Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Just so...so bad

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

This is a melodrama and is obviously written for one reason and that is to be a melodrama. The result is a one-dimensional and at times seemingly slow film as scenes of pure melodrama follow one after the other. Joan Crawford was the master of the genre and she is terrific in this one, even getting intimidatingly physical at times, and shockingly so. You gotta see these scenes as she goes completely over the top, they are priceless.It all takes place in one house, with the characters constantly interacting in close quarters, as if scorpions in a bottle. This really doesn't work as well as it should because the characters have little or no development and in some cases no background. For example, all we really know about Crawford's character is that she came from Chicago and she is meaner than hell. Fortunately all of the acting is outstanding. Barry Sullivan gives one of his best performances, its maybe his finest ever. He is believable as Avery, the suffering husband and father of the Queen Bee's two children. The acting in "Queen Bee" is so good that it overcomes any shortcomings, making this a film I would recommend. It is one of the classic late-Crawford "eyebrow movies" and not to be missed.

It's not that this is a bad film, but it doesn't quite work...and I'm not sure why. I just know that as I was watching it -- a story about a woman who manipulates everyone in a southern mansion -- I couldn't help thinking that Lillian Hellman could have fixed it.I can't fault the acting here. Joan Crawford is at her bitchy best. Even Barry Sullivan, whom I always thought of as a competent actor (though far from a favorite of mine), is very, very good. John Ireland does well. Betsy Palmer is excellent. Lucy Marlow as the visitor is very good. And it's interesting to see Fay Wray as the nut case in the early scenes.The basic story line seems fine -- A ruthless and unsatisfied wife at a southern mansion manipulates everyone (including the children) into a miserable life that includes multiple suicide. And you just know that in the end the witch (Crawford) will get her comeuppance...but how? But somehow, it just doesn't come together. Although the story line was fine, maybe the script was weak...or the direction. But that doesn't mean that it's not watchable. And of course, watching Crawford play a character that some say was very close to her real personality is extremely interesting.

Joan Crawford's least likable character could be the one she played in this film, as a controlling and vindictive woman of wealth who runs and ruins (or nearly ruins) the lives of all those whom she has relationships with in her large southern plantation mansion. Apparently the relationships come out of her money and their lack of it, as well as the level of her misdirected intelligence and lack of empathy for others, none of which gets explained very fully. Even to her own children, the product of her marriage to heavy drinking philosophizing character played by Barry Sullivan, she shows a cold disregard, especially the choice of a nanny, who's even meaner than Joan. Into this dysfunction comes Jennifer Stewart as a young cousin from Chicago who upsets the strange family chemistry that has been developing over the years, befriending the poor kids, and catching a lot of eyes. John Ireland seems a natural as the one guy who can and does (in some well done scenes) stand up to Queen Bee Joan, presenting his usual suppressed aversion to injustice while also straddling the fence. It's worth sticking with for the ending.

This is Joan at her nastiest. Don't come here looking for lighthearted fare because there is none. I know that "nastiness" is one of Joan's specialties. If you are to believe "Mommie Dearest" it must be because she had a lot of that in her to begin with.Some people love to watch people at their nastiest, but I find them a little hard to tolerate after 20-30 minutes.I did like the cinematography and elaborate sets. The costumes were gorgeous on all the woman, but of course Joan is showcased in the finest. The southern mansion is a sight to behold as well.I didn't care much for Barry Sullivan as Crawford's husband. He seemed very wooden and mechanical in his dialogue.There isn't any pleasantness to be had in the whole entire movie. Just a lot of nastiness, deceit, infidelity and lying. So don't watch this if you want lighthearted entertainment or a deep, convincing plot.