As Billie Cassin (her stepfather's name) she appeared in night spots in Detroit and Chicago and was in a Broadway chorus line. This led to a turn as a showgirl on Broadway. It was while working in New York City that Joan was "discovered" by an MGM executive. the first example of the blurring of the lines between her real life and the films in which she appeared, was Joan's first role at MGM as a showgirl in Lady of the Night (1925). In the 1929 silent Our Modern Maidens, she teamed with real-life fiancé Douglas Fairbanks Jr. With Joan's first marriage, to a member of one of Hollywood's most well-known families, there came a much-hyped publicity spectacle. Shortly after their marriage, Crawford and Fairbanks appeared in a movie together, Our Dancing Daughters. The movie was a hit and a huge success for MGM. It also launched Crawford on the road to stardom. Unfortunately, the marriage was not as successful, ending after less than four years. At the end of the '20's, with the advent of sound, as well as the onset of the Great Depression, the Hollywood movie industry and the stars of the era would be changed forever. Crawford's flapper girl, and the frivolity and carefree spirit she embodied, was a thing of the past. As a result, Crawford had to start from scratch, totally restructuring her image into one more in tune with the mood of the times. Her first talkie , Untamed, which was released in 1929, featured a more subdued, mature Joan Crawford. Fortunately, the movie was a success. With the release of Hollywood Revue of 1929 Crawford began regularly singing and dancing on-screen and scored at the box office as another flapper in 1930's Our Blushing Brides. In 1930, Crawford was voted Hollywood's top female star and box office draw. Joan was emerging as one of the three biggest female stars at MGM during the '30's. However, she yearned to play the kinds of substantial roles associated with Greta Garbo and Norma Shearer. Unfortunately, Crawford's image as the regular all-American girl prevented her from obtaining the coveted roles usually given to her glamorous counterparts. Most of her movies had a "rags-to riches" story-line, which especially appealed to Depression-era audiences. For a change of pace, actively pursued the lead in the Tod Browning crime drama Paid. The picture was another hit, and soon similar projects were lined up. Dance Fools Dance(1931) paired Crawford with Clark Gable. Crawford and Gable never married, but they made 8 movies together between 1931 and 1940, including the hit Possessed. They shared an on-screen chemistry that was fueled in part by an off-screen romance between the two stars. Joan was now among Hollywood's top-grossing performers, and while not all of her pictures from the early 1930s found success, those that did were blockbusters. Joan's romance with Franchot Tone began in 1933 while they were working together on Today We Live. With new husband Franchot Tone, Crawford starred in several features beginning with 1934's Sadie McKee. In 1935, while still single but very much involved with Joan, Tone did a film called Dangerous with a talented
young actress named Bette Davis. In her memoirs, Davis has confessed to becoming profoundly infatuated with Tone during the filming of this movie. This sparked the supposed feud between Crawford and Davis. As the War Years approached Crawford was appearing opposite some of the industry's biggest male stars, but this didn't seem to stem the continuing decline in her box office appeal. However, a turn as the spiteful Crystal in George Cukor's 1939 smash, The Women, restored some of Crawford's luster.
Joan Crawford was born Lucille Fay Le Sueur, on Mar. 23, 1904 (There is a great deal of uncertainty over her actual birthdate.), in San Antonio, Texas. She worked as a laundress, waitress, and shopgirl before starting a modest dancing career. She won a Charleston contest, which inspired her to pursue a career as a professional dancer and entertainer.
This movie was the only one in which Joan was billed as Lucille Le Sueur. Shortly after this, MGM sponsored a fan contest to find a new name for their future star, and as a result Joan Crawford was born. This sanitized story of Crawford's rise to stardom is probably largely studio press. The true story of her rise from a dirt-poor laundry girl to Hollywood star was much less glamorous.
Crawford made over 20 silent pictures between 1925 and 1929, usually being cast as the quintessential flapper girl. Crawford shot to stardom on the strength of 1928's Our Dancing Daughters, starring in a jazz-baby role originally slated for Clara Bow. The film was hugely successful, and MGM soon doubled her salary and began featuring her name on marquees. Unlike so many stars of the period, Crawford, with her relatively strong speaking voice, successfully made the transformation from the silents to the sound era.
