On the contrary, this hard-boiled, often riveting study of a dysfunctional and debilitating relationship more acutely resembles film noir. Cain ( Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice) remains very much a "woman's picture," little sentiment courses through its veins. No prior film had ever chronicled such a conflict, and though director Michael Curtiz's slick adaptation of the stinging novel by James M.
How far will the daughter go? How much can the mother take? The mother abhors the abuse but prefers to take it rather than cut her beloved offspring out of her life. Instead of society dealing the mother a series of devastating blows, her spoiled, ungrateful daughter vindictively - and repeatedly - beats her down instead. Mildred Pierce, released in the fall of 1945, reinvented and spiced up the clichéd formula by injecting a delicious dose of sadomasochism into the mix. Though emotional 1930s melodramas like Stella Dallas, The Sin of Madelon Claudet, Madame X, and The Old Maid reaped huge profits by shamelessly exploiting mother-love, such maudlin mush began to lose its appeal at the dawn of World War II. Nothing tugs at the heartstrings like maternal martyrdom, and Hollywood milked every last tear from the well-worn theme during its storied Golden Age.
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