From Our Vaults:
Joan Crawford plays the lead role with silky villainy in Queen Bee, a melodrama directed and co-written by Ranald MacDougall, based upon the Edna L. Lee’s 1949 novel whse title was “The Queen Bee.”
Grade: C+ (** out of *****)
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Theatrical release poster
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Produced by Jerry Wald, the movie co-stars John Ireland, Betsy Palmer, and Barry Sullivan.
The film tells the story of a Southern family dominated by a ruthless woman and the havoc that her threats and intimidations have caused to all those around her.
Eva Phillips (Joan Crawford) dominates her Georgia mansion and her husband Avery (Barry Sullivan), an alcoholic mill owner who dispises her.
Cousin Jennifer Stewart (Lucy Marlow), pressured into moving in with the family, watches in horror as Eva maneuvers to prevent the marriage of Avery’s sister Carol (Betsy Palmer) to Judson Prentiss (John Ireland).
Carol tells Jennifer to watch out for Eva, after reading a book about bees–Eva is like queen bee who stings all of her competitors to death. Jennifer refuses to believe, and eventually becomes Eva’s putative personal assistant.
That same night, Eva and Jud have a meeting in a darkened room where he calls off their relationship. Jennifer witnesses this rendezvous from the top of the stairs, shocked to hear Eva’s warning that he will be sorry for refusing her.
When Carol and Jud’s engagement is announced, Eva hints at her former affair with Jud, resulting in Carol’s suicide in the barn.
Jennifer and Avery are drawn together and share a furtive kiss when he tells her he is aware of Eva and Jud’s past. When Eva senses the developing relationship between Jennifer and Avery, increases her malevolent actions. When he refuses to listen, she threatens a scandalous public divorce.
Jud, still guilty over Carol’s death, leaves the house, but comes back for work. Jennifer confides in him that it was Eva who told Carol about his earlier affair. Now, for different reasons, both men are determined to avenge it.
Avery acts as though he is in love with Eva, and she promises to stop being manipulative., but Jud sees through her and confronts Avery.
Jud preempts his plan on the night Avery intends to commit murder-suicide. When Eva discerns that plan, she attacks him, resulting in a crash over a cliff, killing them both. In the end, Jennifer and Avery are free to love each other.
Crawford, whose career was rapidly declining, alongside with her looks, could have played this familiar role in her sleep–by now, mellifluous meanness was expected by the viewers.
Sporting an unappealing hairdo and heavy make up that highlights her masculine features, Crawford is not helped by the awkward staging of Ranald MacDougall, who here makes his directing debut.
In short, Queen Bee is an utterly forgettable movie, featuring Crawford delivering her lines in a mode that highlights the text’s shallow, mechanical nature.
Cast
Joan Crawford as Eva Phillips
John Ireland as Judson Prentiss
Betsy Palmer as Carol Lee Phillips
Barry Sullivan as Avery Phillips
Lucy Marlow as Jennifer Stewart
William Leslie as Ty McKinnon
Fay Wray as Sue McKinnon
Katherine Anderson as Miss Breen
Tim Hovey as Ted Phillips
Linda Bennett as Tessa Phillips
Credits:
Directed by Ranald MacDougall
Screenplay by Ranald MacDougall, based on The Queen Bee by Edna L. Lee
Produced by Jerry Wald
Cinematography Charles Lang
Edited by Viola Lawrence
Music by George Duning
Production and distribution: Columbia Pictures
Release date: November 7, 1955
Running time: 95 minutes
My Oscar Book:
Oscar Nominations:
Queen Bee was nominated for two Oscars at the 28th Academy Awards:
Best Cinematography: Charles Lang
Best Costume Design, Black-and-White: Jean Louis
Ranald MacDougall Filmography
Queen Bee (1955)
Man on Fire (1957)
The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959)
The Subterraneans (1960)
Go Naked in the World (1961)
The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County (1970)
