Links I Like

The most comprehensive Joan site on the web. Encyclopedic style site with everything you wanted to know about Joan arranged A to Z plus photo galleries, magazine covers, and more. Well organized and massive. Includes my book reviews.

Another wonderful Joan site with an enthusiastic webmaster! Lots of large photos and a column by Joan's grandson Casey LaLonda! Webmaster Neil Maciejewski is an avid Joan collector and has amassed an amazing collection of Joan memorabilia, photos included. He and his photos have also been featured on some Joan DVD extras with more Joan-related publicity to come. Neil has also managed to meet Betty Barker, Crawford's devoted secretary of many years, and Cliff Robertson, among others! Bravo, Neil!

This small site chronicles Crawford’s last years, including a chronology by date; a lovely picture gallery year by year from 1960-1977; Joan’s rare appearances on television, on the radio and in newsreels for sale (including early newsreels from 1929); and a message board. Touching that Crawford’s last years are given their due, a tribute to her longevity and enduring vitality.

Happily an Official Joan Crawford Fan Club has been resurrected!! Lord knows Joan gave tirelessly and whole-heartedly to her fans during her career and certainly deserves recognition for her graciousness, kindness, and talent extended onscreen and off to those of us “out there in the dark,” so to speak. This new fan club promises a newsletter and many exciting Joan Crawford events and get-togethers, plus awards for promising newcomers in the acting field. Sounds wonderful! Joan would be grateful.

This is one of the older Joan Crawford pages on the web (created in 1998) and has many interesting facets, including a fabulous essay by Mark Toscani. Also of great interest is the rundown of Crawford-related books from Sandy. It hasn’t been updated in a while, but the effort that went into it still will please any Crawford fan.

This small, but imaginatively-designed site by Roland Hui features a synopsis of each era of the star’s life from the early years to her last; a page on television appearances; and Joan-related books. Of special distinction is the very creative tribute set in a theater for each of her films where we become the audience! Nicely done!

This small and sweet site includes a number of essays written by fan Jonathan Denson in his teen years “in tribute to an extraordinary person who helped define my life.” Evidently Joan Crawford with her spunk and resilience in the face of adversity (and there was plenty of that!) gives strength to many of her fans, as Denson illustrates, and continues to do so. She made suffering glamorous onscreen, but she also was a defiant example of survival on and off.

This site is told from the point of view of the character Mildred Pierce and offers kitschy advice to women and explorations of different aspects of the film and its characters with a wonderful, colorful, retro design. It’s imaginative, stylish and fun. Here is the mission statement of the website creator who goes under the alias "Mrs. Mildred Pierce": “My website is based on the fictional character of Mildred Pierce, played by Joan Crawford in the 1945 movie. I like the story, and of course, I enjoy Joan Crawford's melodramatic portrayal of the long-suffering mother, as well as her bizarre relationship with her daughter, Veda. I enjoy the character, bringing her to life as a way of expressing my rather dramatic personality!” Cowabunga! Very unique!!

This brings you to the fabulous Peter Swanson's "Joan" comics! The way he nails Joan's expression (and hats) is priceless! These comics originally appeared in "Outlands Magazine" under "Fun and Games." See Joan in all her red-smear-lipsticked glory! (Check out the sample strip below!)

Not only does Peter Swanson do fab cartoons, but he also creates fab Joan-inspired art! Check it out! He's the Andy Warhol of Joan World! Yeah, baby, yeah!

This has to be one of my favorite Joan Crawford websites – showcasing the outsized, campy side of Joan (and we all know how Joan Joan could be)! Hilarious pages include “Phony Joan” (Joan “doing phone” as only Joan can); “Joan Sells Her Soul” (Joan hawking products in ads); and “Don’t F*** With Me, Fellas” (featuring Joan’s “If Looks Could Kill” expressions), among others. Don’t miss the fab Technicolor gallery and the gallery of Joan’s Camp Classics with sound bites! A delight!

With all the banal blogs out there (and yes, being barely in the 21^st Century by design, I only recently realized what blogs were!) – it’s great to find some truly creative and delightful ones! “All About Margo” is a hoot as Margo, alter alias of Maureen Morrison, time travels through the Golden Age of Hollywood, encountering among her travels – you guessed it – our gal Joan. In Margo’s own words: “The campy adventures of showbiz veteran Margo Dahling, whose Zelig-like powers have kept her on this side of forty in every era of showbiz. Her co-stars are her maid, Margarita, and her butler, Smirnoff. Almost every post has a delicious behind-the-scenes story about Margo's encounters with the entertainment greats of the 20th century.” Yes, delicious is the word, darlings! 24 karat fun!

The ultimate "Avengers" site dedicated to the classic British television show of the sixties run by a gentleman not too far removed from John Steed.

This wonderful site offers a comprehensive list of Joan Crawford and Bette Davis titles in DVD format at a reasonable price, including many rare films and television appearances! It was a God send to me for improving my own Joan collection and I have no regrets! Quality at bargain rates. Highly recommended.

Lynn's wonderful site is devoted to many classic film stars of the Golden Age, including our gal, Joan Crawford! Each star has a personal page, neatly arranged, with photo galleries, bios, wallpaper, a synopsis and review of each of his or her films, a guestbook and more! Click on the link above to see the fab Crawford pages.

Classy, beautifully-designed tribute to divas of all kinds – actresses ranging from Miriam Hopkins to Julia Roberts, singers ranging from Barbra Streisand to Maria Callas and “movers and shakers” like Cleopatra and Queen Mary. It is chock full of images, information and wit, and The Ultimate Diva by rank is none other than our gal, Miss Joan Crawford (come on – you didn’t think it would be otherwise, did you?) A simply fabulous site with fabulous photos – hours of fun!

Gorgeous, high resolution photographs of many of the glorious and glamorous from Golden Age Hollywood! Many Crawford scans included!

Mike O’Hanlon just created this beautiful new site dedicated to the classic stars of Hollywood. His choices for the two greatest stars are Marlon Brando and – you guessed it – our own Joan – who else? No Crawford fan would quibble with this! The site features a great array of stars, something for everyone!

Inventive, fun-filled theater productions in the tradition of Charles Busch with fascinating twists! What's not to love? (Webmaster David Cerda is also a Joan fan! What else?)

The best resource for horror fiction, past and present, on the web, bar none. Incredible -- even if you're not into horror.

“Johnny Guitar” enjoys a cult following with famed directors Martin Scorsese and Francois Truffaut among its fans. This page is a Society devoted to Johnny Guitar appreciation. It includes a lot of fascinating material, including sound clips, film frames, film promotion, documents, projects, news and more. Many people extol the genius of “Johnny Guitar.” Joan Crawford’s opinion is included on the site: “I should have had my head examined. No excuse for a picture being this bad or for me making it.”

Some people get mean here, but still an awesome catalogue of just about every TV show that ever was with viewer commentary and memories about when and if these shows tanked.

Well-written, intelligent site, brimming with expertly-argued analysis, essays, ruminations and reviews. Includes great review of "Dancing Lady" with our gal Joan and her guy Clark Gable.

Hey, girlie-girls, this fabulous site is as colorful as candy and a wonderful, creative source for all things swinging, fun and fashionable! Young webmistress April loves vintage clothes and style, and has designed this tribute to ladies with a flair, particularly classic film stars! It includes book reviews, pages on each lady, and much, much more! There’s a great page on our Joan (did you think there wouldn’t be?)! A wonderful new addition to the web! Think pink!

This page on a site devoted to silent films looks at “Our Dancing Daughters,” the film that shot Joan Crawford to stardom, representative of the Jazz Age. It includes reviews, photos, commentary, and other goodies about those “bright young things with a talent for living.”

Psychedelic hipster site cataloguing the swingiest chicks from the 60's (and weren't they fab?) Totally groovy.

Any Joan Crawford fan can only be grateful (“Bless you, Turner Classic Movies!”) to Turner Classic Movies for (a) keeping the interest in wonderful, classic films alive and (b) running so many Joan Crawford films and tributes frequently and giving this wonderful star her just due as a legend. Shine on, Turner Classic Movies! Shine on, Joan! The film capsules are full of information, backstage history and wit, too. Bless you!!