The Joan Crawford filmography lists the film appearances of American actress Joan Crawford, who starred in numerous feature films throughout a lengthy career that spanned nearly five decades.
She made her film debut in Lady of the Night (1925), as a body double for film star Norma Shearer. She appeared in several other films, before she made her major breakthrough playing Lon Chaney's love interest in the 1927 horror film The Unknown. Her major success in Our Dancing Daughters (1928) made her a popular flapper of the late 1920s. Her first sound film, Untamed (1929), was a critical and box office success.
Crawford would become a highly popular actress throughout the 1930s, as a leading lady for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She starred in a series of "rags-to-riches" films that were extremely popular during the Depression-era, most especially with women. Her popularity rivaled fellow MGM actresses, including Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, and Jean Harlow. She appeared in eight movies with Clark Gable, including romantic drama Possessed (1931), musical film Dancing Lady (1933), romantic comedy Love on the Run (1936), and romantic drama Strange Cargo (1940), among others. In 1937, she was proclaimed the first "Queen of the Movies" by Life magazine, but her popularity soon waned. In May 1938, Crawford – along with Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Kay Francis, and many others – was labeled "box office poison"; an actor whose "box office draw is nil".
Crawford managed to make a comeback in the comedy The Women (1939), opposite an all-star female-only cast. On July 1, 1943, Crawford was released from Louis B. Mayer, due to creative differences, and signed an exclusive contract with Warner Brothers, where she became a rival of Bette Davis. After a slow start with the studio, she received critical and commercial acclaim for her performance in the drama Mildred Pierce (1945). The film earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress. From 1946 to 1952, Crawford appeared in a series of critical and box office successes, including the musical drama Humoresque (1946), film noirs Possessed (1947, for which she received a second Academy Award nomination) and Flamingo Road (1949), drama The Damned Don't Cry (1950), and romantic comedy Goodbye, My Fancy (1951), among others. She received a third – and final – Academy Award nomination for her performance in the thriller Sudden Fear (1952).
In 1953, Crawford starred in the musical Torch Song, her final film role for MGM. Her next film, Johnny Guitar (1954), although not originally a hit, has become considered a classic. During the latter half of the 1950s, Crawford starred in a series of B-movies, including romantic dramas Female on the Beach (1955) and Autumn Leaves (1956). In 1962, Crawford was teamed with Bette Davis, in a film adaptation of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962). The thriller film was a box office hit, and briefly revived Crawford's career. Her final film performance was in the British science fiction film, Trog (1970).
Filmography
Feature films + Silent films Year Title Role Director Studio 1925 Lady of the Night Double for Norma ShearerUncredited Monta Bell Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Proud Flesh Party Guest King Vidor A Slave of Fashion‡ Mannequin Hobart Henley The Merry Widow Ballroom Dancer Erich von Stroheim Pretty Ladies Bobby, a Showgirl Monta Bell The Circle Young Lady Catherine Frank Borzage The Midshipman Extra Christy Cabanne Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ Chariot Race Spectator Fred Niblo Old Clothes Mary RileyCredited as Lucille LeSueur Edward F. Cline The Only Thing Party Guest Jack Conway Sally, Irene and Mary Irene Edmund Goulding 1926 Tramp, Tramp, Tramp Betty Burton Harry Edwards First National The Boob Jane William A. Wellman Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Paris The Girl Edmund Goulding 1927 Winners of the Wilderness René Contrecoeur W. S. Van Dyke The Taxi Dancer Joslyn Poe Harry F. Millarde The Understanding Heart Monica Dale Jack Conway The Unknown Nanon Tod Browning Twelve Miles Out Jane Jack Conway Spring Fever Allie Monte Edward Sedgwick 1928 West Point Betty Channing The Law of the Range Betty Dallas William Nigh Rose-Marie‡ Rose-Marie Lucien Hubbard Across to Singapore Priscilla Crowninshield William Nigh Four Walls‡ Frieda Our Dancing Daughters Diana Medford Harry Beaumont Dream of Love‡ Adrienne Lecouvreur Fred Niblo 1929 The Duke Steps Out‡ Susie James Cruze Our Modern Maidens Billie Brown Jack Conway ‡ denotes lost film + Sound films Year Title Role Director Studio 1929 The Hollywood Revue of 1929With sound. In color. Singing, dancing, and part of an all-star cast performing the song "Got a Feeling for You". Herself (performer) Charles Reisner Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Untamed Alice "Bingo" Dowling Jack Conway 1930 Montana Moon Joan "Montana" Prescott Malcolm St. Clair Our Blushing Brides Gerry Marsh Harry Beaumont Paid Mary Turner Sam Wood 1931 Dance, Fools, Dance Bonnie Jordan Harry Beaumont Laughing Sinners Ivy Stevens This Modern Age Val Winters Nick Grinde Possessed Marian Martin Clarence Brown 1932 Grand Hotel Flaemmchen Edmund Goulding Letty Lynton Letty Lynton Clarence Brown Rain Sadie Thompson Lewis Milestone United Artists 1933 Today We Live Diana "Ann" Boyce-Smith Howard Hawks Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Dancing Lady Janie "Duchess" Barlow Robert Z. Leonard 1934 Sadie McKee Sadie McKee Brennan Clarence Brown Chained Diane "Dinah" Lovering Forsaking All Others Mary Clay W. S. Van Dyke 1935 No More Ladies Marcia Townsend Edward H. Griffith I Live My Life Kay Bentley W. S. Van Dyke 1936 The Gorgeous Hussy Margaret "Peggy" O'Neal Clarence Brown Love on the Run Sally Parker W. S. Van Dyke 1937 The Last of Mrs. Cheyney Fay Cheyney Richard Boleslawski The Bride Wore Red Anni Pavlovitch Dorothy Arzner Mannequin Jessica Cassidy Frank Borzage 1938 The Shining Hour Olivia Riley 1939 The Ice Follies of 1939 Mary McKay Reinhold Schünzel The Women Crystal Allen George Cukor 1940 Strange Cargo Julie Frank Borzage Susan and God Susan Trexel George Cukor 1941 A Woman's Face Anna Holm When Ladies Meet Mary Howard Robert Z. Leonard 1942 They All Kissed the Bride Margaret Drew Alexander Hall Columbia Reunion in France Michele de la Becque Jules Dassin Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 1943 Above Suspicion Frances Myles Richard Thorpe 1944 Hollywood Canteen Herself (cameo role) Delmer Daves Warner Bros. 1945 Mildred Pierce Mildred Pierce Michael Curtiz 1946 Humoresque Helen Wright Jean Negulesco 1947 Possessed Louise Howell Curtis Bernhardt Daisy Kenyon Daisy Kenyon Otto Preminger 20th Century Fox 1949 Flamingo Road Lane Bellamy Michael Curtiz Warner Bros. It's a Great Feeling Herself (cameo role) David Butler 1950 The Damned Don't Cry Ethel Whitehead Vincent Sherman Harriet Craig Harriet Craig Columbia 1951 Goodbye, My Fancy Agatha Reed Warner Bros. 1952 This Woman Is Dangerous Beth Austin Felix E. Feist Sudden Fear Myra Hudson David Miller RKO 1953 Torch Song Jenny Stewart Charles Walters Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 1954 Johnny Guitar Vienna Nicholas Ray Republic 1955 Female on the Beach Lynn Markham Joseph Pevney Universal Queen Bee Eva Phillips Ranald MacDougall Columbia 1956 Autumn Leaves Millicent "Milly" Wetherby Robert Aldrich 1957 The Story of Esther Costello Margaret Landi David Miller 1959 The Best of Everything Amanda Farrow Jean Negulesco 20th Century Fox 1962 What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Blanche Hudson Robert Aldrich Seven Arts 1963 The Caretakers Lucretia Terry Hall Bartlett United Artists 1964 Strait-Jacket Lucy Harbin William Castle Columbia 1965 I Saw What You Did Amy Nelson Universal 1967 The Karate KillersFeature film culled from 2-part episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Amanda True Barry Shear Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Berserk! Monica Rivers Jim O'Connolly Columbia 1970 Trog Dr. Brockton Freddie Francis Warner Bros.
Short subjects Year Title Role Director Studio 1925 MGM Studio Tour Herself – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 1925 Miss MGM Miss MGM – 1930 Hollywood Snapshots #11 Herself Ralph Staub Columbia 1931 The Slippery Pearls William C. McGann Paramount 1932 Screen Snapshots Ralph Staub Columbia 1947 The Jimmy Fund – 1958 Hollywood Mothers and Fathers – 1972 A Very Special Child Narrator – American Cancer Society
Box Office Ranking
1929 - 15th 1930 - 1st 1931 - 3rd 1932 - 3rd 1933 - 10th 1934 - 6th 1935 - 5th 1936 - 7th 1937 - 16th 1947 - 21st
Archival footage Year Title Role Director Studio 1964 Four Days in November Herself Mel Stuart United Artists MGM's Big Parade of Comedya.k.a. The Big Parade of Comedy HerselfArchival footage Robert Youngson Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 1974 That's Entertainment! Janie Barlow (Dancing Lady) Jack Haley Jr. 1984 Terror in the Aisles Blanche Hudson (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?) Andrew J. Kuehn Universal 1985 That's Dancing! Herself Jack Haley Jr. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 1994 That's Entertainment! III Jenny Stewart (Torch Song) Bud Friedgen, Michael J. Sheridan
Uncompleted films Year Title Role Director Studio 1929 Tide of Empire Josephita (replaced by Renée Adorée) Allan Dwan Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 1930 Great Day Susie Totheridge Harry Beaumont The March of Time Herself Charles Reisner 1964 Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte Miriam Deering (replaced by Olivia de Havilland due to illness) Robert Aldrich 20th Century Fox
Television Year Title Role Director Episodes and notes 1953 The Revlon Mirror Theater Margaret Hughes Rod Amateau "Because I Love Him" 1954 General Electric Theater Mary Andrews Rod Amateau "The Road to Edinburgh" 1958 General Electric Theater Ruth Marshall Herschel Daugherty "Strange Witness" 1959 The Joan Crawford ShowTV pilot for unsold series Susan Conrad Dick Powell "Woman on the Run" (pilot) General Electric Theater Ann Howard Herschel Daugherty "And One Was Loyal" Zane Grey Theatre Stella Faring Don Medford "Rebel Range" 1961 Zane Grey Theatre Sarah and Melanie Hobbes Lewis Allen "One Must Die" The DuPont Show of the Week Hostess James Elson "The Ziegfeld Touch" 1963 Route 66 Morgan Matheson Harper Philip Leacock "Same Picture, Different Frame" 1964 DellaTV movie pilot for Royal Bay unsold series, released theatrically Della Chappell Robert Gist TV movie 1967 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Amanda True Barry Shear "The Five Daughters Affair: Part 1"Different scenes were shot and turned into the theatrically released feature film The Karate Killers. Easter Island Narrator (voice) José Gómez-Sicre TV documentary 1968 The Lucy Show Herself (guest star) Jack Donohue "Lucy and the Lost Star" The Secret Storm Joan Borman Kane #2Temporary replacement for Christina Crawford Gloria Monty Daytime serial (5 episodes) 1969 Garbo Hostess / Narrator Fred Burnley TV documentary Night GalleryTV movie pilot for Night Gallery series Claudia Menlo Steven Spielberg TV movie (segment: "Eyes") 1970 The Virginian Stephanie White Robert Gist "Nightmare" The Tim Conway Show Herself (cameo) Alan Rafkin "To Cuba with Love" The Tim Conway Comedy Hour Herself (guest star) Bill Hobin "Episode #1.3" 1972 The Sixth Sense Joan Fairchild John Newland "Dear Joan: We're Going to Scare You to Death" 1973 Journey to the UnknownTV movie culled from the series Journey to the Unknown Herself (hostess) Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Don Chaffey TV movie
Awards and nominations