Faye Dunaway on Film

[Crimson]

All of the talk about Faye Dunaway in the MOMMIE DEAREST/DYNASTY/VALLEY OF THE DOLLS thread has sparked an interest for me to revisit her films. She's long been one of my favorite actresses, but it's been years since I've watched any of her movies.

I have 15 of her films (1967 to 1984, the only vintage of her career that really interests me) in my digital collection; I thought about watching them in chronological order, but I decided to get the worst out of the way first.

SUPERGIRL (1984)

Even as a fan of comic book movies, this one is pretty bad; and, yet, not quite as bad as SUPERMAN III or IV. There's really not much to say about the film beyond Dunaway herself.

It's an oddity of Hollywood that so many actresses see their careers collapse right after hitting an apparent peak. It certainly happened to Faye after winning an Oscar for NETWORK. Add in the calamity of MOMMIE DEAREST to her already dwindling career, and Faye was reduced to cheesy shlock like SUPERGIRL. It's always curious to see a very talented actor in a very bad movie. They often seem uncertain of how to proceed: play it straight, ham it up, or phone it in? Faye tried her best to seemingly have fun with the flamboyant villainess here, but you can practically see the confusion in her eyes, reconciling her Method with the nonsense she was asked to say in this movie.

It's all uphill from here!

 

[Crimson]

A sad indication of how far Dunaway's career had sank that this gag from THE SIMPSONS circa the mid-90s seemed ... plausible.

 

[Angela Channing]

My favourite film of hers is Network (1976) in which she plays a TV network executive who is only interested in rating and honesty, good taste and decency are thrown out the window if it conflicts with her ambitions to improve audience figures. It's one of the great acting performances by a woman in 1970s cinema.

 

[TaranofPrydain]

One film of hers that deserves a second look is Puzzle of a Downfall Child. It's a psychological mood piece with her as a former fashion model who left the business after a nervous breakdown, and, as the film starts, is giving a rare interview to a reporter. The film rests entirely on her performance, and she's exceptional in it.

It is rated R (although mild by today's standards), so this is an age-restricted video....

 

[Crimson]

Puzzle of a Downfall Child

I haven't seen this one, but good to know it's available.

 

[Crimson]

Continuing along the path of getting the worst out of the way ... MOMMIE DEAREST (1981). It's been at least 10, maybe even 15, years since I've watched this; I long ago banished it from my viewing rotation due to being increasingly uneasy about its handling of its true(ish) subject matter. But it's impossible to do a retrospective of Faye's career without including it -- as much as she may wish otherwise -- so here I am.

Yuck. Coming at this with a fresh vantage, the movie is so much worse than I recalled. Mostly, to my surprise, I found it kind of boring. This is a fourth-rate melodrama, flat and turgid. I can always tell when I'm bored with a film, because my hand instinctively reaches for the remote control to fast forward. My hand spent a line of time reaching. This is all sketchy and shallow. Characters speak in ellipses about vague subjects ("the movie" or "the role"). And then, every so often, the film explodes in sensationalistic violence that's too cartoonish to be expose but too harrowing to be camp. Again -- yuck.

But this is mostly about Faye, and here I'm stumped in my reaction. The performance is brilliant and atrocious. She gets Crawford in a way that transcends waxwork impersonation and gives a performance I can only call mesmerizing, but with no conclusion that it's good or bad. I find myself somewhat sympathetic towards Faye's blaming this on the director for not reeling her in. She unleashed the full might of her talents in this role, but lacked a script or director that was strong enough to channel it. One thing is certain: if this movie works at all, it's entirely due to her. Had it been Anne Bancroft in this film (as opposed to a theoretically better script), the results might have been 'better' but almost certainly more boring. I suspect she would have given a more controlled, nuanced performance, but to what end? Without Dunaway's lunacy, this would have been lifeless, one step above those tepid TV-movie of the week biopics of the same era.

I could happily go another 20 years without seeing this again.

 

[ClassyCo]

I can't necessarily classify myself as a Dunaway fan, although I have enjoyed her in MOMMIE DEAREST and BONNIE & CLYDE. The former has since fallen out of my viewing routines because of the language, and I haven't seen the latter in a while (although I have a nice anniversary collection of it on DVD somewhere in the shuffle).

Outside of those two films, however, I can't recall seeing Dunaway in anything.

On a more personal note, my mother (whose name is "Faye") used to be told during her younger days that she looked like a young Dunaway (or Meryl Streep).

 

[DallasFanForever]

I think to me she will always be synonymous with Mommie Dearest. That’s the first movie I think of when I think of Faye. The controversy of the movie aside, I’ve never thought of her performance as anything less than spectacular. I know a lot of people would disagree though.

 

[ClassyCo]

she will always be synonymous with Mommie Dearest. That’s the first movie I think of when I think of Faye

Same goes for me. Every time I hear Dunaway's name, I instantly think of her version of "Joan" and MOMMIE DEAREST.

The controversy of the movie aside, I’ve never thought of her performance as anything less than spectacular. I know a lot of people would disagree though.

I would actually agree that -- despite the load of hogwash MOMMIE DEAREST dishes out -- Dunaway's performance as Crawford is quite good. Too bad the script and direction weren't better to match the commitment level she had to turn in a good performance. It's also a shame that FX didn't at least try and get Dunaway to play Crawford in the FEUD miniseries, which, I'm sure, she wouldn't have done anyway.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Even Dunaway admits that MOMMIE DEAREST caused her own image and that of Crawford to merge for, more or less, forever.

But there's some justice in that. Tinseltown's two greatest divas (arguably) were a mutual admiration society, and people seem interested in others who remind them of themselves -- either fondly (Crawford and Dunaway) or contemptuously (Crawford and Davis).

As good as Jessica Lange can be, she was just out of her grande guignol league.

 

[Angela Channing]

She appeared in a pretty good episode of Columbo in the 1990s which was one of the better instalments of the rebooted series. She played the murderer who flirted outrageously with Columbo. I believe she won an Emmy for her performance.

 

[DallasFanForever]

. It's also a shame that FX didn't at least try and get Dunaway to play Crawford in the FEUD miniseries, which, I'm sure, she wouldn't have done anyway.

Faye playing Joan again would’ve been epic. Unfortunately the press would’ve had a field day with it and I’m sure it would’ve turned into a media circus so I would’ve understood her reasons for not doing it had they offered.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

There's no way Dunaway would have played Crawford a second time -- not because the first time went so badly, but because it was so legendary!

 

[Crimson]

Of course Dunaway would never have played Crawford again, but if I'm going to let my mind linger on a fantasy recast of FUED there's no point in imagining the second best option: give me Dunaway. She had half of a brilliant performance there; perhaps she could have redeemed it with a better conception of character. It's incredible that Dunaway 'recreated' Crawford in a way that transcended mere impersonation, but still turned it into character assassination. Even Christina has said the performance was nothing like Joan ("only the makeup").

It's funny to me that even when the film thinks it's being flattering to Joan, it rings false. The famous boardroom scene has impacted public perception of Crawford as much as wire hangers, but it has more to do with 80s soaps than Joan Crawford. I could imagine Bette Davis bellowing at a boardroom full of men in real life, but that wasn't Joan's style. Yes she had an admirable career on the board for Pepsi and the line "I fought worse monsters than you for years ..." was apparently taken directly from the meeting notes; but that meeting was also said to be cordial and professional. Because of course it was, that was Joan's style. Her rages were directed at maids and children. Otherwise her entire professional demeanor was exaggerated propriety and phony-baloney graciousness.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Of course Dunaway would never have played Crawford again, but if I'm going to let my mind linger on a fantasy recast of FUED there's no point in imagining the second best option: give me Dunaway. She had half of a brilliant performance there; perhaps she could have redeemed it with a better conception of character. It's incredible that Dunaway 'recreated' Crawford in a way that transcended mere impersonation, but still turned it into character assassination. Even Christina has said the performance was nothing like Joan ("only the makeup").

It's funny to me that even when the film thinks it's being flattering to Joan, it rings false. The famous boardroom scene has impacted public perception of Crawford as much as wire hangers, but it has more to do with 80s soaps than Joan Crawford. I could imagine Bette Davis bellowing at a boardroom full of men in real life, but that wasn't Joan's style. Yes she had an admirable career on the board for Pepsi and the line "I fought worse monsters than you for years ..." was apparently taken directly from the meeting notes; but that meeting was also said to be cordial and professional. Because of course it was, that was Joan's style. Her rages were directed at maids and children. Otherwise her entire professional demeanor was exaggerated propriety and phony-baloney graciousness.

Bullies are always cowards. And a nursery full of babies is easier to tackle than a smoke-filled room full of smug and paunchy gin-swilling sixty-something male executives.

If Joan said "phukc" to them, it likely meant something else.

 

[Crimson]

One of the odd things I noticed when I started enjoying Dunaway's work was that while professional critics were generally favorable to her during her peak years (when warranted), there was a strain of film writers that really disliked her.

The very first book on movies I ever bought was this weird tome: Rating the Movie Stars. In it, the author called Dunaway a "cold, distant, artificial and WASPy actress" who only rose to the top on "lucky casting". In the book The Great Movie Stars vol 2, David Shipman had this to say about Faye: "Faye Dunaway's screen career started around the time there began a decline in interest in female stars in film. It would be churlish to suggest she was a contributing factor, but it must be said she did nothing to stop the rot."

Odd sentiments to me because, really, which actresses of the 70s were better than Dunaway? Fonda has certainly outlasted Faye, much as Hepburn outlasted Davis. But Fonda, who had been so delicious in the 60s, was so uptight on screen in the 70s; chasing after Redgrave on who could be the most pretentious activist-actress. I mean, who else was there the 70s -- Mia Farrow?

 

[ClassyCo]

For the '70s, I'd say Dunaway was definitely the top contender for being "the" actress of the decade. There are a few other actresses that I think of when I think of the era, but she probably had the best roles and gave the best performances that decade.

 

[Crimson]

Bullies are always cowards.

100% -- and just another indication of how much the film missed the mark. By portraying Crawford as a raging bully in all aspects of her life, it undermined just how terrifying it must have been to Christina when this otherwise decorous woman flew into a rage.

 

[TaranofPrydain]

One of the odd things I noticed when I started enjoying Dunaway's work was that while professional critics were generally favorable to her during her peak years (when warranted), there was a strain of film writers that really disliked her.

The very first book on movies I ever bought was this weird tome: Rating the Movie Stars. In it, the author called Dunaway a "cold, distant, artificial and WASPy actress" who only rose to the top on "lucky casting". In the book The Great Movie Stars vol 2, David Shipman had this to say about Faye: "Faye Dunaway's screen career started around the time there began a decline in interest in female stars in film. It would be churlish to suggest she was a contributing factor, but it must be said she did nothing to stop the rot."

Odd sentiments to me because, really, which actresses of the 70s were better than Dunaway? Fonda has certainly outlasted Faye, much as Hepburn outlasted Davis. But Fonda, who had been so delicious in the 60s, was so uptight on screen in the 70s; chasing after Redgrave on who could be the most pretentious activist-actress. I mean, who else was there the 70s -- Mia Farrow?

Its ironic that at the height of the first feminist movement how few legitimate female stars there were in the 70s. Dunaway and Barbra Streisand were the only two who were consistently stars through the whole decade; Fonda barely worked from 1972 to 1977, Redgrave took too many smaller character parts, Glenda Jackson kind of petered out over halfway through, Mia Farrow got lost in the shuffle, I guess you could make a claim for Ellen Burstyn or Diane Keaton (even if she was mostly tied to Woody Allen and Godfather films at the time). Marsha mason had that run of successful films written by her husband late in the decade.

She appeared in a pretty good episode of Columbo in the 1990s which was one of the better instalments of the rebooted series. She played the murderer who flirted outrageously with Columbo. I believe she won an Emmy for her performance.

Faye did indeed win the Emmy for best guest appearance , beating out Bonnie Bedilia and Laura Dern on Fallen Angels, Stockard Channing on Road to Avonlea, Penny Fuller on NYPD Blue, and Marlee Matlin on Picket Fences (which was a fantastic guest turn, and likely the second place finisher).

 

[Crimson]

Its ironic that at the height of the first feminist movement how few legitimate female stars there were in the 70s.

Yes, it's odd. Mary Tyler Moore, on TV, was probably more relevant than any of the female film stars of the era. Lots of lovely & talented actresses in the 70s of course; I'd add in Candice Bergen and Jacqueline Bisset to your list, even if they were mostly decorative. But none of the actresses of the era had the kind of star power ladies had in all previous, and pretty much subsequent, decades; only Dunaway and (I agree) Streisand.