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Esther Williams looking fabulous as always. Loretta Young is struggling to carry all of her presents. Christmas with Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. Ann Blyth looking lovely and festive. Colleen Moore singing Christmas carols. Jean Harlow putting up her Christmas garland. Little Shirley Temple dressed in a little Santa costume. Carole Lombard sitting next to her gorgeous Christmas tree. Your tree looks great too, Janet Gaynor. Christmas at the Stewarts. That's James Stewart's wife Gloria, with their twin baby daughters, Judy and Kelly, and sons, Ronald and Michael. Merry Christmas to you too, Janet Leigh. And Merry Christmas to all of you. 

In honour of Joan Crawford's (probable) 112th birthday, which was on Wednesday, this week on «Film Friday» I bring you what is perhaps the most iconic of her films, the one that gave her the only Academy Award of her career. Directed by Michael Curtiz, Mildred Pierce (1945) is the story of the eponymous housewife and mother (Joan Crawford), who devotes herself solely to her two daughters: snobbish Veda (Ann Blyth), and sweet-natured Kay (Jo Ann Marlowe). Mildred's main goal is to provide for Veda, who craves high social status and possessions her mother cannot afford. After her husband, Bert (Bruce Bennett), loses his job, they quarrel frequently and he eventually moves out to be with his mistress, Maggie Biederhoff (Lee Patrick). Faced with a stack of bills, Mildred takes a job as a waitress.When Veda ridicules her mother for what she does for a living, even though this work has paid for her expensive singing lessons, Mildred decides to open her own restaurant. With the he...