Queen Bee (film)
| Queen Bee | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Ranald MacDougall |
| Produced by | Jerry Wald |
| Screenplay by | Ranald MacDougall |
| Based on |
The Queen Bee 1949 novel by Edna L. Lee |
| Starring |
Joan Crawford John Ireland Betsy Palmer Barry Sullivan |
| Music by | George Duning |
| Cinematography | Charles Lang |
| Edited by | Viola Lawrence |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Queen Bee is a 1955 American film noir drama starring Joan Crawford, John Ireland, Betsy Palmer, and Barry Sullivan. The film was directed by Ranald MacDougall and produced by Jerry Wald, and the screenplay by MacDougall was based upon the novel The Queen Bee, by Edna L. Lee.
The film tells the story about a Southern family dominated by a ruthless woman and the havoc her threats and intimidation cause to those around her.
Eva Phillips (Joan Crawford) dominates her Georgia mansion and her husband Avery (Barry Sullivan), an alcoholic mill owner who hates his wife. A cousin, Jennifer Stewart (Lucy Marlow), is pressured into moving in with the family, and she watches in horror as Eva maneuvers to prevent the marriage of Avery's sister Carol (Betsy Palmer) to Judson Prentiss (John Ireland). Carol tells Jennifer to watch out for Eva, and that she read a book about bees and feels that Eva is like a queen bee who stings all her competitors to death. Jennifer refuses to believe such bad sentiments about Eva, and eventually becomes the putative personal assistant to Eva.
That same night, Eva and Jud have a meeting in a darkened room where he tells her that their relationship and anything they had together was over because he is marrying Carol. Eva rejects this and begins to kiss him, but Judson stops kissing her after a few seconds once he realizes that he is falling back into her trap. Meanwhile, Jennifer witnesses this rendezvous from the top of the staircase and is shocked. Jud turns the light on and tells Eva that he is serious, and she warns him that he will ultimately be sorry for refusing her. When Carol and Jud's engagement is announced to Eva, Eva strongly hints at her former affair with Jud, and Carol commits suicide by hanging herself in the barn.
...
Wikipedia