My dear mother raven (book)

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My dear raven mother (original title: Mommie Dearest ) is the title of the 1978 autobiography by Christina Crawford . It is also the title of a film based on this autobiography . The book was one of the first to address the issue of child abuse and sparked discussion among the American public.

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In the work Christina Crawford describes the relationship with her adoptive mother Joan Crawford and makes the following claims, among others:

  • She was physically and mentally abused by her adoptive mother.
  • Your adoptive mother was an alcoholic .
  • Her adoptive mother was only interested in her career and only adopted her children for publicity reasons.
  • Joan Crawford led a sexually dissolute life with frequent partner changes.

Reactions

The book attracted enormous public interest. Some of Joan Crawford's friends had doubts about the veracity of the book. Van Johnson , Ann Blyth and especially Myrna Loy defended Crawford. Critics accused Christina Crawford of exaggerating the facts. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. , Joan Crawford's first husband, said the Joan Crawford he knew was not the person described in the book. Cindy and Cathy Crawford, two younger adoptive daughters of Joan Crawford, also said they couldn't remember the events depicted in the book. In contrast, Joan's adopted son Christopher Crawford confirmed Christina's story.

Other people close to Joan Crawford, such as Helen Hayes , June Allyson, and Betty Hutton, have confirmed that some of the events described in the book actually happened. Hutton had previously lived in the neighborhood and said she saw Crawford abuse her children. She encouraged her own children to play with Christopher and Christina Crawford to distract them from the situation in their parents' home. Eve Arden even referred to Crawford as an "incompetent mother". She was an alcoholic with an unpredictable temperament.

Also, Maria Riva , the daughter of Marlene Dietrich , recalls in her autobiographical book My mother Marlene about how her mother during the time at Paramount snidely remarked early 30s about the rival Crawford, they suggest their adopted children and everyone knows it. She quotes her mother: “This terrible, vulgar woman with the protruding eyes beats her children. She beats them green and blue and then always claims they fell off the bike! Awful! Everyone knows what is happening in their house, but what do you expect from this class, this cheap dancer? "

In her book Understanding the Borderline Mother , author Christine Ann Lawson suggests that Joan Crawford was a borderliner .

filming

My dear stepmother was in 1981 with Faye Dunaway in the title role filmed . Directed by Frank Perry . The script was written by Robert Getchell .

Editions

  • Mommie Dearest , William Morrow & Co., 1978, ISBN 0-688-03386-5 , hardcover
    • German version: My dear raven mother . Goldmann, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-442-12409-3 (translated by Rolf Jurkeit).
  • Mommie Dearest , Seven Springs Press, 1997, ISBN 0-9663369-0-9 , expanded edition, paperback.

Individual evidence

  1. Maria Riva: My mother Marlene . 4th edition. btb, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-442-72653-0 , p. 289 .
  2. Christine Ann Lawson: Understanding the Borderline Mother: Helping Her Children Transcend the Intense, Unpredictable, and Volatile Relationship . 2002.