Mildred Pierce (1945): Film Noir UK

Based on James M. Cain’s rich psychological novel, Michael Curtiz’s noir melodrama Mildred Pierce (1945) showcases one of cinema’s most celebrated mothers. With its iconic performance by Joan Crawford as Mildred, which gave Crawford her first and only Academy Award, Mildred Pierce tells the story of one single mother’s hell-bent mission on freeing her children from the stigma of economic hardship. 

This bitter cocktail of blind parental love and all-American ambition is both unremittingly hard-boiled and sumptuously emotional. Dubbed as one of the true classics of Hollywood cinema this melodrama doesn't come with more conviction than this superbly nasty noir that played havoc with the era's American ideals of women, home, mom and her apple pie.

This special Mother’s Day screening is a rare chance to see it on the bigger on 35mm and is hosted by Film Noir UK, the UK’s first film organisation dedicated to film noir. With thanks to Park Circus and Warner Brothers.