Noir Reading

Definition of Film Noir: a motion picture with an often grim urban setting, photographed in somber tones and permeated by a feeling of disillusionment, pessimism, and despair.

Mildred Pierce, a novel by James M. Cain, is a lot in the news these days.

ISBN: 9780307946591/$14.95

Cain is considered the father of noir – he is also the author of Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice. They were both made into legendary movies of the 40’s starring Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Lana Turner, and John Garfield.

Kate Winslet is starring in a HBO miniseries (that premieres this weekend) of Mildred Pierce that co-stars Evan Rachel Wood and Guy Pearce.

Back in 1945, there was the Joan Crawford movie adaptation, which I have seen many times and adore. At the time, Joan Crawford was considered a “has been” in the movie industry, and Mildred Pierce revitalized her career. The IMDB trivia page mentions that fact here. If you have never seen the old movie, you should go and rent it now! Joan is tremendous as Mildred – tough as nails, but also very sympathetic and human in her own way.

I finally purchased a copy of Mildred Pierce at the local independent bookstore last week. I have made my way through Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler in the last year, and thought a title by James M. Cain would be a great edition to my library of crime fiction as well.  

The book is not a murder mystery as the original Crawford movie, but a real page turner with a character you can not forget. When the book opens, Mildred appears to be an ordinary 1930’s housewife with a husband out of work because of the depression. As the opening scene goes on, it is clear that Mildred is not your average woman for any era. She is extremely tough and asks a lot of herself, husband, and children. Mildred is single minded and driven, and her relationship with her daughter Veda embodies this in everyway. Veda has one goal: to become a wealthy and prestigious member of Pasadena society. Mildred only has one goal as well: to make Veda happy and become wealthy for her daughter. The whole book is set around the tug and pull between Veda and Mildred – Mildred tries to hang onto Veda and give her what she wants; Veda is always manipulating her way in and out of her mother’s arms trying arrive at her goal, whatever it takes.

There is a psychological element to Mildred’s portrait as well, with Cain relentlessly revealing some of her innermost thoughts. They can be quite disturbing, even for modern readers.

Apparently, Cain was a reporter before he started writing books, and this is reflected in the careful description of the settings and clothes. This gives the reader a very detailed look at what 1930’s Los Angeles was really like.

I literally could not put this book down and read it in a single sitting, ending at one a.m.

Happy Reading! Go to your local independent bookstore and check it out!