Steven Spielberg Remembers Working with Joan Crawford | TCMFF 2022 

Even in 2022, people still talk about Joan Crawford. Her performance in Mildred Pierce takes the audience to an acting class. Everything about it was brilliant.

Spielberg made two brilliant observations on Joan Crawford. 1. Her range wasn't wide but within her range she could outdo any of her contemporaries. 2. In a two shot with anyone even Gable, it's Crawfords face you see. Thank you Steven.

Just think that when Steven met Joan there was basically a century of movie history represented between these two. Steven, then a young man working with a lady who'd made movies all the way back in the silent era of the 1920s and he's still going strong in the 2020's.

I wanted more Joan Crawford

Miss Joan Crawford was a warm, kind, understanding, patient, generous humanitarian. Don't believe the lies form that evil daughter!

Mildred Pierce is one of my favourite rainy Sunday afternoon movies.

Joan Crawford the highest grossing actress of all time in cinema and Steven Spielberg the highest grossing film director in history. The chapter of that series of both is cinema history. The last work of the most popular actress in classic cinema and the first important work of the film director with the most profitable films of the modern era of cinema. I love Joan Crawford's career, image and story. For me, she will always be the Eternal Queen of Cinema and her story is an example of self-improvement and effort.

Night Gallery was fantastic. For a moment in the early 70s TV was pretty good for a 14-year-old.

I loved Night Gallery. I was just a kid, but I was enthralled!

TCM is the best channel on cable

"Duel" is one his best movies. Great script by Richard Matheson. Most of it is told only through visuals and sound. When I saw it on TV as a kid (as a movie of the week), my brother and I were impressed by how good it was. Nowadays I can play the DVD through my stereo system for better sound.

I remember Night Gallery and loved it! I am 64.

One of Joan's greatest performances. Steven did an excellent directing job with Night Gallery. Love "Jaws" and "Close Encounters" as well. (To this day, I still have an issue getting in the ocean - lol).

The greatest storyteller in movies. I remember watching a doc on him and it included a film he made at 12. At that age he new instinctively to turn the camera while filming to show the fighter pilot going down in mid flight because the plane was hit. What a gift

Miss Crawford was is still an icon..us gays love her.... always and forever Miss Crawford...

God bless Steven for telling the truth, not the nonsense that Ben perpetuates about Crawford. She was known to be very professional, extremely talented, very polite and classy and generous. Heard all the nonsense and it doesn't hold up doing research. Old Ben wouldn't go after the problems that the likes of Bogart and Tracy had. Such a huge double standard. Steven is just an honest guy.

I didn't get to meet him, but it's still kinda cool to think I watched ET with Steven at the European Charity Premier in London in 1982. I did see him get into his limo at the end, I knocked on the window and we gave each a thumbs up. Still have hope that one day I can work with him. This was a lovely interview. Bless you, Steven Spielberg x

The Schindler’s list is his best film by far. One of the best pictures of all time.

Nice interview Ben! Spielberg is my favorite from the second generation of great directors. I love his vision and humble sensitivity of essence in his work. Please keep us coming back to wonder and surprise Mr Spielberg. ♥️

I love Spielberg's re-examination of "WEST SIDE STORY".

I own almost all of Spielberg's movies... on laserdiscs, on DVD, and on bluray. My favorite film of all time, my #1, was "JAWS", which own all issues. I MET SPIELBERG, in March 1986, at the academy Awards-Oscars when I attended (sneaked in, hardly sat throughout whole show, even held an actual Oscar which winners let me hold) ; when the show was over, I had been standing on stage, looking down at William Hurt who had won for "Kiss of spider woman" and Huston who won for "Prizzis Honor", and listened to them talking with friends at the bottom of the stage; when they all left, I just stood there in awe, so then walked to get off stage, as I went down the stairway, I saw a guy pass me going up the stairs, along with another guy following him, I turned around, and caught him at the middle of the stage, and shook his hand, and said "I just want to say that you are my favorite director, and I love your movies, please keep up the great work", to which Spielberg said "Thank you", and went on his way as I went back down the stairs, to exit the Dorothy Chandlier Pavilion. I had no camera, and had the program but did not ask for autograph. Was before cellphones. I had only wanted to meet only 2 people -celebs- in my life: steven Spielberg and Burt Reynolds, and I did; I have met both Spielberg and Reynolds; i met reynolds in October 1994 in New York City). Both were nice to me. I have had a FORREST GUMP style life.

How fun! I was actually there in the audience seeing this.

Enjoyed the interview very much. Steven Spielberg has been one of my favorite directors since high school when I saw Jaws. I have enjoyed many of his movies if not all. Would love to see him on the next TCM Cruise w/everyone. Thanks Ben & TCM for us viewers to watch the interviews.

Thank you for every dot and twiddle you have created. Every frame struck a cord within me. 👏👏👏👏👏👏

I well remember seeing the premiere showing of the Night Gallery movie on TV. I was in high school at the time. Excellent movie. I now have the DVD of several seasons of Night Gallery. Steven Spielberg always gives great interviews. Thank you Ben.

Great interview! Thanks, Ben!

Glad he is in good spirits after the surprise underperformance of his west side story at the box office. Great interview. Would love to go to tcmff one day!

Excellent interview Ben! This was so much fun to watch. Thank you TCM for posting this video!

I so wish I could be there in person. So excited to be returning for the cruise though

Great interview! Always enjoyed Steven Spielberg's work and - it seems, he's a good guy.

The duel..,. There's no words

I love Steven Spielberg and his films.

I truly love that man

Joan Crawford deserves a film about your life

A fun and engaging interview. Spielberg is correct that Boris Sagal was another one of the directors on the Night Gallery pilot; however, the third director on the pilot was actually Barry Shear, not Joseph Sargent.

Thank you for this wonderful interview. I remember watching Duel and the way the truck died was perfect! I look forward to watching the rest (assuming they'll also be posted here) from the film festival. What a gift for us movie lovers!

Ben not the greatest interviewer but Spielberg was great. Thanks for all the wonderful movies !

R.I.P., Joan.

That was great. Thanks. 🙂

What he went through directing from Joan to Jaws was an understatement. They second guessed him, they disparaged him, and they fired him every day. Sid Sheinberg redeemed him and watched over him.

Steven Spielberg is the greatest. He owns his film 📽️🎥 🍿 production company Amblin entertainment in California USA 🇺🇸. Great video

An amazing interview

Legend of Cinema !!!

Fun fun interview! Unless you came back to it, Sugarland Express wasn't mentioned. That was before he made 1941 and it has some fantastic, brilliant scenes.

Always is a great movie that he made.

I love the interview with Ben mankiewicz and Steven Spielberg from downtown Winter Haven Winter Haven Florida

Avisa pra eles Steve que a joan foi a maior atriz que hollywood já teve

I was there at in DALLAS at the Theater watching the 1st Viewing of 'Close Encounters,' and it was not the MOVIE that anyone ever saw again. ..... FINALLY, a QUESTION I didn't know the Answer for: I thought I watched a different movie after the 'Opening,' but I never had any evidence. lol that makes me special. Right?

I love that someone so successful can admit to having insecurities.

This is a singular man

that was way too short ... I could listen to Mr. Spielberg all day

Stevens ability to speak narratively to children is uncanny, as a kid watching E.T. I had no notion of divorce or it’s connection to the film but I had decided in my emotional trauma watching the film that Peter Coyote’s character was Elliot’s dad doing a sort of missus Doubhtfire so he could see his kids. No idea where it came from, perhaps I was a kid trying to heal another kid.

Just starting to watch this but TRUST Joan would have had HUGE apprehension with a 22 year old director initially! Xxo

Ben....not even going to try to spell the last name...is such a good Hollywood historian and ambassador .

Steven Spielberg's Jet 5,656 mile (4,915 NM) flight from LBG to VNY @ Celebjet ~ 5,247 gallons (19,861 liters). ~ 35,164 lbs (15,950 kg) of jet fuel used. ~ $34,313 cost of fuel. ~ 55 tons of CO2 emissions.

Is the Night Gallery episode he directed available to stream anywhere?

👏

The coincidence that Henry Thomas starred in Misunderstood in Tunisia and Speilberg filmed a movie where E.T. Melissa Mathison writing the E.T. then in the same area of Tunisia.

I miss the original host Robert Osborne. But I like this new one.

💜💚💜💚

The answers just bounce off the interviewer. He had his own script and he wasn’t going to be deterred by a good follow up question.

#MasterofCinema

Yeah - boy - I remembered sitting through "1941" and thinking how did anyone okay this?

He is a brilliant man! Joan Crawford was a true Hollywood Icon. Unfortunately, the Mommy Dearest movie has overshadowed all of her accomplishments.

🎬

CURRENTLY NO SOUND ON THIS VIDEO---5/23/22

Notice how Ben Mankowitz tried to bait Spielberg to talk "bad" about Joan Crawford. However, like most people who actually KNEW Joan, Spielberg has nothing but GOOD stories of Joan. Ben Mankowitz is not only an embarrassment to TCM and its late host, Robert Osborne, he is a total embarrassment to his family's name. His uncle was a good friend to Joan, and he would, no doubt, be appalled by his nephew's repeated attempts to trash Joan Crawford.

I like 1941. It is funny & have always thought so.

JAWS is still the best film he ever directed.

Not enough Joan on TCM.

No Audrey Hepburn question on TCM? She made her last film with Spielberg.

At what time does he speaks about joan?

Roddy McDowell, Joan, The gunner in the plane and the artist! Amazing body of work! Great stories! Oh, you did "Amazing Stories." 😊🙂👍😷💉 Where did you tell your parents you went while at the movies? 🎬 🎥 Did they miss the 50 cents from the cookie jar? Your fish story ruined the ocean for me! Probably millions of others too? Right up until today. 🐋🌊 Mr. Spielberg, have you retired yet? Sometimes parents staying together doesn't works for some kids either.

Sounds like a nice guy. Obviously affected by his parents’ divorce. Sad that his own boy went thru the same….

Fact: A Jewish kid that I worked with as an usher at a movie theater his grandmother attended the same high school with Steven Spielberg in Ohio.

Joan Crawford was a class act. She always was. Everyone says so except that one bitter jerk who wrote that awful book.

He met her a couple of times. Cristina lived with the woman. So, he doesn't know if Crawford was "Mommie Dearest" or not. I believe Cristina, having had a similar childhood.

Do you remember working with Heather O'Rourke Steven? Do ya?

They talk about ET but not the amazing wrong headed decision some years ago to "fix" the film by replacing guns with walkie talkies, which has since been undone. What a bizarre idea that was.

Spielberg reminds me of Mel Bernstein of Dragonman's.

I am so freaking tired of the first reference to Joan Crawford being that "Mommie Dearest" reference! Hey Christina? Karma's a bitch.

What Spielberg did as a movie maker is rightfully ledgendary. But he did for classical music by hiring John Williams over and over is nothing less rhan the redemption of an entire art form.

When Crawford died a decade later, Spielberg learned that she had called up the night before filming commenced screaming to Lew Wasserman to fire Steven because he was one-third her age. Wasserman said: Joan, you don't need TV, we're grooming Steven and if you don't want to take this risk with us, you may bow out of the picture if you choose to -- but we're sticking with Spielberg..... Crickets .... Joan showed up the next day, supportive and professional, and Steven never knew what had happened.

🤔

That same pin he heard dropping through 1941 fell again when he mentioned Kathleen Kennedy.

Someone know they will never be a Steven Spielberg 😮😂

Why do I even buy bananas? I only ate one & have to throw the rest away.

The uniform now is t shirt and jeans, but its still a uniform

The remake of "West Side Story" was very, very good.

He should interview Michael bay next

Hollyweird is going to remake Jaws....STEVEN please stop them!

W f c

Ben is the worst interviewer. He doesn't acknowledges the information, and stories these great stars are telling. He just passes over that Spielberg first "action!" Was with Rod Serling? Which obviously meant a lot to him. Ben relies too much on his relationship with a historical ancestor. He has no redeeming or interesting qualities in this business, on his own. Nevertheless it was great hearing Spielberg, thank you for posting!:)

The interviewer is incoherent. Whats so difficult about asking a question? First rule don’t answer it in the question itself, ergo ‘was Joan Crawford….” Instead, try asking ‘What was Joan like?” Its pathetic that people so dumb get to have these opportunities.

Ive watched 1941 three times on Blu Ray trying to get into it. Doesn't work. Chatacters that are unreal and unlikeable. I feel the same way about it as that preview audience in Dallas. Crickets.

hope you didn’t use wire coat hangerthst mknda pisses her off jmm?? BUH!!!

his west side story is horrible...

What the hell is "Joan Crawford-esque" supposed to mean? Shame on Ben Mankiewicz for promoting that same old drivel!

Come on Spielberg, those sneakers and jeans with a vest and jacket? I am no fashionista but it looks horrible. How about semi dress trousers and a button up shirt?

Mommy dearest!