The Damned Don't Cry

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).

Plot
Ethel Whitehead, a married woman living in a squalid factory town with an abusive husband and unsupportive parents, is only attached to her young son. After he dies in a tragic accident, she abandons her marriage and leaves town, determined to discover a worthwhile life at any cost. With no education or work experience, she works at a low-wage job until she attracts the attention of a customer, who invites her to model dresses at his department store. Before long, she finds herself shedding her morals to become an escort for wealthy clients on the side.

Ethel meets the store's mild-mannered accountant, Martin Blackford, who accepts her invitation to dine out with herat the club where she usually entertains out-of-town clients. After learning that Martin's financial situation is hardly better than her own, she engineers a meeting between the club's boss, Grady, who badly needs a competent accountant. Needing the money, Martin reluctantly takes the extra work.

As Martin's friendship with Ethel deepens and his reputation grows, Ethel manages to ingratiate him further into the criminal underworld by encouraging him to join in with a casino gambling plot masterminded by George Castleman, an organized crime boss and former smalltime crook. The honest Martin initially balks at the idea of aiding a criminal enterprise, but Ethel encourages him to likewise abandon his morals, arguing that money and power are the only things that matters in life, and that all people must look after themselves. In order to please Ethel, Martin agrees, and the two share a kiss. However, Ethel and Castleman share a mutual attraction based on a shared ambition to claw their way to the top, and she reciprocates his advances when meeting with him to discuss Martin's pay.

With Martin's assistance, Castleman's plans flourish, but he faces difficulties with Nick Prenta, an underling who he had sent west in order to be rid of him, but who found success and is rumored to be planning a rebellion following the murder of Grady. Castleman orders Ethel to join Nick and uncover his plans. Ethel (now going by Lorna Hansen Forbes, a glamorous socialite cover invented by Castleman) obeys his command out of love for him.

Ethel successfully seduces Nick Prenta, but falls in love with him after learning of his circumstances and becoming sympathetic. She chafes under her responsibility after a meeting with Martin informs her that a vindictive Castleman intends to murder Nick if his suspicions about a rebellion are true. Ethel, disillusioned with Castleman, reluctantly attends one of Nick's meetings and learns the names of the associates who intend to support his double-cross. However, she is unable to conceal the information, as Castleman ambushes her at home and accuses her of falling in love with Nick. He confronts Nick and reveals than Ethel was nothing more than a mole before shooting him dead.

Ethel flees back home to her parents, but Martin soon locates her; he admitted that Castleman murdered Nick to the police, and warns her that Castleman also knows of her location and intends to kill her as well. Before Ethel can escape, Castleman arrives and attempts to kill Martin. Ethel wrestles for the gun and is shot, while Martin manages to kill Castleman. Ethel, wounded but alive, convalesces in bed as two reporters predict that she'll try once more to make it out of her roughshod hometown once she recovers.

Cast

 * Uncredited (in order of appearance)

Box office
The movie was a hit. According to Warner Bros., it earned $1,540,000 in the U.S. and $671,000 in other markets.

According to Variety, the film earned $1.4 million in the U.S. and Canada in 1950.

Critical response
When the film was released, the reviews were mixed, even though the box office was considered good. The New York Times 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 vagrant socialite do their jobs in a conventional B-story, A-budget way. Vincent Sherman's direction is as specious as the script."

Modern critics are generally more sympathetic. James Travers in 2012 stated: "It is not hard to account for the popular appeal of The Damned Don't Cry. The plot may be far-fetched and the characters absurdly exaggerated, but the film is otherwise well-constructed (using the familiar film noir device of the extended flashback) and well-performed by a well-chosen ensemble of acting talent.

Film critic Craig Butler called the film "a ridiculous melodrama that is fairly poor as real drama but is quite enjoyable as camp." He added "Damned starts out as if it were one of Crawford's earlier 'poor gal makes good' flicks, but it quickly becomes lurid and unbelievable. As is often the case in her later vehicles, Damned finds Crawford in a one-dimensional world and asks that she find ways of giving the illusion of depth to her character."

Critic Dennis Schwartz liked the film, Crawford's work and its direction. He wrote "A dreary crime drama following the formula of Flamingo Road, which also starred Joan Crawford. It is efficiently directed by Vincent Sherman...Joan Crawford gives a solid performance as the gangster's moll who discovers when it's too late that she took the wrong path."

Slant critic Jeremiah Kipp wrote "The direction by hack Vincent Sherman is adequate and humble before Joan, though some scenes feel like the transition into the editing room was hardly smooth. (At least two insert shots feel wobbly and jarring.) But Crawford gets what she wants, and that's all we really came for, no? Like the star in question, this diva showcase knows what it is and what it's good at. If you don't like it, why are you still here?"