Mannequin

I hate to be a spoil sport, but I must disagree with the other reviewers who are un-restrained in their enthusiasm for the only Joan Crawford/Spencer Tracy co-starring vehicle. The movie often feels as though it had been re-heated and, while it has many admirable moments, just as many ring false. Crawford herself remains remote and aloof for much of the running time and, while Spencer Tracy probably couldn't give a false performance if he tried, his heart doesn't seem to be in it either.

The early scenes, in which Joan plays a poor, restless girl who lives in a tenement with her ne'er do well father and brother, as well as with her overworked, tired mother are so stilted and obvious they are an embarrassment. These scenes play almost like parodies of the previous Crawford vehicles POSSESSED (1931), DANCING LADY (1933) and SADIE McKEE (1934). Crawford has played this "noble girl whose ambitions will lift her out of her miserable station in life" part before, and she has played it better. Here she seems tired, like she's not even believing it herself and, although it may sound un-gallant to mention, she's a little long in the tooth to play this type of role convincingly (God forgive me).

Things brighten considerably when Tracy and Crawford begin to spark and it is the middle section of the movie that is the most enjoyable. A lot of this may stem from the fact that the middle section contains the least amount of screen time for Alan Curtis, who plays Joan's "so bad he's hissable" louse of a husband. Curtis is so one dimensional and so "obviously" rotten that you wonder what Crawford's character could EVER have seen in him.

Complaints aside, there are good and memorable moments to be found in MANNEQUIN. When Tracy and Crawford are alone on-screen, they both seem to be off of their game, but together, they have a haunting chemistry that transcends explanation. They both manage to convey that they truly understand and accept what the other is thinking, a rarity in film. It makes MANNEQUIN all the more frustrating when we get glimpses of what made these two the magnificent stars they were. It disappoints me that they never worked together again in a project more worthy of their combined talents.

Standing in dramatic counterpoint to Crawford's 1938 "box office poison" label, MANNEQUIN was a big hit with audiences early that year. Other, more ambitious (and in my opinion, more interesting) Crawford vehicles such as THE BRIDE WORE RED (1937) and THE SHINING HOUR (1938), however, were not.

In doing Mannequin, Joan Crawford was kind of poaching on the roles that Sylvia Sidney did, the girl from the slums who's looking to break out. She isn't half bad in it.

When you think about it her part her is a kinder gentler version of the role she did in The Women. A girl looking to step up in class. But in this she's not looking to steal someone's husband to do it. She's more used than the user in Mannequin.

She's from Hester Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, living at home with parents and a kid brother. She's got a good looking boyfriend though in Alan Curtis who's got less than meets the eye in character. They get married.

Soon she catches the eye of millionaire Spencer Tracy who comes from the same area, but who worked his way up to owning a fleet of freighters. Spence is smitten with her.

In a reverse of Indecent Proposal, Curtis is quite willing to play on Tracy's obvious interest in Joan, but she now recognizes Curtis for what he is.

This is definitely a Crawford picture. Tracy underplays it in his usual style and has some moments, but he's clearly in support of Crawford.

Alan Curtis's part is unusual. He still loves Crawford no matter what, but he's shallow and his own interests come first. If this were done at 20th Century Fox, Tyrone Power could easily have done this role. He did a kind of variation on it in Rose of Washington Square. Curtis is never shown as violent in any way and that in fact makes him all the more smarmy in his charm.

One of the best roles in the film comes from Leo Gorcey as Crawford's younger brother. He's a tough slum kid with a big mouth and you don't like him. But he actually is very shrewd in sizing up the shortcomings of those around him, like his father Oscar O'Shea and Curtis.

The title Mannequin comes from the fact that at one point Crawford works as model in a fashion show. Of course this put into the context of the story, giving Crawford the Adrian fashions to wear that she was known for.

Fans of Joan Crawford will be pleased with this.

"Mannequin" is a charming, Joan Crawford rags to riches story set in New York City. Desperate to get out of her family's Hester Street apartment, Jessie talks her boyfriend Eddie into getting married a little sooner than planned. At her wedding dinner in a Chinese restaurant, she is spotted by the very wealthy, well known John Hennessy (Spencer Tracy) who falls in love with her immediately. He's also impressed by the depth of her love for Eddie. But it's obvious to all but Jessie that Eddie is a jerk.

This is not a big, splashy film, but a more intimate one, with a marvelous, heartfelt performance by a young Spencer Tracy, who plays a lonely man to perfection. His sincere performance drives the film. Crawford is photographed beautifully, all gorgeous eyes and softness. I'm not sure how many animals died so Crawford could be dressed so opulently in fur, but once she gets into modeling and then hits the big time, she wears some very expensive clothes. Curtis is an attractive louse, and Leo Gorcey is great as Jessie's impossible brother. Elisabeth Risdon gives a wonderful performance, with a poignant monologue to her daughter at one point.

A sweet and satisfying film.

The Joan Crawford Experience 23 / 59

Joan Does The Rags-To-Riches Thing Again

Jessie Cassidy (Joan Crawford) is a hard-working girl from the raggedy tenements on Hester Street in NYC. She slaves away in a textile factory to support her harried mother, her lazy out-of-work father, and her shiftless, smart-ass, out-of-work little brother. She dreams of getting out of that dump with her boyfriend, the boxer Eddie Miller (Alan Curtis). Eddie is obviously the lazy con-man type; he talks a big talk and makes lots of promises he can't keep ... but Jessie is in love!

Jessie convinces Eddie to marry her and while they celebrate with their wedding party at a Chinese restaurant, they run into John L. Hennessey (Spencer Tracy). He's originally from the tenements on Hester street but has made a fortune by becoming a shipping magnate. Hennessey is smitten with Jessie.

Jessie and Hennessey cross paths again when Jessie has a job in the chorus line as a Gebhart Girl at the "Gebhart Frolics", and the entire gang is invited to a cocktail party at Hennessey's penthouse suite. Hennessey makes a play for her but she is a married woman, so she slaps him!

The rest of the film involves Hennessey's pursuit of Jessie, Jessie's realization that Eddie is small time two bit hood looking for easy money, and Eddie's nasty little plan to get some of that money from Hennessey by using Jessie as bait.

This is a pretty darn good film. The story is engaging, the cast is great, and Adrian really went all out on some of the fashions at the fashion show (where Jessie is a model / mannequin). I wonder how many animals died for Joan's fabulous fur coats and wraps? Oh well. Doesn't matter. She looked fierce!

Recommended!

When TCM ran this flick recently, the host observed that Crawford, while not exactly thrilled about sharing the spotlight with Tracy, did take care to scale her performance down so that her usual overplaying wouldn't look wildly out of place. She's still false -- all eyebrows and key lighting -- but she does have star quality, and she's playing a very appealing, practical rags-to-riches lady. Tracy brought his usual sincerity to another appealing role, and Borzage brought his characteristic lyricism -- the whole movie seems quiet and understated, not at all tainted by the typical MGM frou-frou. The dialogue has snap, the plot has pace, and there are unusual touches: Note the scene in the subway car, and how charmingly and inconclusively it ends. Maybe this was considered standard MGM claptrap in its day, but it holds up remarkably well and somehow feels modern. The issues haven't really dated. Maybe today's Joan Crawford, Julia Roberts, could do a remake?