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Instant Favorite.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

One of Joan Crawford's best roles. She plays a possessive domineering perfectionist housewife who tries to control everyone in her life, particularly her exceptionally nice husband (Wendell Corey). A lot has been said about the similarities between the character of Harriet Craig and Joan herself. Perhaps that's why Joan's performance is so superb. She plays the character of Harriet so effortlessly. Wendell Corey is terrific as her husband. Through most of the movie he's a pushover but when he finally realizes who his wife really is and what she's capable of, look out! It's a very good drama but also some funny parts. Moves along at a crisp pace. Unlike most dramas from the period (and today, really) it doesn't overstay its welcome and pad the length for another twenty minutes. Definitely recommended.

" Wives may be a little extra trouble now and then, but they're mighty handy gadgets to have around the house." This movie is like a time capsule of the late 1940's and 50's. There are definite stereotypes about the roles of men and women from that period - like a woman's place is in the home, etc. Some will find this very dated and annoying - but I often enjoy seeing glimpses into past periods in American history, even if I don't necessarily agree with it.There is not a lot of depth to this movie in the classic soap tradition. But there is good character development in the sense that you know everyone's personalities. Joan is the controlling, manipulative wife trying to climb the social ladder. Correy plays the wimpy husband who lets his wife control him and everything in his life... Until she finally goes to far. Its good to see Mrs. Craig get what's coming to her in the end.Joan's costumes are beautiful and extravagant. But I hated the hairdo she has in most of the picture - very much like "helmet-hair". Its all stuck very close to her head and gives her profile shots an unflattering shape. Perhaps they're trying to give her an overly masculine look to match her domineering personality. I'm not a huge fan Of Crawford. I find most of her work overly theatric and stiff. This carries over here as well. There is one exception: when she relives the day her father left the family. She shows natural and genuine human emotion and pain in that scene, without all the campiness for which she is known.If you don't like melodrama or soap opera style films, stay away from this one. If you want a glimpse into 1950's stereotypes, watch this. Also, for those familiar with Crawford personal life and "Mommie Dearest", this role perhaps best captures that side of Joan - controlling, manipulative, unforgiving, and without an ounce of warmth in her whole body.

This film seems tailor-made for Ms. Crawford and her persona. A controlling housewife, Harriet Craig, she controls all of her husband's life, (portrayed well by a kind-hearted Wendell Corey), who you may also recognize as the long suffering husband in "No Sad Songs for Me".Harriet is a desperate housewife, whose own father abandoned her. Her mission in life is order and control, of the house, her husband, and his career. She refuses to have children, and conceals this from her husband ( unheard of in 1950!).Crawford looks lovely, is a beautiful woman, but people have problems relating to her. She is not an accepting person. Eventually her scheming and attempt to thwart Corey's trip to Japan disgusts him, and he decides he can carry on his life in a more normal manner with someone, anyone else.Crawford and her hauteur are classic, there are some small scenes which are almost amusing as she obsesses about a vase, and scolds a young neighbor boy. Overall a do not miss. 9/10.

From what we all know of Crawford's life story, HARRIET CRAIG seems to be a character who has a lot in common with JOAN CRAWFORD, so it's no surprise when Crawford plays her in a manner that should certainly please her fanbase, if not film critics. And this remake of "Craig's Wife" gives her plenty of meaty material to work with while she steps over everyone else in the cast in her best domineering mode.She rules over her household with meticulous attention to detail, no matter how much she makes everyone else tremble under her withering gaze and her harsh rebukes, even alienating the loyal house servants and a young female cousin (K.T. STEVENS) whose romance she breaks up by telling lies.Hubby WENDELL COREY remains completely unaware of her machinations until two-thirds of the story when he starts to realize that Harriet has not been telling him the truth. Her biggest mistake is giving his employer the false notion that he's careless with money and heavy responsibilities. Corey gets wind of her little talk and then bit by bit he begins to strip away all the deceit and deception she's been practicing on him and his friends.It's a well crafted study of a woman driven to possess someone but unable to trust any man because of her discovery (as a child) that her father was a two-timer cheating at the office with another woman. The character is very much like the one that Ben Ames Williams created in "Leave Her to Heaven"--Ellen--consumed by the need to possess someone and willing to lie at all costs to keep him at her side.Crawford is effective in the role, only occasionally rising to moments of theatrical hysteria--cold-faced with eyes glaring in dramatic close-ups--but director Vincent Sherman keeps the performance well controlled throughout most of the film.WENDELL COREY is excellent as the bamboozled husband, effectively underplaying in his usual style, but with such a direct gaze that his sincerity counteracts Crawford's well played deceptions. Their final confrontation, after a series of lies have been uncovered, gives the film a strong ending. LUCILE WATSON is effective as the sophisticated, aristocratic wife of his employer.Summing up: Better than average Crawford vehicle with a well-written script.