THE DAMNED DON'T CRY (1950)

We see two men dispose of a body in the desert at night. When the cops investigate the death of the man, a known gambler and gangster, they find home movies which feature Lorna Hansen Forbes (Joan Crawford), a rich socialite who has gone missing from her home in Desert Springs. We then see her show up at her parents' home near an oil field in Texas where they live in reduced circumstances. Lorna is actually their daughter, Ethel Whitehead, and the rest of the movie is her story in flashback. Married to a gruff man she doesn't really like, she leaves him when their young son is killed in a car accident while the two adults were arguing about whether they could afford to buy him a new bike. She goes to New York City and gets a lowly retail job but is soon discovered by a dressmaker and becomes an in-demand model. From there, it's a quick climb into better society thanks to gambling house manager Grady. She meets the shy accountant Martin Blankford (Kent Smith) and while casually dating him, gets him a job with Grady. She soon comes to the attention of George Castleman (David Brian), the head of the national crime syndicate and, wanting the good things in life while she can appreciate them, becomes his mistress and brings Martin along to work for him. George hooks her up with a legit socialite who remakes Ethel as an oil heiress named Lorna and soon she's showing up on the society pages. When George suspects Nick, an underling of his, is trying to break out on his own, he sends Lorna to California to get the goods on him; he's handsome and charming and soon Lorna is torn between the two men (and don't forget Martin who complicates things). In the end, a desert shootout (the results of which we've already seen) is inevitable.

This is one of the best of Joan Crawford's post-Mildred Pierce films, before she insisted on leading men who were too young and shoulder pads that were too big. She is spot on here as a determined woman who goes looking for happiness before it's too late, but instead finds mostly misery. The movie is dripping in film noir atmosphere and themes (a conflicted central figure, murder, an underworld milieu) and is well acted all around. Crawford is quite good, and in her early scenes as Ethel, wears less make-up than I think she ever has, looking believable as a worn-out housewife—but don't worry, she makes up for that lack later as socialite Lorna. David Brian is a bit colorless, but Smith rounds his character out well, and Steve Cochran (pictured with Crawford) is, as usual, quite convincing as a charming but dangerous fellow. Richard Egan has a small but effective role as Ethel's husband. Even though I am generally a Crawford fan, this film was not on my radar, but I'm glad I stumbled across it. [DVD]