Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

JohnHowardReid Unfortunately, this movie doesn't stand up to a second viewing. Vincent Sherman's direction fails to hit any high spots and is never more than routine. Admittedly, neither the story nor the dialogue could be described as encouraging. Characters like those played by David Brian (who believes in just shouting his lines) and Kent Smith (who plays his usual soppy, wet and spineless caricature) offer the script no support. The rest of the support cast can likewise be written off. Even ace photographer Ted McCord's work here seems far less gritty than we might expect. True, Joan Crawford shines much as usual. But also true, she has played this sort of character many, many times before. And good old director Sherman gives her a rich share of close-ups. Nevertheless, even Joan's most devoted fans are going to be disappointed that the damned don't cry!

Michael_Elliott The Damned Don't Cry (1950)** 1/2 (out of 4) After the death of her child, the always poor Ethel Whitehead (Joan Crawford) moves to NYC to try and make something of herself. She eventually hooks up with gangster George Castleman (David Brian) who sends her out West to spy on another gangster (Steve Cochran) who she falls in love with. THE DAMNED DON'T CRY isn't perfect but for fans of Crawford it's certainly good enough to make it worth watching. I think those unfamiliar with Crawford will probably enjoy the film even more because her fans are going to find the set-up something rather familiar as the actress quite often played poor women who would work themselves up through the ranks. Of course, the one difference here is that she gets involved with two gangsters and this leads to a rather predictable ending that really doesn't work. With that said, there are enough good moments to make this worth sitting through. I actually thought the best part of the film was early on when the woman first went to New York and we see how determined she is to make money and how she soon realizes that she's not going to get it in a legit way. The screenplay has a flaw of going so quickly from the "poor" to the "gangster moll" but this doesn't hurt the film too much. As you'd expect, Crawford is very good here but then again she could have played a role like this in her sleep. She manages to be very believable early on and I especially liked the way she played the mother in the early moments. Both Brian and Cochran are extremely believable in the roles of the gangsters as both come across very threatening. Kent Smith is also good in his supporting role of a bookmaker. THE DAMNED DON'T CRY was directed by Vincent Sherman who does a nice job at keeping everything moving at a good pace. The film certainly has its flaws but it's an enjoyable effort.

Michael O'Keefe You usually don't think of Joan Crawford in Film Noir, but director Vincent Sherman has her over-acting in a gripping melodrama. Ethel Whitehead(Crawford)is a working class housewife that leaves her oilfield working husband(Richard Egan)after their child is killed on his new bike. She heads to New York City with her sites on a man with money by transforming herself in a socialite named Lorna Hansen Forbes. She tries using sex appeal and wits to find a better life. She will settle to be the mistress of a mob boss(David Brian). Money and notoriety is really not enough; her life soon comes full circle when she is implicated with the death of her lover's West Coast rival(Steve Cochran). I just can't see a 46 yr old Crawford being lusted over by men half her age. But Crawford is Crawford. Very "watchable" flick. Others in the cast: Selena Royle, Kent Smith, Hugh Sanders and Jacqueline deWitt.

blanche-2 Joan Crawford revitalized a flagging career when she left MGM and signed with Warner Brothers in the '40s. "The Damned Don't Cry" is just one of the very entertaining films she made for Warners, which include "Mildred Pierce," for which she won an Oscar and "Flamingo Road." The formula usually follows the rags to riches line, something Crawford was very good at indeed.Here, she's Ethel Whitehead, a wife and mother of a young boy who dies in an accident, at which point Ethel takes off seeking money, nice things, and the fun she's never had in life. She soon comes to the attention of a clothes manufacturer who has her model the clothes and encourage the buyers to spend their cash after hours. She rides the coattails of a bland CPA (Kent Smith) into the mob domain of George Castleman (David Brian), who gives her a life she only dreamed of - a society name, expensive digs, great trips, clothes and jewels - and no ring on third finger, left hand. Not that anyone has mentioned if she divorced her first husband (Richard Egan). Castleman, suspicious of Nick Prenta (Steve Cochran) who runs his western territory sends Ethel - now "Lorna Hanson Forbes" out to investigate and inveigle her way into Prenta's life to find out what he's planning. It's then that "Lorna" realizes she's just another thing that Castleman uses.This is a slick, fast-moving noir that is basically all Joan all the time. Surrounded by a strong cast, she's the only real star, and she looks it in her beautiful clothes and jewels. She's at her glamorous best here in 1950, right before she hardened into almost a caricature of herself in the '50s and '60s. I can't agree that Crawford's age (46) gets in the way and that Ava Gardner would have been better. Ethel/Lorna is the type of role at which Joan excelled. It was believable, to me at least, that these men were all attracted to her - her character has guts, intelligence, beauty and sexuality. David Brian is her brutish boyfriend, and the scene where he surprises her out west is quite violent, even by today's standards. Steve Cochran is handsome, boyish, and thug-like as Prenta, and he comes on strong."The Damned Don't Cry" is directed with great spirit by Vincent Sherman and will keep the viewer involved throughout.