, this film is undermined by some tedious and banal dialogue scenes, all shot in extremely long and boring takes. Fortunately, it ends with a bang — a sleigh chase so dramatically inter-cut, and filmed by Victor Saville from such a diverse variety of angles, it cannot fail to move the spectator to the edge of his chair. Sad to say, Melvyn Douglas is a liability who does nothing for the film, and even such a stalwart trouper as Marjorie Main remains disappointingly lackluster in a role she should have relished. But the rest of the cast, particularly Donald Meek and Osa Massen, have a royal time with this melodrama. Crawford and Veidt have their moments too, though they fail to sustain their portrayals at a high pitch of intensity; while Henry Daniell and George Zucco strive valiantly to make their presence felt in small roles. Planck's photography, particularly his outre lighting of the earlier scenes, is superb. The art direction is similarly impressive.A SECOND VIEW: As I inferred above, the first half-hour or so is marvelous — despite some remarkably fatuous dialogue of the "Do you like music: symphonies, concertos?" caliber. Fortunately, the best witnesses are brought on right at the start, with Donald Meek absolutely delightful as a rascally waiter, while boring old windbags like Bassermann bring up the rear. Alas, once the operation is over, the film's interest nosedives. We can see the denouement coming a mile off, but the characters take their own nice time getting there. Even the climax on the cable car over the dam and the night chase in the sleighs with lots of speeded-up action and obvious meanwhile-back-in-the-studio inserts, fail to generate much excitement. Cukor's direction is at its stylish best in the initial segments, the tone set by such opening masterstrokes as the rapidly cut tracking shots of Crawford and her guards. Crawford, of course, is great, but Douglas rates as a pain (fortunately he's not in the film all that much). Veidt makes a charming villain. And there's a terrific music score by Kaper.

Dalbert Pringle Released in 1941 - In the fine tradition of a classic, Hollywood, glamor film, this Joan Crawford vehicle from MGM delivers a fairly entertaining bit of melodrama that builds quite nicely into its high-speed climax (on horse-driven sleighs, no less).Joan Crawford plays Anna Holm, a conniving member of a ruthless blackmailing ring who are operating very successfully within the fair city of Stockholm, Sweden.Featuring some very good make-up effects, Anna, whose face (on its right side) has been badly disfigured by a burning accident many years ago, has her own ax to grind as she cold-heartedly dishes out a very special brand of criminal treachery.With its story told mainly through flashbacks, Anna is accused of cold-blooded murder and witnesses to Anna's activities are individually called into the courtroom in order to give testimony that points decidedly against Anna's innocence to this crime.As our story gets underway, Anna meets, by chance, a skilled plastic surgeon who offers his surgical expertise in order to help repair her badly-scarred face. Seeing this as her hope for starting a new life, Anna agrees to undergo cosmetic surgery, but with her new transformation she finds that the ties to her dark past are so much stronger than she had realized.Filmed in glossy b&w, A Woman's Face was competently directed by George Cukor whose other notable films from the 1940s and 50s include Gaslight, Adam's Rib, The Philadelphia Story, and A Star Is Born.

ramito-1 Yes, Joan is great, and she looks quite luminous in several scenes. However, If you were hoping for the evil, scar-faced she-devil promised by the stills and advertising, don't hold your breath.By the time you slog though the Nordic'regional' costumes and 'folkloric' dances midway through the film, you'll wonder why you thought this film was going to offer you any noir-ish thrills. Maybe as long as you are not led-astray to think you are getting a film with any real noir-qualities besides being black and white, perhaps you won't be as disappointed as I was.For me, the shift off to the hokey winter wonderland pretty well kills off any depth the film may have seemed to promise, as well as any realism or momentum to keep me interested.But wait! Just when I was wondering how the VERY promising premise of the film could go so wrong, there is a high-speed sleigh-ride chase. Now *that's* different. Over-all, I see this film as an opportunity missed...