Thanks to "A Woman's Face," Joan Crawford's slumped career had a badly needed revival, and Greta Garbo's career ended. Garbo had a choice of "A Woman's Face" or "Two-Faced Woman," but she refused to play a character with a deformity. So she made the disastrous "Two-Faced Woman" instead and retired, her face free of scars and her life free of films.

Ingrid Bergman made the original movie in Sweden, and in the hands of MGM, it translated quite well with a superb performance from Joan Crawford, perhaps the best of her career, as a scarred, bitter woman who makes her living from blackmail. Her story is told in a series of flashbacks, as each character testifies at the woman's trial.

The performances, from MGM's able stable, are very good - Melvyn Douglas as a doctor, Conrad Veidt as an evil man who wants to use Crawford for his own ends (he described himself in this film as "Lucifer in a tuxedo"),Osa Massen, Albert Basserman, Donald Meek, Henry Daniell, George Zucco, and Marjorie Main. Richard Nichols, as the little boy Lars-Erik, sports the same southern accent in Sweden as he did in France in "All This and Heaven, Too." Crawford is excellent, and one wonders if the role of Anna didn't strike a chord with her given her difficult childhood. Under Cukor's direction, she handles the role beautifully.

A very good movie, and an exciting sleigh ride at the end that you won't want to miss.

This is one of Joan Crawford's better films. It has so much going for it: the full energy and finances of MGM (the film looks great and features many of MGM's best players),a wonderful plot (packed with lots of cynicism) and a decent acting job by Joan. Although I was able to generally predict where this unusual movie would go, I was so impressed at how good a job was done with the film that I really didn't mind that the suspense elements weren't quite as surprising as they might have intended.

Aside from Ms. Crawford, I really loved the horrid villain played by Conrad Veidt--he was absolutely slimy and easy to hate. Also, it was fun to see Marjorie Main made up so differently than usual--at first, I didn't even recognize her. I also LOVED the part played by Albert Bassermann--he was so wonderful and lovable.

All-in-all, a wonderful film with nothing negative to say about it other than one minor gripe. Why is it in so many Crawford movies does she play a woman obviously a lot younger than she really was. This wasn't as bad as most of her films of the 50s (where she played women 20 years younger),but according to the numbers thrown about in the film, I reckon she was 27--while in real life she was close to 40 and definitely looked it. A great acting job, true, but why the big lie about the age?

Despite not being the most subtle of actresses, that's putting it lightly, Joan Crawford has nonetheless always fascinated me and has given a fair share of riveting performances. The rest of the cast was made up of a lot of talented actors, am especially fond of Conrad Veidt (remember him most as the villain in 'The Thief of Bagdad'). Like to love a lot of director George Cukor's films. So there at least three good reasons to see 'A Woman's Face'.

'A Woman's Face' turned out to be well worth the while. A couple of blemishes, neither massive actually, but outdone by everything else that is done right brilliantly. Making for a very good film with agreed one of Crawford's greatest performances, one of the best climaxes seen for any film recently seen by me and some of Cukor's best ever direction. Don't know why it took me so long to see 'A Woman's Face' and why neither this or even more so the Ingrid Bergman film are better known, they deserve to be.

It does start off a little too leisurely for my personal liking, though it does still does intrigue enough. Two performances didn't quite work for me, with Marjorie Main feeling out of kilter with everything else and Donald Meek verging on annoying.

Otherwise, 'A Woman's Face' is very good. The quality of the production values is very high. The landscapes are both beautiful and foreboding, matched perfectly by the photography which conveyed an ominous atmosphere as well as looking attractive. The ever talented Bronislau Kaper's score is suitably haunting without being over-bearing. 'A Woman's Face' is superbly directed by Cukor, with some of his best direction. Knowing when to let the powerful drama let rip, let the dark atmosphere speak and when to tone it down and restrain, alert yet accomodating.

The script is thoughtful and never got too heavy on the talk or wallow too much that it becomes long-winded, so the drama didn't come over as stagy. The story is certainly melodrama in every sense of the word at points, but it's emotionally powerful and at times frightening without being over-wrought. Those are my thoughts though and probably will be disagreed with. The climax is absolutely thrilling, have not in a while been this riveted by a climax come to think of it.

Mervyn Douglas is suitably sympathetic, with appropriately smooth chemistry with Crawford, and Ossa Masson has a ball in her role, but it is Veidt who is especially memorable of the rest of the cast. Being suave and charming on the outside but shows his true colours as a fairly repellent schemer. It is Crawford's show all the way though, people have said it is one of her best performances and have to absolutely concur with that. More toned down than usual, but genuinely chilling in parts and also very moving in others with starting off as a reprehensible character that gradually earns empathy.

Concluding, very good film. 8/10