When it comes to picking the greatest movie star, there is only one choice: Joan Crawford. Sure, Katherine Hepburn had class and Bette Davis the courage to act outside her comfort zone; but no other actress from Hollywood's Golden Age personified star quality more than Crawford. She became a star during the silent era and held onto it for five decades with such a determination that Stephen Sondheim had her in mind when he wrote "I'm Still Here," the ultimate anthem of show business survival. Today Crawford's numerous film performances are overshadowed by an artful impersonation — that of Faye Dunaway in "Mommie Dearest." The film, directed by Frank Perry, was based on her adopted daughter Christina's 1977 best-selling memoir about how she was adopted by the actress at an early age then endured decades of emotional and physical abuse. (Crawford also adopted a boy, Christopher.) The film, to say the least, does not show the demanding, neurotic Crawford in a good light, qualities Dunaway embraced with unusual fierceness in a performance she feels seriously damaged her career. But what of Crawford? How did she maintain her stardom for nearly five decades, and what were the movies that defined her numerous comebacks as she, as Sondheim put it, careered from career to career? Tap link in bio to continue on @EDGEmedianetwork ???️ (?: Joan Crawford with her Oscar for "Mildred Pierce")

When it comes to picking the greatest movie star, there is only one choice: Joan Crawford. Sure, Katherine Hepburn had class and Bette Davis the courage to act outside her comfort zone; but no other actress from Hollywood's Golden Age personified star quality more than Crawford. She became a star during the silent era and held onto it for five decades with such a determination that Stephen Sondheim had her in mind when he wrote "I'm Still Here," the ultimate anthem of show business survival. Today Crawford's numerous film performances are overshadowed by an artful impersonation — that of Faye Dunaway in "Mommie Dearest." The film, directed by Frank Perry, was based on her adopted daughter Christina's 1977 best-selling memoir about how she was adopted by the actress at an early age then endured decades of emotional and physical abuse. (Crawford also adopted a boy, Christopher.) The film, to say the least, does not show the demanding, neurotic Crawford in a good light, qualities Dunaway embraced with unusual fierceness in a performance she feels seriously damaged her career. But what of Crawford? How did she maintain her stardom for nearly five decades, and what were the movies that defined her numerous comebacks as she, as Sondheim put it, careered from career to career? Tap link in bio to continue on @EDGEmedianetwork ???️ (?: Joan Crawford with her Oscar for "Mildred Pierce")