Mommie Dearest (1981) is a film about the life of screen actress Joan Crawford (played by Faye Dunaway). Directed by Frank Perry, the film spans from 1939 to 1977, chronicling the mental and physical abuse that one of Hollywood's greatest actresses inflicted on her two adopted children. The film is an adaptation of the book of the same name, written by Christina Crawford.
What inpsired Christina to write this book?
After enduring years of pain and making peace with her adopted mother, she attended the reading of Joan Crawford's last will and testament.
To my Daughter Christina and to my son Christopher
I leave nothing...for reasons known only to them.
Talk about a slap in the face from beyond the grave!
Christina vowed to have the last laugh with her cathartic retelling of her life with the late Ms Crawford.
What made this film so popular?
NO WIRE HANGERS!!!
The famous line shouted by Faye Dunaway in this campy cult classic.
Immediately after screaming the words, Joan energetically beats little Christina Crawford (played by Mara Hobel) with one of the actual wire hangers.
Little known fact: Diana Scarwid plays the adult Christina Crawford. She appears in the film What Lies Beneath opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford twenty years after her work in Mommie Dearest.
Some information provided courtesy of www.IMDB.com | 
