Harriet Craig

"What Was Harriet Craig's Lie?"

1950 1h 30m EN

🙌

7.5

BANGER

★7.5TMDB · 31

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A perfectionist woman's devotion to her home drives away friends and family.

“What Was Harriet Craig's Lie?”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Joan Crawford
Harriet Craig
Wendell Corey
Walter Craig
Lucile Watson
Celia Fenwick
Allyn Joslyn
Billy Birkmire
William Bishop
Wes Miller
K.T. Stevens
Clare Raymond
Viola Roache
Mrs. Harold
Raymond Greenleaf
Henry Fenwick

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Vincent Sherman
Writers: Anne Froelich, James Gunn
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

76 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Vincent Sherman, shot by Joseph Walker. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by George Duning. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Viola Lawrence shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Joan Crawford and Wendell Corey and Lucile Watson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "What Was Harriet Craig's Lie?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0042544 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Vincent Sherman directs. Joseph Walker behind the camera. George Duning scores. Viola Lawrence cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
276 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Vincent Sherman, shot by Joseph Walker. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by George Duning. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Viola Lawrence shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Joan Crawford and Wendell Corey and Lucile Watson carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "What Was Harriet Craig's Lie?".
8IMDB entry: tt0042544 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 31 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Released under 14 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Joseph Walker
Original score: George Duning
Editing: Viola Lawrence
Costume design: Sheila O'Brien
Makeup / hair: Clay Campbell
Runtime: 90 min · 1h 30m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Harriet Craig (1950)

Also by

Vincent Sherman

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-12-28
★ 7/10
An elegant, demure, Joan Crawford is mesmerising in this compact and slightly menacing drama. She is the eponymous wife of "George" (Wendell Corey), on the face of it a happily married lady whose husband keeps her in a certain style. As we discover more about her personality, however, we encounter a controlling, lying, deviously manipulative creature who arranges the lives of those around her - her husband, her cousin "Claire" (K.T. Stevens), even the family retainers find themselves pawns in her game. It all comes to head, though, when his boss decides to promote "George" to a new position in Tokyo. She is having none of that and convinces him to cancel the appointment claiming her spouse has a gambling habit that only she can control. A combination of circumstances enable him to find out about her manoeuvrings and ensures their ensuing contretemps - including a reckoning with her cousin, and the housekeeper hanging up her apron for the last time - makes for a compelling scene that challenges any love the couple ever had for the other... Vincent Sherman and George Duning's score help the tension build successfully into quite a fitting ending. It features quite a nice little cameo from Lucile Watson as his bosses wife - who appears, at once, to see though much of the charade, packs a lot into 90 minutes, and is great watch.

Production companies