Mildred Pierce an affair with Monty and kills him when he refuses to divorce Mildred to marry her. Mildred initially confesses to Monty's murder in order to shield Veda from prosecution but ultimately gives her over to the authorities. "Mildred Pierce" was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (both Arden and Blyth), Best Screenplay and Best Black-and-White Cinematography (Ernest Haller). Crawford won the film's only Academy Award, as Best Actress. Director Todd Haynes filmed a five-part miniseries, with Kate Winslet as Mildred, Guy Pearce as Monty Beragon, and Evan Rachel Wood as Veda, in spring 2010 (with
Mildred Pierce (film) 1942, two years earlier, Joan Crawford had been released from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer due to a mutual agreement. Crawford campaigned for the lead role in "Mildred Pierce", which most lead actresses did not want because of the implied age as mother of a teenage daughter. Warner Bros. and director Michael Curtiz had originally wanted Bette Davis to play the title role, but she declined. Curtiz did not want Crawford to play the part. Curtiz campaigned for Barbara Stanwyck, who was working on "My Reputation" (1946) at the time. When he learned that Stanwyck was not, however, going to be cast, he then