What Dunaway unfortunately does not mention in this interview is that the reason she knows the book and film "Mommie Dearest" is NOT the real Joan Crawford is because before filming, she met with some of Joan's closest friends, including her secretary, Betty Barker. All of these people described to Dunaway who Joan was, and why her daughter lied. Sadly, Dunaway still played the role like a lunatic.

“I feel fairly sure that that is not the Joan Crawford” ~ Faye Dunaway.

I HATE to say this, but Faye made an excellent and very valid point about exaggeration. Right on the money.

The greatest sorrow in life is to have a child who turns out like Christina. Especially when you adopt a child, try to give them love the same you'd give your flesh and blood, but then this occurs after you pass on -- I can't imagine how Joan has been rolling in her grave.

Funny Joan Crawford is still Loved today as one of Americas greatest actresses. Fay Dunaway hit the nail on the head. These are moments in a persons life. Christine Crawford was very jealous of her Mother’s Talent and also fame. Watch the Larry King interview 2000, she inserts herself into her mothers accomplishments when Larry King praises her Mother. The truth is very complex. The envy Christine had for her Mother is obvious.

WELL SAID, FAYE!!! ❤

I saw the film version of Mommie Dearest before I ever saw a single Joan Crawford performance - and when I finally watched masterpieces like Possession, Mildred Pierce, Dancing Lady, Possessed, A Woman's Face etc. I basically reconciled myself to the fact that this brilliant actress was also an abusive mother. After READING the book for the first time, I'm less sure. So much of the book actually serves to make Christina seem petty and ungrateful - in a way that surely couldn't have been intentional. The vast majority of their conflicts seemed to stem from mutual stubbornness and Joan's insistence on Christina writing thank you notes for gifts. I myself grew up in quite a tumultuous home that even veered towards abuse - and I think Joan was probably a bit erratic (and definitely had a drinking problem in her 50s) but I think I've done enough research to say that it's a big injustice that her perception has been so coloured by Mommie Dearest.

she always said: only GOD knows what reall happened between them, so she let us understand the version by Christina is poor fantasy, but of course couldn't tell that because of the movie she made, and a very great performance

I’d almost forgotten how brilliant and well spoken Faye is/was. She is honest enough to admit her true thoughts about the veracity of Christina’s claims, but she was enough of a professional to follow the direction and content she was given and give her hest performance in each scene. With better film-makers, this film coukd have been truly legendary instead of being mostly renowned as a camp cult classic. And yes Christina is a liar.

The book reads softer than the movie

Joan called Faye a great actress back in the 1960s..And look what Faye ends up doing to Joan.. disgraceful.

What I find interesting is even Christina said the movie really exaggerated on what she claims happened. Why did they have to go so over the top? And why did Christina even have to cause all this? Joan was strict but that's not abuse. She wanted to raise her kids to be disciplined and grateful for what they had. Damn shame she was betrayed by the daughter she desperately wanted.

A fasinating interview for sure but the film is such awful distorted trash. Key point about Christina's book at 7:57.

If she didn't believe that why she accepted the role?

Thank u for sharing this. I never believed the garbage about JC. Her daughter strikes me as a greedy person who wanted things she did not earn.

Every time I show someone a Joan Crawford film they are so shocked to see how graceful and beautiful and soft-spoken she always was. She was nothing like this Dunaway creature and it is obscene for her to sit there and claim any type of kinship to poor Joan after she went out of her way to vilify her.

I think if someone believed a lie was being told about a person that would tarnish their reputation forever, then they have a duty to not portray that in a film, simply on principle. Personally, I think Christina felt entitled to her mother's fame and money, and when neither of those things were handed to Christina, she waited until her mother left her nothing in the will to get her revenge. Christina has made millions off her accusations, some of which might actually be true to some extent. Like Faye Dunaway, I believe they're very exaggerated for reasons Christina might not face in reality. The fact that Christina says she never loved her mother tells me that she is a sociopath. Even I love my mother, and she treated me much, much worse than Christina claims her own mother treated her.

If Faye Dunaway doubted the authenticity of Christina's claims & thought so highly of Joan, as she states "Joan pulled her herself up by the bootstraps", then why take this part? Was she really so hard up for work? To me, Dunaway sounds like she's backtracking with the interview as she realised too late what a train wreck the Mommie Dearest film was.

No one in Hollywood likes Faye Dunaway. She's horrid to work with. Why did she take the part? And why did she play it that way? She wants it both ways. Shame on her.

Faye, Faye, Faye. You came so close to helping out but then you retreat like a coward for the rest of your life about this ? Where is the mea culpa? The “I shouldn’t have done this to Joan Crawford’s legacy.” Everybody can accept a mistake - I could forgive her taking the role and her going over the top even, if she’d say “Joan didn’t deserve this and I made a mistake that I deeply regret.” That would go a long way.

Did Joan hit her children? Maybe. If you have a kid, there must be instances where you need to get physical to stop their temper tantrums. But does she become a monster when her kids disobey her? I doubt it. To my understanding, Joan grew up poor, and she had a rough childhood. For a woman who can empathise with gay men, I don't think she lacked the same capacity to treat her children with love.

Honestly, this doesn't seem genuine. It seems like she just backtracked after the film was a failure. If she knew the book was a gigantic lie, why would she even do the film? I've read the shooting script of MD which is on The Concluding Chapter of Crawford, and it isn't any different from the final product. She met friends of Joan during the film who told her that the book was a lie but still she went on and did it. I feel sorry for Joan. All that she contributed to this industry, and yet they partake in slandering her. I completely agreed with Marlene Dietrich's take- Paramount should be ashamed of producing such filth, Frank Perry should be ashamed of directing such filth, Dunaway should be ashamed of acting in such filth. Christina Crawford should hide in a hole and never return for writing such filth.

oh my god wh is the interviewer?

I can't help but think of Casey LaLonde, "Yeeeah...Um...."

“So” (which is the millennial word that begins even a yes/no answer) lemme get this straight. Joan Crawford left the two out of her will because she just knew the upbringing hadn’t stuck, both would conspire to a betrayal of her unsung motherliness, and Christina’s being super-articulate (edit added 👉🏻very highly likely all her life) would clinch public opinion anyway?

This is very informative information.