Queen Bee (1955)

A young girl (Lucy Marlow, A STAR IS BORN) comes to stay at her cousin's home in Georgia. There, she finds a family on the edge, ruled by a manipulative bitch (Joan Crawford), the Queen Bee of the title. Based on the novel by Edna L. Lee and directed by Ranald MacDougall, who scripted the 1945 MILDRED PIERCE. Irresistible trash, badly acted (except by Betsy Palmer) and as subtle as a sledgehammer. This is perhaps the quintessential Joan Crawford vehicle. Crawford overdoes the wickedness to the extreme that you'd think she was playing the evil queen in Snow White. Any attempts at taking it at all seriously go right out the window. It may be her worst performance, there's not a note of sincerity in her entire performance. Her breakdown in front of a mirror with cold cream is simply godawful. Still, it's enjoyable in the way that only some truly bad movies can be. Except for Betsy Palmer's touching performance as one of Crawford's victims, the rest of the cast seems stunned into submission by La Crawford. They include Barry Sullivan, John Ireland, Fay Wray and William Leslie.