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The Damned Don't Cry

Play trailer Poster for The Damned Don't Cry Released Apr 7, 1950 1h 43m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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80% Tomatometer 5 Reviews 76% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Trapped in an unhappy marriage and a dirt-poor town, Ethel Whitehead (Joan Crawford) decides to break free of these confines after the death of her child changes her outlook on life. She leaves her husband, begins using her good looks to manipulate men into doing her bidding and eventually schemes her way into the arms of wealthy but sinister mobster George Castleman (David Brian). But despite her cunning, Ethel realizes she's in over her head when she tries to con George and things turn deadly.
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The Damned Don't Cry

Critics Reviews

View All (5) Critics Reviews
Jeremiah Kipp Slant Magazine Like the star in question, this diva showcase knows what it is and what it's good at. Rated: 2.5/4 Jun 12, 2005 Full Review Yasser Medina Cinefilia A film that I find directed with a certain elegance by Vincent Sherman, but it does not offer anything intriguing as a piece of film noir due to the artificial verbiage that weakens the actions of Joan Crawford. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 6/10 Jun 18, 2022 Full Review Josh Larsen LarsenOnFilm What a feast for Joan Crawford. Rated: 4/4 Oct 1, 2021 Full Review Christopher Null Filmcritic.com Rated: 3.5/5 Jun 25, 2005 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Joan Crawford gives a solid performance as the gangster's moll who discovers when it's too late that she took the wrong path. Rated: B Nov 11, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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nick s Good drama with competent directing and acting. Some of the dialogue really is top shelf. The story is mostly the character arc of the main protagonist, so there's not much mystery or intrigue. That doesn't quite hook you as well. But it was a good movie all the same. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/13/24 Full Review Audience Member There all sorts of sub-genre film noirs...,,,.. San Francisco, New York, LA (usually Santa Monica) - Nevada - railroad, insurance scam, newspaper, femme fatale, catholic, amnesia, women's prison.... BUT, so far only one film noir I've seen that is pure Palm Springs and this is it. AND, probably in the top 25 greatest film noirs ever made. Much like Double Indemnity (1944) it's still copywrite protected, and very much worth the $4 on Fandango or Amazon to see. Loosely based on the life of Virginia Hill, gangster Bugsy Siegel's moll in the mid to late 1940s. Joan Crawford at her very best. 103 minutes, B&W. Released by Warner Brothers, a rather expensive movie to make as film noirs go: Cost over a million dollars to make back in 1950. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/03/24 Full Review Stefano L A galloping, far-fatched, and riveting tale of tawdriness and masterpiece storytelling! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/23/25 Full Review X O Interesting film. I was a bit worried in the beginning with how shitty the men treat women, but it's nice she holds her own. She's a player, but she has to. It's crazy that the guys take their 'move' for granted and enough for a kiss in 3 minutes. WTF is it about men, at any time or generation, to treat a woman this way? Anyway, the film develops really well. Impressive. Worth watching for how a gangster film looks like without the grime, and from a woman's point of view, but in the end, gangsters never treat women well. Money corrupts everyone. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/02/23 Full Review Audience Member Kicks off with a gallop, crawls to a trot, and ends with a crash - but as long as you don't take your eyes off Miss Crawford, you'll be rewarded with a gangster-moll mini-epic! "Whatever it's like out there, it's gotta be better than this..." Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member Fascinating story with Joan Crawford taking a different approach to her Mildred Pierce performance and playing the Veda Pierce role, so-to-speak. Here she plays a scheming, money-hungry woman willing to wade into the underworld to get over. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Damned Don't Cry

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Cast & Crew

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Vincent Sherman

Director

Joan Crawford

Ethel Whitehead

David Brian

George Castleman

Steve Cochran

Nick Prenta

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The Damned Don't Cry

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Movie Info

Synopsis Trapped in an unhappy marriage and a dirt-poor town, Ethel Whitehead (Joan Crawford) decides to break free of these confines after the death of her child changes her outlook on life. She leaves her husband, begins using her good looks to manipulate men into doing her bidding and eventually schemes her way into the arms of wealthy but sinister mobster George Castleman (David Brian). But despite her cunning, Ethel realizes she's in over her head when she tries to con George and things turn deadly.
Director
Vincent Sherman
Distributor
Warner Bros.
Production Co
Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 7, 1950, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 21, 2016
Runtime
1h 43m
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