Mommie Dearest
by Christina Crawford
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Book Summary Information
Author: Christina CrawfordEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1997-12-12
ISBN: 0966336909
Number of pages: 420
Publisher: Seven Springs Pr
Book Reviews of Mommie Dearest
Book Review: "Christina Crawford Gets Her Revenge"
Summary: 5 Stars
Of all the abusive episodes in this book, there are two that really disturbed me. Episode #1: Christina lived at the "Chadwick Boarding & Country Day School", and Joan Crawford, movie star, demanded that Commander and Mrs. Chadwick give detailed accounts, via the telephone ( since she never visted), of Christina's behavior. Joan was drunk one evening, and she called, as usual, for her weekly report. It was unfortunate that, just that morning, Mrs. Chadwick had told Christina to bring a sweater to class, because it might be chilly in the classroom. Christina good--naturedly ignored her Headmistress, and left. She got to class, found it was, indeed, chilly, and left her coat on during the session. Later, at the boarding house, Mrs. Chadwick admonished the child, telling Christina not to be so "short-sighted" again. Christina apologized, and that was the end of the story, right? WRO -- oooONG! If you're Joan Crawford, it's just the beginning. Joan screamed through the telephone at her daughter, "WHY the ---- do you ALWAYS have to disobey EVERYbody?!!", and "Who the ---- do YOU think YOU are to KNOW it all?!!". Then Ms. Crawford dropped a bombshell: "Since you're SO determined to wear your (expletive) coat to class, you can wear just THAT-- and NOTHING else! ALL of your clothes will be picked up. Tomorrow." "Mother, sobbed Christina, "I can't wear just that coat to school- it only has ONE button!" Joan snapped, "You should have thought of that BEFORE you disobeyed!" Click, dial tone. Reading this, I thought, surely, she's not serious- no mother would do that to her own child! However, next day, while Christina was in class, Joan sent someone (God only knows who) to the school, and, indeed, had ALL of Christina's attire picked up- leaving her with the shoes, underwear, and dress she was wearing, and just one cotton dress in the closet. Now, Christina has only TWO dresses to wear, for the next FOUR MONTHS! Here was a glamorous movie star's daughter, surrounded by well dressed, privileged other stars' children, wearing two plaid dresses for sixteen weeks straight. Christina was miserable and embarassed, but, once punishment was meted out, Joan NEVER wavered, even if the child's suffering was obvious and other adults expressed concern; this brings me to Episode #2(and THIS particular story is attested to by various teachers, chaperones, and students who witnessed it ):
Joan Crawford was well known for her organization, structure, and formality. She was REALLY a stickler about writing "Thank You" notes ( rumor has it, she'd write a Thank You" note in RESPONSE to a "Thank You" note) -- and she insisted that her children do the same. Once, Christina did not write a "Thank You" note for a gift she'd received in a timely manner. Instead of revoking the privilege of attending an upcoming school "mix party" and dance, Joan let Christina go; but there was one, (and, to me, one CRUEL) proviso: Christina was to wear her best dress,and be among one of the firsts to arrive at the party. However, Christina was NOT to: dance, eat or drink any of the refreshments, bring a date, or make any "small talk" with her friends. One of Christina's teachers noticed her standing against a wall (she, reportedly, was also not allowed to sit the entire time), and kindly asked for the privilege of dancing with her,but she kept turning him down. He finally asked what the problem was, and simply couldn't believe the answer he received. The teacher tried to "make light" of the situation, thinking, like I did, that no mother would really inflict such a punishment on her own baby, but, I guess, we were both wrong. Christina also had to be the LAST ONE TO LEAVE. And she was. Evidently, Joan applied this sort of discipline to all of her children, and stated "After all, without disipline, what is life?" Shortly before her death, she told writer Roy Newquist that, if she could do it all over again, she would have been "easier", not just on her children, but also on her husbands, and even herself.
As for the the adopted children, there were four. Christina, Christopher, and the "twins" (actually born one month apart) Cathy, and Cindy. Following Joan Crawford's death, the older two claimed abuse, but the younger two hotly disputed this, saying they'd only known kindness and fairness on the part of their "Mommie Dearest". Christina Crawford danced attendance on said "Mommie" all of her life, catering to her whims, writing loving letters, sending thoughtful gifts,etc. Personally, I think she was "waiting her Mother out", so to speak- thinking that, once Joan died, all of her loyalty and hard work would pay off. Thus, the day of the burial, Friday the 13th, May 1977, there Christopher and Christina sat, hand in hand, waiting to hear precisely how much of Joan Crawford's multi-million dollar estate they had been bequeathed. As Joan's lawyer droned on, spouting legalese, it gradually dawned on Christina precisely what "It is my intention that I,Joan (Lucille LeSeur-Casin-Fairbanks-Tone- Terry-- Steele)Crawford , knowingly and with forethought, make NO provison herein for either my son Christopher, nor my eldest daughter Christina -- for reasons which are well known to them" meant. Literally, it meant "nothing". In less than twelve hours, the exact wording of the will would appear in every evening newspaper and newscast across our country, leading to gossip and conjecture about what those "reasons" could be. Christina wrote that it was like her mother's hand came up from the grave, and gave her one final and humiliating public slap in the face. A slap she could not retaliate against, it would seem......
Less than one year later, we were given this book, "Mommie Dearest".
There was alot of detail excised from Christina's original manuscript, and in this, the Twentieth Anniversary Edition, all of it has been put back, making it roughly 100 pages longer than the original "Mommie Dearest"- there are alot more letters ( and instances of Joan's mean spirited parenting) in this edition. One complaint: For some reason, this book is FULL of typos. The proper pronoun "I" is written as "O"- i.e., "O wanted to kill her", at least a dozen times. The word "lose"- as in, "I thought I would lose my mind"- is spelled "l-o-o-s-e", almost exclusively- and, in my opinion, there is no excuse for this - especially when Christina Crawford takes every opportunity to tell us how smart she is, how she was "skipped ahead" two grades,and graduated, suma cum laude, from college- and,since this book was published by her own company. That being said, it's STILL "Mommie Dearest", and therefore a fascinating and dazzling read.
Thirty years on, "Mommie Dearest" still has people buzzing, with Christina Crawford still being sought after for interviews. I DO believe that the essence of what Christina alleges is true, and apparently, the majority of us do;unfortunately, since the book's publication, Joan Crawford's name has become almost synonymous with child abuse. People have come forward, some condemning, others validating Christina's recollections. The strongest authenticator, Christopher Crawford, had no contact with his adoptive mother Joan Crawford from the age of fifteen, until her death, nearly twenty-five years later. She NEVER saw him again, and never mentioned him, even when he was Missing in Action in Vietnam. (Except once:she'd heard that Christopher was married and father to a new baby, so she invited him and his young wife to one of her luxurious hotel suites.Upon examining the baby, she supposedly said, "It doesn't look like you- it must be a bastard." He took his little family and left.) Christopher, who infamously deserted his second wife and ALL of his children, has since died. One of the "twins", Cindy,who was bequeathed a total of $77,000, to be spread out over twenty years, has also passed away. The remaining two-- Cathy Crawford, who was left the same amount as her "twin", (besides all of Joan's earthly belongings), and Christina Crawford herself,now in her seventies--do not speak. So Joan's little "family", started so joyously and optimistically in 1939, is totally gone. Now,in my mind, THAT'S a tragedy...
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