''A Woman's Face'' is a 1941 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by

George Cukor George Dewey Cukor (; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's Head ...

and starring

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...

Melvyn Douglas Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy ''Ninotchk ...

and

Conrad Veidt Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German film actor who attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man Who Laughs ...

. It tells the story of Anna Holm, a facially disfigured

blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

er, who because of her appearance, despises everyone she encounters. When a plastic surgeon corrects this disfigurement, Anna becomes torn between the hope of starting a new life and a return to her dark past. Most of the film is told in flashbacks as witnesses in a courtroom give their testimonies. The screenplay was written by Donald Ogden Stewart and

Elliot Paul Elliot Harold Paul (February 10, 1891 – April 7, 1958) was an American journalist and writer. Biography Paul was born in Linden, a part of Malden, Massachusetts, the son of Harold Henry Paul and Lucy Greenleaf Doucette. He graduated from Malden ...

, based on the play ''Il était une fois...'' by

Francis de Croisset Francis de Croisset (; born Franz Wiener, 28 January 1877 – 8 November 1937) was a Belgian-born French playwright and opera librettist. Early life Born as Franz Wiener, he was educated in Brussels on 28 January 1877 into a prominent Jewish-Belg ...

. Another version of the story, a Swedish production, was filmed in 1938 as '' En kvinnas ansikte'', starring

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary '' Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is ofte ...

. Advertising for the film appears in a photograph by Robert Frank. One of the images of Crawford used in the advertising later was included in the album artwork for

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

album '' Exile on Main St.'' (1972).

Plot

Anna Holm is on trial in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

for murdering an unnamed victim. Her hat conceals her face. The first witness, Herman Rundvik, a waiter, recalls a dinner at a secluded tavern, hosted by the charismatic and profligate Torsten Barring. Guests include Vera, the unfaithful wife of plastic surgeon Gustaf Segert, and Eric, Vera's latest conquest. The manager, Bernard Dalvik, refuses credit, and Torsten meets the proprietress, Anna. The right side of her face is mutilated, but Torsten ignores her scars and compliments her beautiful eyes. Anna forgives the bill and hints that she might be useful to him. After the party leaves, Eric returns to ask Rundvik if something dropped from his overcoat pocket. Back in the courtroom, Rundvik identifies Anna as boss of their blackmail ring. Next up is Bernard Dalvik. On the advice of her masseuse—Dalvik's wife, Christina—Vera comes to them for help: someone has her letters to Eric. Torsten calls on Anna while Dalvik is making the arrangements with Vera. Anna brings Torsten into their gang and falls deeply in love. Vera testifies: Anna comes to sell the letters. Gustaf returns home unexpectedly; Anna trips, injuring her ankle. He wants to call the police, but Vera dissuades him. Intrigued by Anna's scars, Gustaf offers to heal her. Vera protests, and her testimony ends. Anna is called to testify and remembers that, when she was five years old, her drunken father set her room on fire; he saved her, but not himself. When she was 16, hating the world that shunned her, she chose a life of crime. She describes a meeting with Torsten at his apartment in which she reveals much about herself. “We are both proud, both wretched,” he says. They toast their partnership. Anna endures twelve painful operations. Gustaf wonders: Is she Galatea? Or is she

Frankenstein's monster Frankenstein's monster or Frankenstein's creature, often referred to as simply "Frankenstein", is a fictional character who first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Shelley's title thus compar ...

—a beautiful face with no heart? Dissolve to the courtroom: Anna removes her hat, revealing a perfect face. Torsten is amazed by her new beauty. She reassures him: She has not joined “the saints”. He tells her that his very old, very rich uncle, Consul Magnus Barring, has bequeathed everything to his four-year-old grandson. If the boy dies, Torsten will inherit. Anna is horrified, but Torsten compels her. In the courtroom, she admits that she agreed to kill the child. She becomes the boy's governess and goes to Barring Hall as Ingrid Paulsen. The house is in the mountains, across the river from the metal works that produces the Barring fortune. Anna becomes fond of the kindly Consul and the sweet-natured little Lars-Erik. Torsten arrives on the eve of the Consul's birthday. He dances with Anna; she is mesmerized. The house guests include Gustaf, who tells Anna that he believes in her reform and will keep her secret. The next day, Anna accidentally leaves Lars-Erik under a sun lamp too long. Her genuine distress makes Torsten doubt her, and he gives her an ultimatum: Lars-Erik must die before the next night. In the courtroom she says, “because... it was what he wanted.” Gustaf picks up the story. The next day, Anna takes the child for a cablecar ride to the mill. Gustaf climbs aboard an ore bucket on a neighboring cable. He sees her start to pull the bolt on the gate, but she shoves it back and hugs the oblivious child. To Lars-Erik's delight, Gustaf passes them. Gustaf questions a furious Anna. The screen pans to the courtroom. He believes she was angry because he doubted her. The prosecutor accuses Gustaf of loving her; he does not deny it. Emma Kristiansdotter, the jealous housekeeper, is next. In the attic getting robes for the birthday sleigh ride, she overhears Anna and Torsten, who scorns the ”dove” she has become and reveals his ambitions to do in Sweden “what has been done in other countries.” Downstairs, Anna gives the Consul a pocket chess set, which he hands to Emma, who stops, abruptly. The Consul recalls the sleigh ride. Torsten speeds by with Lars-Erik, lashing the horses, Anna and Gustaf in pursuit. Torsten won't stop, so Anna shoots him. He slips into the river and over the falls. The Consul believes Anna is innocent, but the judges are not satisfied. Anna protests that she left a message inside the chess set. Emma admits to keeping the letter, but she is above reading other people's mail. It is a full confession—and a suicide note. While the judges deliberate, Gustaf coaxes Anna into admitting that she loves him. He proposes. The clerk tells them that the judges are ready and adds that Gustaf should come, too.

Cast

as Anna Holm (alias Ingrid Paulsen) *

as Dr. Gustaf Segert *

as Torsten Barring * Osa Massen as Vera Segert *

Reginald Owen John Reginald Owen (5 August 1887 – 5 November 1972) was a British actor. He was known for his many roles in British and American films and television programs. Career The son of Joseph and Frances Owen, Reginald Owen studied at Sir Herbert ...

as Bernard Dalvik * Albert Bassermann as Consul Magnus Barring *

Marjorie Main Mary Tomlinson (February 24, 1890 – April 10, 1975), professionally known as Marjorie Main, was an American character actress and singer of the Classical Hollywood period, best known as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s and 1 ...

as Emma Kristiansdotter *

Donald Meek Thomas Donald Meek (14 July 1878 – 18 November 1946) was a Scottish-American actor. He first performed publicly at the age of eight and began appearing on Broadway in 1903. Meek is perhaps best known for his roles in the films '' You Can't ...

as Herman Rundvik *

Connie Gilchrist Rose Constance Gilchrist (July 17, 1895 – March 3, 1985) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Among her screen credits are her roles in the Hollywood productions '' Cry 'Havoc (1943), ''A Letter to Three Wives'' (1949), ...

as Christina Dalvik * Richard Nichols as Lars-Erik Barring * Charles Quigley as Eric * Gwili Andre as Gusta * Clifford Brooke as Wickman *

George Zucco George Zucco (11 January 1886 – 27 May 1960) was a British character actor who appeared in plays and 96 films, mostly American-made, during a career spanning over two decades, from the 1920s to 1951. In his films, he often played a suave ...

as Defense Attorney *

Henry Kolker Joseph Henry Kolker (November 13, 1874 ome sources 1870– July 15, 1947) was an American stage and film actor and director. Early years Kolker was born in Quincy, Illinois. Career Kolker, like fellow actors Richard Bennett and Robert Wa ...

as Judge *

Robert Warwick Robert Warwick (born Robert Taylor Bien, October 9, 1878 – June 6, 1964) was an American stage, film and television actor with over 200 film appearances. A matinee idol during the silent film era, he also prospered after the introduction ...

as Associate Judge * Gilbert Emery as Associate Judge *

Henry Daniell Charles Henry Pywell Daniell (5 March 1894 – 31 October 1963) was an English actor who had a long career in the United States on stage and in cinema. He came to prominence for his portrayal of villainous roles in films such as '' Camille'' (1 ...

as Public Prosecutor *

Sarah Padden Sarah Ann Padden (16 October 1881 – 4 December 1967) was an English-born American theatre and film character actress. She performed on stage in the early 20th century. Her best-known single-act performance was in ''The Clod'', a stage pr ...

as Police Matron *

William Farnum William Farnum (July 4, 1876 – June 5, 1953) was an American actor. He was a star of American silent film cinema and became one of the highest-paid actors during that time. Biography Farnum was born on July 4, 1876, in Boston, Massachuse ...

as Court Attendant

Reception

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $1,077,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $830,000 elsewhere.

Critical response

''Variety'' wrote "Miss Crawford takes a radical step as a screen glamour girl to allow the makeup necessary for facial disfiguration in the first half ... rawfordhas a strongly dramatic and sympathetic role ... which she handles in top-notch fashion." More recently, film critic Dennis Schwartz discussed the importance of the role to Joan Crawford: "Joan Crawford jumped at the chance to star in this juicy role despite having to play a facially disfigured woman (at least for half the film), which she was advised by even Louis B. Mayer (MGM head) that it could be costly for the glamor actress in the future. Instead it turned out to be one of her more acclaimed roles and did nothing but promote her career further as a serious dramatic actress (she won an Oscar for '' Mildred Pierce'' in 1945, which she claims this film had a cumulative effect in helping her win that award). Crawford's scar makeup was credited to

Jack Dawn John Wesley Dawn (February 18, 1891 – June 20, 1961) was an American make-up artist whose career spanned 37 years and over 200 films. Life and career John ‘Jack’ Dawson was born in Covington, Kentucky to John Henry Dawn and Marla Shelton D ...

, who created makeup for such films as '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939) and '' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' (1941)." Schwartz, Dennis
. ''Ozus' World Movie Reviews''. film review, November 11, 2005. Accessed: June 11, 2013.

References

External links

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Streaming audio

''A Woman's Face''
on Screen Guild Theater: April 19, 1942
''A Woman's Face''
on Lux Radio Theater: November 2, 1942 {{DEFAULTSORT:Woman's Face 1941 films 1941 drama films American drama films American black-and-white films Film noir American films based on plays Films based on works by Francis de Croisset Films directed by George Cukor Films set in Sweden Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films with screenplays by Donald Ogden Stewart American remakes of Swedish films Films produced by Victor Saville Films scored by Bronisław Kaper Works about plastic surgery 1940s English-language films 1940s American films