Oscar-winner Joan Crawford stars as a woman who uses and abandons men–clawing her way from poverty to wealth and social status–a woman who knows that The Damned Don’t Cry! Crawford gives one of her best performances as Ethel Whitehead, an empowered woman who leaves her laborer husband and squalid factory town behind to find a new, better life. She uses a quiet accountant who adores her to meet a rich gangster, learns to carry herself as a socialite and leads a life of wealth and luxury as the kept woman of the mobster. But her ambition doesn’t stop there, and she engineers a rivalry between the city’s two leading underworld kingpins–a rivalry that will lead to the ruin of everything she has fought to gain.

For thoughts on The Damned Don’t Cry, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

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Video Quality

Warner Archive presents The Damned Don’t Cry for the first time on Blu-Ray with 1080p transfer sourced from a sterling 4K scan of the Original Camera Negative. Warner Archive is simply the best in the business when it comes to old Hollywood, and this release is a reference example of their work. Print damage has been eradicated completely, while always retaining its organic filmic qualities. This black and white feature shot by Ted McCord maintains its gorgeous natural film grain throughout which allows for a tremendous amount of detail in the image. The picture allows for a nice amount of texture within the costumes and the production design. The presentation also showcases a striking amount of depth including in the shadows where you will find no ounce of black crush. This transfer is a visual knockout.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray release comes with a restored DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that holds up pretty well. The cutting dialogue comes through clearly in harmony with the sound effects and the music. There is the smallest amount of hiss or distortion in some moments, but it is far from a recurring issue. The score holds up decently with only minor dissonance in the upper registers. There does not appear to be any major damage or age related wear and tear to the track. There are a couple sequences that are a bit more active which are appropriately lively in the speakers. This is a favorable audio presentation that translates this material well. There are optional English SDH subtitles available on the disc for those who need it.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Director Vincent Sherman provides a commentary track that is a bit repetitive but ultimately informative as he shares anecdotes from the production, thoughts on working with the performers, analysis of the themes of the story and more.

The Crawford Formula – Real and Reel: A great 14-minute featurette in which various historians and creatives discuss the life and career of Joan Crawford, the creation of The Damned Don’t Cry, how this role fit Crawford perfectly, her relationship with her directors and more.

Radio Broadcast: A nearly hour-long episode of the Screen Directors Playhouse which provides a radio adaptation of the story with all of the main players returning in audio form.

Original Theatrical Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here.

Final Thoughts

The Damned Don’t Cry is a pretty engrossing film noir which plays better as a star vehicle for Joan Crawford rather than a dynamite film on its own merits. Every moment Crawford is on screen is electric, but her male counterparts do not prove to be nearly as compelling on their side of the equation. Given that Crawford is the main focus, this is not a major condemnation, but we wish there was a bit more to round out this prickly narrative. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray featuring a tremendous A/V presentation and a great array of supplements. If you are a fan of Joan Crawford or film noir in general, this is worth adding to your collection. Recommended

The Damned Don’t Cry can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or various other online retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.