when i read christina crawford tell all of all hollywood tell alls and mommie dearest and i remember her write about not be able to sit through queen bee and since her mother character in the movie be just too close to that of the real life joan crawford . and if this be true and then christina childhood must have be hellacious indeed . in this film and the diabolical eva phillips and play by crawford and rip a bedroom to shred with a rid crop and lasso a potential bedmate with a telephone cord and give a young ingénue a wicked smack across the face and and verbally destroy her enemy with line like and don not you look nice even in those tacky riding clothes . this be joan at her joan iest and and i couldn not help but think that this be the film faye dunaway must have study a she prepare to play joan in mommie dearest . in fact and watch crawford in this movie be like watch crawford play dunaway play crawford . queen bee be camp at it high elevation and with a script full of nasty one liner that would later become staple of catty nighttime soap like dynasty and dallas . crawford wear amazing clothes that woosh and crinkle a she glide across the room and and she be accessorized to within an inch of her life in pristine white glove and sparkle ring and bracelet and and paris fashion week style hat . though not a extravagantly dress a crawford and the other actor always look like theyre ready for an elegant dinner party and even though they never seem to leave the house . it would be easy to dismiss this film a typical 1950s melodramatic drivel and but there much more to queen bee than meet the eye . director writer ranald macdougall create a claustrophobic atmosphere by stag nearly the entire movie within the boxy confines of the phillips mansion . the viewer feel trap and much like the character that inhabit the house . the movie be film in crisp black and white and add to the rigid tension that permeate the environment . and in one intentional and hilariously symbolic scene and crawford character emasculate her husband and play by a morose barry sullivan and a he crack walnut at the dinner table . joan a the ultimate ball buster . most of the actor do a competent job and with betsy palmer stand out a carol phillips and the niece destroy by eva manipulation . everyone favorite ape lover and fay wray and have a brief and but memorable appearance at the beginning of the movie a a woman so devastate by eva wicked way that she be force to retreat into her own fantasy world . john ireland and a eva former lover and carol current fiancée and give the most wooden performance and fire off his dialogue a if he recite a western union telegram . crawford rise above it all and however and always command the screen with her physical presence ( her eyebrow in this one be big and blacker than ever ) and her throaty voice and and her impeccable diction . the film end seem rush and contrive and and the last line of the movie deliver by sullivan be eye rollingly corny and but do not let that deter you . if you have always wonder what the real joan crawford might have be like and queen bee just might give you a little glimpse .