A Woman's Face

A Woman's Face
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGeorge Cukor
Screenplay byDonald Ogden Stewart
Elliot Paul
Based onIl était une fois...
1932 play
by Francis de Croisset
Produced byVictor Saville
StarringJoan Crawford
Melvyn Douglas
Conrad Veidt
CinematographyRobert Planck
Edited byFrank Sullivan
Music byBronislau Kaper
Production
company
Distributed byLoew's Inc.
Release date
  • May 23, 1941 (1941-05-23)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,343,000[1]
Box office$1,907,000[1]

A Woman's Face is a 1941 American drama film noir directed by George Cukor and starring Joan Crawford, Melvyn Douglas and Conrad Veidt. It tells the story of Anna Holm, a facially disfigured blackmailer, 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.[2] 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, based on the play Il était une fois... by Francis de Croisset. Another version of the story, a Swedish production, was filmed in 1938 as En kvinnas ansikte, starring Ingrid Bergman.[3]

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 album Exile on Main St. (1972).

  1. ^ a b The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. ^ A Woman's Face at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films.
  3. ^ En Kvinnas Ansikte at IMDb.