The Damned Don't Cry
| The Damned Don't Cry! | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Vincent Sherman |
| Produced by | Jerry Wald |
| Screenplay by | Harold Medford Jerome Weidman |
| Based on | the story "Case History" by Gertrude Walker |
| Starring |
Joan Crawford David Brian Steve Cochran |
| Music by | Daniele Amfitheatrof |
| Cinematography | Ted McCord |
| Edited by | Rudi Fehr |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
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Release date
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Running time
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103 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,233,000 |
| Box office | $2,211,000 |
The Damned Don't Cry! is a 1950 American film noir crime-drama directed by Vincent Sherman and featuring Joan Crawford, David Brian, and Steve Cochran. It tells of a woman's involvement with an organized crime boss and his subordinates. The screenplay by Harold Medford and Jerome Weidman was based on the story "Case History" by Gertrude Walker. The plot is loosely based on the relationship of Bugsy Siegel and Virginia Hill. The film was directed by Vincent Sherman and produced by Jerry Wald. The Damned Don't Cry! is the first of three cinematic collaborations between Sherman and Crawford, the others being Harriet Craig (1950) and Goodbye, My Fancy (1951).
Ethel Whitehead (Crawford) is a weary housewife living at the edge of the Texas oil fields. When her young son is killed in a bicycle accident, she leaves her laborer husband Roy (Egan) for the big city. She quickly learns to use her physical charms to get ahead. In cahoots with bookkeeper friend Martin Blackford (Smith), Ethel works her way into the entourage of George Castleman (Brian), a mobster who enjoys an elegant lifestyle. With the help of socialite Patricia Longworth (Royle), Castleman grooms Ethel in the arts of cultured living. After making her his mistress, he tries to use her to trap his arch-rival Nick Prenta (Cochran). The trap fails when Ethel falls in love with Prenta. The betrayed Castleman kills Prenta and goes gunning for Ethel but dies in a shootout with Blackford.
The movie was a hit grossing $2,211,000 nearly double its budget of $1,233,000. After being adjusted for inflation the 2009 film gross would be $18,600,038.
When the film was released, the review was mixed, even though the box office was considered good. The New York Times film critic, Bosley Crowther, was tough on the film in his review. He wrote, "Miss Crawford as the 'fancy lady' runs through the whole routine of cheap motion-picture dramatics in her latter-day hard-boiled, dead-pan style ... A more artificial lot of acting could hardly be achieved" He added, "And Kent Smith, as a public accountant whom Miss Crawford lures into the syndicate, plays a Milquetoast so completely that his whole performance seems a succession of timid gulps. Steve Cochran as a tricky West Coast mobster and Selena Royle as a cagrant socialite do their jobs in a conventional B-story, A-budget way. Vincent Sherman's direction is as specious as the script."
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