Queen Bee

Powerful emotional melodrama, starring Joan Crawford as Eva Phillips, society wife of Avery ‘Beauty’ Phillips. Eva is a ruthless, domineering Southern woman who seeks to dominate and manipulate everyone around her, with ultimately tragic consequences, as Carol, Beauty’s sister, is driven to the edge, while his secretary Jennifer Stewart, who’s also his cousin, sets Eva on a course of jealous revenge. Director Ranald MacDougall produces one of Crawford’s best bitchy, acid-tongued performances while the rest of the cast play characters who cower beneath her baleful influence., A manipulative woman plots revenge when her sister-in-law becomes engaged to her ex-lover, and her younger cousin falls for her husband., Queen Bee offers a stinging portrait of a mad, manipulative woman and chronicles her downfall and that of those around her in this dark drama. On first meeting, Eva Phillips (portrayed with delicious viciousness by Joan Crawford) is the epitome of Southern graciousness and charm. She and her husband, a textile magnate live together in a splendiferous Georgian plantation. Unfortunately, while others are easily beguiled by Mrs. Phillips, her husband knows what a ruthless she-devil she really is and loathes her. To cope with the pain of living with her, he has taken to drinking heavily. Trouble follows when the horrible Eva learns that her husband’s sister is engaged to marry the manager of the estate, a man she once loved. Like the proverbial dog in the manger, Eva does all she can to destroy the relationship so she can have the manager back for herself. Unfortunately, she goes too far.