Christina Crawford's book, on which this film was based, was one of the biggest-selling memoirs in the history of American publishing, with more than 700,000 copies sold in hardback and more 3,000,000 in paperback.
To create the look of screen legend Joan Crawford, actress Faye Dunaway had a 4am make-up call each day of shooting for a minimum three-hour make-up and hair session.
In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Christina Crawford opened up about the film's famous title, saying that, "'Mommie dearest' was a term of enslavement. If we just called her 'Mother' or 'Mommy,' she corrected us over and over and over again."
According to Rutanya Alda, Faye Dunaway was despised by the crew due to her unpleasant attitude. "Joan got her way in a ladylike way. Faye was despised because she was so rude to people. Everyone was on pins and needles when she worked, and everyone relaxed when she didn't. I wish Faye had learned from Joan." This does go along with what Bette Davis said about Faye in numerous interviews; that she was rude and unprofessional.
Faye Dunaway truly felt she would win an Oscar for her performance as Joan Crawford. When the film was released to poor reviews and Paramount's promotion of the film as a camp classic, Dunaway was furious. To this day, she refuses to talk about the film. In fact, when she is interviewed, she submits a list of topics that are off-limits to the interviewer, one of which is 'Mommie Dearest.' She has been known to stop interviews if asked about the film. It has been stated by the real Christina Crawford that Dunaway claimed to have been haunted by the ghost of her mother and this has provided an explanation as to why Dunaway does not like to talk about the film.
In an interview in the Hollywood Royalty DVD, Rutanya Alda says she once looked in Christina Crawford's real closet, and she did have wire hangers.
The film takes place from 1938 to 1977.
Little love was lost between costume designer Irene Sharaff and Faye Dunaway. "Yes, you may enter Miss Dunaway's dressing room," Sharaff once said, "but first you must throw a raw steak in - to divert her attention." This is another colleague, including Rutanya Alta and Bette Davis, to say that Faye Dunaway was rude and unbearable to work with.
Soon after this film was released came "Frances", another biopic about old Hollywood actress Frances Farmer. Jessica Lange, who portrayed Farmer, later went on to play Joan Crawford in "Feud: Bette and Joan"
A month after the film was released to bad reviews, audiences flocked to see the film armed with Ajax and wire hangers to actively "participate" with the film in a manner similar to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (1975). Paramount seized on this new found notoriety and began to bill the film as a camp classic, with ads and posters proclaiming, "Meet the biggest MOTHER of them all!" Producer Frank Yablans was infuriated at this ad campaign.
The movie's line "No wire hangers, ever!" was voted as the #72 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100).
Joan's nemesis Bette Davis hated Faye Dunaway; maybe even more than she hated Joan herself. In a 1988 episode of NBCs "The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson"; Johnny asked Bette, the guest, who was her least favorite person in Hollywood. She replied "Faye Dunaway. And anyone else who sits here will say exactly the same thing". The fact that Bette said Faye and not Joan is a small miracle unto itself. Faye was said to have seen this, and was disturbed and angry about it; but decided not to take on Bette in some decades long feud. That might have been the right choice, seeing how long and bitterly Bette fought with Joan; and what wound up happening to Joan in the end.
The character of Carol Ann is a compilation of Joan's longtime secretaries and nannies. The actress who played the nanny "Carol Ann" kept a journal during filming Mommie Dearest and later published it as a tell-all book called 'The Mommie Dearest Diary' by Rutanya Alda. Rutanya alleges that Frank Perry repeatedly tells the make-up team to make her appear plainer and less attractive because he fears that Faye Dunaway will have her fired if she is at all pretty.
According to Christina Crawford, there were several scenes in which the script had to make alterations for real-life events. For example, for the famous rose bush cutting scene Christina said that those manic occasions happened periodically due to no real cause. The producers wanted to use the scenes but had to write in that it was brought on by Joan being fired by MGM executive Louis B. Mayer. Also in reference to Joan helping the maid scrub the floor, Christina stated that Joan never cleaned floors that she could remember. Joan would make Christina or Christopher clean the floors while she supervised.
Several members of the cast and crew had previous personal experiences with Joan Crawford. Costume designer Irene Sharaff, make-up artist Charles H. Schram and Vivienne Walker all worked with Crawford during the peak of her film career, while actress Rutanya Alda, who plays Carol Ann, had seen Crawford on the set of "Johnny Guitar" (1954), which was filmed close to Alda's childhood home. Years later, Crawford introduced herself to Alda on the set of "Rosemary's Baby" (1968), where Alda was working as a stand-in for Mia Farrow and Crawford was visiting the set with her friend Van Johnson. As well as this, as a child, first assistant director Michael Daves actually attended the lavish birthday party for Christina Crawford that is depicted in the film.
Only one of Joan Crawford's four marriages is portrayed in this movie, that to Alfred Steele, her last one, which lasted from May 10, 1955 to April 19, 1959 (ending with his passing).
The film was released three years after the source novel was published, and four years after Joan Crawford's passing in 1977.
Steve Forrest's character, Hollywood lawyer Greg Savitt, is based on Greg Bautzer, a powerful Hollywood attorney in the 1940's and 1950's.
Howard Da Silva, who plays MGM studio chief Louis B. Mayer, is the only actor in the film who actually worked for MGM at the same time as Joan Crawford during its 1930s/40s heyday, and in fact, he had a small role alongside Crawford in "Reunion in France" (1942).
The scene where Joan gets out of the cab in front of Christina's apartment was actually the same exterior used for "Laverne and Shirley's" Milwaukee apartment, which was filmed at Paramount Studios.
Although she was nominated for a "Worst Supporting Actress" Razzie for Mommie Dearest, the movie did not have the same devastating impact on Diana Scarwid's (adult Christina) career that it did for Faye Dunaway (and Joan Crawford for that matter!) For one thing, unlike Dunaway, Scarwid remained close to most of the cast after the movie wrapped; she and Rutanya Alda (Carol Ann) became lifelong friends. Scarwid went on to appear in the Oscar nominated Meryl Streep/Cher/ Mike Nichols production of "Silkwood" right after this. She also had a long running recurring role on "Wonderfalls". She also regularly appeared in TV shows like "Law and Oder SVU". She also doesn't shy away from "Mommie Dearest" in interviews, unlike Faye Dunaway; who thinks it ruined her career and rarely brings it up in interviews.
"Mommie Dearest" was released by Paramount Pictures. Paramount is the only major Hollywood film studio that Joan Crawford never worked for.
In the John Waters DVD commentary, he mostly defends the film, but has to admit that several scenes go way overboard. Like when Joan cuts her daughter's hair off, he says, at first pointing out how much Faye Dunaway resembles Joan Crawford: "It looks like a Joan Crawford movie." Followed by, "It looks like a William Castle movie... That's the problem."
Steve Forrest, the first romantic interest for Faye Dunaway in this film, is the younger brother of actor Dana Andrews, who played Joan's lover in Otto Preminger's "Daisy Kenyon".
The movie's line "No wire hangers!" was voted as the #89 of "The 100 Greatest Movie Lines" by Premiere in 2007.
Trivia items from IMDB
To listen to my fascinating conversation with actress RUTANYA ALDA - who played 'Carol Ann' in the film "Mommie Dearest" - who tells me about her 50-plus-year film career and her fabulous book "The Mommy Dearest Diary: Carol Ann Tells All" on my podcast - click on the links below. Enjoy!
Episode 61 - HERE
Episode 62 - HERE
