A Woman's Face (1941)

Sorry, this movie sucks

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

. . . then A WOMAN'S FACE argues that a woman is "made" by her face. When orphaned, Anna Holm's face is badly scarred by burns. The grown-up Anna is a heartless Sociopathic racketeer. As soon as a pioneering plastic surgeon slaps Joan Crawford's looks on BOTH sides of Anna's visage, she quickly transforms into super-governess Ingrid Paulson, gun-wielding protector of endangered young boys. This is one of Crawford's better film efforts. You can almost swear that you are watching Ingrid Bergman from time to time (not so shocking, when you know this is a remake of a Bergman picture which Crawford no doubt viewed before reprising Ingrid's role). The plot of A WOMAN'S FACE has about as many twists as that of THE MALTESE FALCON, and tough Scandanavian bad girl-turned-Crimefighter Anna seems somewhat of a beta version for THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. There are no "chestnuts roasting on an open fire" during her climactic Christmas-time sleigh ride: she opens fire more like Annie Oakley. The earlier cable car scene is something Hitchcock should have envied. Telling this story in courtroom flashbacks totally works like source material for ROSHOMON, as Anna feeds her face with just desserts.

Joan Crawford plays a woman who had her face disfigured as a child and has grown up hating the world. So now she's a criminal who runs a blackmail gang. In the middle of one of her blackmail schemes she is caught by plastic surgeon Melvyn Douglas, who decides to help her look normal. But just because she looks good doesn't mean it's easy for her to forget her way of life. In steps slimy Conrad Veidt, who uses his charm to manipulate Joan into helping him with a plot to kill a little boy.One of Joan Crawford's best movies. Her acting is terrific. Veidt is a particularly scummy villain. Great supporting cast that includes Reginald Owen, George Zucco, Donald Meek, Albert Bassermann, Marjorie Main, Connie Gilchrist, and the lovely Osa Massen. All superb. The story is told through flashbacks via testimony at Joan's trial. It's an excellent film, wonderfully directed by George Cukor.

Marjorie Main was quite a gal in her day. She really had the ability to move freely from comedy to tragedy. This film is no exception.The only thing questionable here is that the plot is extremely overdone. A disfigured woman has a road house where she and the others rip off people. She breaks into the home of a surgeon whose wife has been totally unfaithful to him. She also meets up with Conrad Veidt who wants his uncle's 4 year old grandson dead so that he can inherit the old man's money.This goes on and on, but Joan Crawford, as the maimed woman, pulls it off in typical Crawford fashion.The film was a remake of a movie made by Ingrid Bergman in Sweden 3 years before. The Crawford version takes place there as well.With a Hitchcock like middle and ending, the film is definitely worthwhile to view.Note the presence of Albert Basserman and Conrad Veidt in the film. They were both forced out of Nazi Germany as was the case with many other European stars during this period.

This takes place in Sweden. Anna Holm (Joan Crawford) is a blackmailer with a disfiguring scar on her face. Because of the scar she hates herself and everybody else. She meets Torsten Barring (Conrad Veidt) who lives beyond his means and needs her help. She gets her face fixed by kind Dr. Gustaf Segert (Melvyn Douglas). She's happy and free--but can't escape her evil past completely.Strange movie. It's well-made with top MGM production values and starts off as an interesting psychological drama. However, after Crawford's face is fixed, the psychological angle is dropped and it turns into another one of her women pictures. That's not a bad thing (I actually like womens pictures) but it started out so differently--and more interesting. Still it is a good movie and looks incredible. Also director George Cukor somehow got Crawford to underplay her role and it works beautifully. For once she reins in her tendency to over emote and gives a thoughtful good performance. The rest of the cast is fine except for Marjorie Main who seems WAY out of place as a Swedish woman! Still it's worth catching. I give it a 7.