> on 7/11/03 9:16 AM, Jay Gertzman at
jgertzma@earthlink.net wrote:
>
> I am going to lead a discussion soon at the local
B&N of Cain's
> _Mildred Pierce_. I am not sure it fits into the
noir tradition, in that
> there is no crime committed. And the darn thing is
prolix. However, it
> is certainly hard boiled, and the motivations of
both Mildred and Veda
> are fascinating. They seems to be the only
characters with power and
> control, except for Mildred's mentor and friend Mrs.
Gessler. It seems
> to me the Depression is a powerful force in the
book, and that Mildred
> especially gets the desperation to succeed
financially from it. Yet is
> it more responsible for what Mildred does than is
Veda, and is Mildred
> responsible for Veda's feelings for her? Is Veda a
monster or is she
> also a victim of fate, i.e., the Depression? I'd
appreciate any ideas.
> Thanks
>
[Note:
It hardly seems necessary, at this late date, but ...
I
should probably warn you that this note contains
<SPOILERS> for
the
"Mildred Pierce" movie.}
*
Isn't
it an axiom that any novel dealing with opera, as both
"Mildred
Pierce" and "Serenade" do, simply ain't "noir"? I joke,
of
course.
The
absence of a crime in Cain's novel is startling --
especially
to anyone who became familiar with these characters
thanks
to the 1945 movie version. In the movie, of course,
what
sets
the story into motion is the shooting of Monty (Zachary
Scott),
a crime which we learn -- eventually -- was committed
by
Veda
(Ann Blyth) and yet might just as well have been committed
by
Mildred
(Joan Crawford). It was producer Jerry Wald who
insisted
that
this murder be imposed on Cain's story. My guess: this
was
to
insure that the picture lived up to "Postman"-based notions
of
what
"a James M. Cain story" was supposed to be. Plus, of
course,
the
Hays Code-pleasing opportunities it offered for
punishing
characters
who behave naughty.
In
certain ways, you could almost set up the "Mildred
Pierce"
movie
as an example of Male Storytelling Vs. Female
Storytelling:
"Mildred
In The Police Station" (male, mostly scripted by Ranald
MacDougall)
versus "Mildred In The Kitchen" (female, mostly
scripted
by uncredited Catherine Turney).
I
would favor the "Veda as monster" answer, by the way.
One
can
always cite the Depression, of course ... but the
"monster"
answer
is in accord with Cain's Zola-esque tendency to view
characters
as beasts.
Chris
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