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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 honor 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. Theatrical release poster Directed by Michael Curtiz, Mildred Pierce (1945) is the story of the eponymous housewife and mother (Joan Crawford), who devote s herself solely to her two daughters: snobbish Veda (Ann Blyth) and sweet-natured Kay (Jo Ann Marlowe) . Mildred's principal goal is to pr o vide for Veda, who craves for possessions her mother cannot aff ord and social sta tus above that of her family . After her husband Bert (Bruce Bennett) loses his job, they quar rel frequently and he eventually moves out to be with his mistress, Maggie Biederh off (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 he...