A Woman's Face (1941)

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Francis de Croisset (play)
Donald Ogden Stewart (writer) ...
(more)

Release Date:

23 May 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

They called her a scar-faced she-devil.

Plot:

Anna Holm is a blackmailer, who because of a facial scar, despises everyone she encounters. When a plastic...

Plot Keywords:

Footsie Under The Table | Courtroom | Governess | Judge | Moral Transformation

Cast

Joan Crawford	...	Anna Holm, aka Ingrid Paulson
Melvyn Douglas	...	Dr. Gustaf Segert
Conrad Veidt	...	Torsten Barring
Osa Massen	...	Vera Segert
Reginald Owen	...	Bernard Dalvik
Albert Bassermann	...	Consul Magnus Barring
Marjorie Main	...	Emma Kristiansdotter
Donald Meek	...	Herman Rundvik
Connie Gilchrist	...	Christina Dalvik
Richard Nichols	...	Lars-Erik Barring
Charles Quigley	...	Eric
Gwili Andre	...	Gusta
Clifford Brooke	...	Wickman
George Zucco	...	Defense Attorney
Henry Kolker	...	Judge
Robert Warwick	...	Associate Judge
Gilbert Emery	...	Associate Judge
Henry Daniell	...	Public Prosecutor
Sarah Padden	...	Police Matron
William Farnum	...	Court Attendant
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hauk Aabel	...	Nurse (uncredited)
King Baggot	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Veda Buckland	...	Nurse Getting Mirror (uncredited)
Naomi Childers	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Doris Day	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Rex Evans	...	Court Notary (uncredited)
Robert C. Flasher	...	Court Attendant (uncredited)
Gary Gray	...	Sailor-Suited Boy in Park (uncredited)
Sherry Hall	...	Bailiff (uncredited)
Mahlon Hamilton	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Lillian Kemble-Cooper	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Manart Kippen	...	Olaf (uncredited)
Alexander Leftwich	...	Magnus Party Guest (uncredited)
James Millican	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Lionel Pape	...	Einer (uncredited)
George Pauncefort	...	Guest (uncredited)
Mary Ellen Popel	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Catherine Proctor	...	Mrs. Segerblum (uncredited)
Cecil Stewart	...	Pianist (uncredited)

Directed by
George Cukor

Writing credits
Francis de Croisset		(play "Il etait une fois") (as Francis De Croisset)
Donald Ogden Stewart		(writer) and
Elliot Paul		(writer)

Produced by
Victor Saville	....	producer

Original Music by
Bronislau Kaper

Cinematography by
Robert H. Planck		(as Robert Planck)

Film Editing by
Frank Sullivan

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by
Adrian		(gowns)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Marvin Stuart	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Edward Woehler	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Wade B. Rubottom	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Gile Steele	....	wardrobe: men

Other crew
Ernst Matray	....	dance director

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Inc.)
• Loew's

Distributors

• Loew's (1941) (USA) (theatrical) (as Loew's Inc.)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1942) (UK) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1946) (France) (theatrical)
• Just Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (????) (Italy) (video)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1954) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Pantmedia (????) (Italy) (video)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #7126)

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Quotes:

Anna Holm, aka Ingrid Paulson: I never make generous gestures.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Goddess (1958)

A story more intriguing than 'Mildred Pierce'...an odd and fascinating film...

Joan Crawford has one of her more complex roles and plays it brilliantly in 'A Woman's Face'. It ranks with her work in 'Mildred Pierce' and 'Possessed'. Matching her is Conrad Veidt, always the suave villain (who also specialized in playing Nazi types). Crawford excels as a scarred woman who undergoes plastic surgery to change her life. The situations become more melodramatic as the plot gets thicker and there are a few too many flashbacks--but overall, the effect is a stunning film that makes you think about how one's appearance shapes one's life--for better or worse.

Certain sequences have a stark, no holds barred manner of storytelling, grim and suspenseful--as when Anna Holm considers pushing a child to his death from a cable car. The wintry landscapes and glittering interiors are all handsomely photographed. Melvyn Douglas doesn't register too strongly at all. It's strictly Crawford's picture with some superb help from Conrad Veidt.

The pace is rather leisurely under George Cukor's direction but quickens midway to a smashing climax. By all means, see it. A strong melodrama with some unexpected twists.