Colorized Joan Crawford circa 1939-1942

Still in her mid-late 30s, the beautiful Joan Crawford has seen the peak of her early career and was nose diving with the last three films, The Bride Wore Red (1937), The Shining Hour (1938), and The Women (1939). She was by now dubbed by Harry Brandt, President of the Independent Theatre Owners Association of America as Box Office Poison, along with Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, Fred Astaire, John Barrymore, and Katharine Hepburn. She would hang on to the only career she loved taking on roles that were a mix of hit and miss until she was released by MGM to t Warner Bros. where her fortunes would once again rise with the critically acclaimed and box office hit Mildred Pierce in 1945. The role was meant for Bette Davis who rejected it, prompting the director to put the now legendary Joan Crawford to a screen test before passing the mark for the role.