Mildred Pierce Mildred Pierce Mildred Pierce is a 1941 hardboiled novel by James M. Cain. It was made into an Academy Award–winning film of the same name in 1945, starring Joan Crawford, and a 2011 Emmy Award–winning miniseries of the same name, starring Kate Winslet. Set in Glendale, California, in the 1930s, the book is the story of a middle-class housewife, Mildred Pierce, and her attempts to maintain her family's social position during the Great Depression. Mildred separates from Bert, her unemployed husband, and sets out to support herself and her children. After a difficult search she finds a job as a
Mildred Pierce (film) is shot. The police tell Mildred that the murderer is her first husband, Bert Pierce (Bruce Bennett), after he is interrogated and confesses to the crime. Mildred protests that he is too kind and gentle to commit murder, and reveals her life story to the investigating officer in flashback. Mildred and Bert are unhappily married. Mildred must bake and sell pies and cakes to support the family after Bert splits with his business partner, Wally Fay (Jack Carson). Bert bitterly accuses Mildred of favoring their daughters, especially Veda (Ann Blyth), over him. Their quarrel intensifies after a phone call from