The Joan Crawford Collection Volume 2 is a box set containing five of Joan Crawford's better films that span the years from 1933 to 1953. The range of stories is as varied as the years and each one is classic Crawford.
Joan Crawford was born Lucille Fay LeSueur in San Antonio, Texas in 1905. By 1916 she had move to Kansas City. She became a dancer in a chorus line which eventually took her to New York City, and by 1924 she had signed a contract with MGM and moved to Culver City, California. By 1929 she had made 29 silent films. By the time of the first film in this collection, she had also made 14 other sound films as well.
Sadie McKee (1933)
Also starring Gene Raymond, Franchot Tone, Edward Arnold and directed by Clarence Brown, Sadie McKee is about a determined girl during the Depression who, through her hard work, attains wealth and love. In this movie, Sadie suffers through three troubled relationships before she finds love. There are a lot of contrasts in this film: Crawford is down and out, but the clothes that she wears seem stylish, and she can change from an almost elegant tone into a tough broad when she is pushed. Sadie McKee is a great '30's feature that works perfectly with Crawford's style, bringing out all of those things for which she was known.
Strange Cargo (1940)
Also starring Clark Gable, Ian Hunter, Peter Lorrie, Paul Lukas, and directed by Frank Borzage, this film is based on Richard Sale's 1936 novel Not Too Narrow, Not Too Deep. Desperate for a second chance at life, a band of Devil's Island felons and a tough-as-nails prostitute struggle toward freedom. This is the eighth and final time that Crawford and Clark Gable teamed up. In this movie Gable plays a convict who strikes up a partnership with Crawford and a romance develops against the backdrop of action and adventure. This is a most unusual story and one that is not often seen, with the appeal of Gable with an edge and Crawford without the embellishment of beauty. Both performances are well thought out and carefully crafted.
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