Marriage in Shackles

Movie
German title	Marriage in Shackles
Original title	Queen Bee
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Publishing year	1955
length	95 minutes
Rod
Director	Ranald MacDougall
script	Ranald MacDougall
production	Jerry Wald; for Columbia Pictures
music	George Duning
camera	Charles Lang
cut	Viola Lawrence
occupation
	Joan Crawford : Eva Phillips; Barry Sullivan : John Avery Phillips; Betsy Palmer : Carol Lee Phillips; John Ireland : Judson Prantice; Fay Wray : Sue McKinnon; Lucy Marlow : Jennifer Stewart;

Marriage in Shackles (OT: Queen Bee ) is an American feature film in which Joan Crawford played the only truly vicious character of her career in 1955. It is the literary adaptation of the novel Queen Bee by Edna L. Lee .

action

Eva Phillips is a completely selfish woman who loves no one but herself. She hides her egocentrism and malice behind a facade of constant friendliness. She is politeness in person when dealing with others and never speaks up in public. In her private life, however, she drove her rich husband John into drinking with her ruthlessness. Her latest victim is her sister-in-law Carol, who is engaged to the attractive lawyer Judson. Eva seduces Judson and drives Carol to suicide. When she wants to destroy the life of her cousin Jennifer, Judson takes the initiative. Under a pretext, he lures Eva on a ride in the car and then drives over the cliffs.

background

After a temporary decline in popularity, Joan Crawford had made another comeback with The Beach House in the early 1950s . At this point in her career, she was still able to charge a fee of $ 200,000 per film, significantly more than, for example, Barbara Stanwyck , Joan Fontaine , Bette Davis or Claudette Colbert , who received a maximum fee of $ 75,000. The financial success of The Beach House enabled her to negotiate a lucrative contract for three films with Columbia Pictures . Jerry Wald was to become the producer, who was ready for Warner Brothers' greatest commercial successes Solange a Heart Beats and Unrestrained Love . The screenplay and direction was carried out by Ranald MacDougall, who had already written the script for Solange a Heart Beats. The studio invested a lot of money in the production values. The 25 sumptuous and opulent costumes that Crawford wears in the course of the plot were designed by Jean Louis . There was also a selection of good supporting actors such as Barry Sullavan, Fay Wray and John Ireland . At an age when most other competitors of the same age had to play derogatory old maids - like Katharine Hepburn in Dream of my Life or The Rainmaker - the film presented Crawford as a sexually attractive - and aggressive - woman who no man can resist.

Marriage in Shackles was based on the story of the same name by Edna L. Lee and offered Joan Crawford a welcome change from the usual roles that showed her as a long-suffering woman who has to fight against the prejudices of society. Here she plays the first - and only - abysmally evil character of her entire career. Years later, however, she spoke negatively to Roy Newquist about the image that had attached to her since the film:

“I got the chance to play a deeply evil bitch, a worse bitch than my role in 'The Women' - and that for the entire duration. I ended up hating myself, to be honest, during my death scene I thought I would only get what I deserved. It was a total letdown. Occasionally I hear that the film's title is being used to characterize myself. And that's not necessarily beneficial. "

Reviews

Most critics saw the film as a desolate melodrama in which the death of Eve as a just punishment did not come a minute too early.

Bosley Crowther summed up the general opinion in the New York Times :

“As the wife of a southern miller whom she has driven into bitterness and drunkenness with her ruthlessness, selfishness, and open infidelity, [Miss Crawford] is at the height of sly meanness. If she is killed in the end, as she deserves, it will be a real joy and a relief. "

William K. Zinsser in the New York Herald Tribune made a similar assessment:

“[The film] refers in the title to the lady of the beehive, Joan Crawford, who kills her rivals in order to keep all the drones to herself. […] Miss Crawford plays her part with such sinister malice that we can hardly wait to see her die. "

Awards

The film went into the 1956 Academy Awards with nominations in the following categories:

Best Cinematography Black & White Film - Charles Lang
Best costume design - Jean Louis

literature

Roy Newquist (Ed.): Conversations with Joan Crawford. Citadel Press, Secaucus, NJ 1980, ISBN 0-8065-0720-9 .
Lawrence J. Quirk : The Complete Films of Joan Crawford. Citadel Press, Secaucus, NJ 1988, ISBN 0-8065-1078-1 .
Lawrence J. Quirk, William Schoell: Joan Crawford. The Essential Biography. University Press, Lexington, KY. 2002, ISBN 0-8131-2254-6 .
Alexander Walker: Joan Crawford. The Ultimate Star. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1983, ISBN 0-297-78216-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ see Emily Carman, Women rule Hollywood: Aging and Freelance Stardom in the studio System, p. 23 in Female Celebrity and Aging: Back in the Spotlight, Edited by Deborah Jermyn, Taylor & Francis Group Ltd 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon Oxford, OX14 4RN, UK. There is also referred to Crawford's male contemporaries Spencer Tracy, Gary Cooper and Humphrey Bogart , who are named in 1955 with fee claims of $ 250,000.
↑ I had a chance to play the total bitch, a worse bitch than I played in " Die Frauen " - and for a solid 90 minutes. I ended up hating myself, honestly feeling that in my death scene I was getting precisely what I deserved. It was a totally downer. Incidentally, I've heard this title used to describe me since, personally, and it isn't altogether flattering.
↑ As the wife of a Southern mill owner whom she has driven to bitterness and drink by her ruthless, self-seeking machinations and frank infidelity [Miss Crawford] is the height of mellifluous meanness and frank insincerity. When she is killed at the end, as she should be, it is a genuine pleasure and relief.
↑ [The film] takes its title from the lady of the hive, Joan Crawford, who stings her rivals to death so that she can have the drones all to herself. […] Miss Crawford plays her role with such silky villainy that we long to see her dispatched.

[1] see Emily Carman, Women rule Hollywood: Aging and Freelance Stardom in the studio System, p. 23 in Female Celebrity and Aging: Back in the Spotlight, Edited by Deborah Jermyn, Taylor & Francis Group Ltd 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon Oxford, OX14 4RN, UK. There is also referred to Crawford's male contemporaries Spencer Tracy, Gary Cooper and Humphrey Bogart , who are named in 1955 with fee claims of $ 250,000.

[2] I had a chance to play the total bitch, a worse bitch than I played in " Die Frauen " - and for a solid 90 minutes. I ended up hating myself, honestly feeling that in my death scene I was getting precisely what I deserved. It was a totally downer. Incidentally, I've heard this title used to describe me since, personally, and it isn't altogether flattering.

[3] As the wife of a Southern mill owner whom she has driven to bitterness and drink by her ruthless, self-seeking machinations and frank infidelity [Miss Crawford] is the height of mellifluous meanness and frank insincerity. When she is killed at the end, as she should be, it is a genuine pleasure and relief.

[4] [The film] takes its title from the lady of the hive, Joan Crawford, who stings her rivals to death so that she can have the drones all to herself. […] Miss Crawford plays her role with such silky villainy that we long to see her dispatched.