A Woman's face is a superior remake of the 1937 Ingrid Bergman Swedish film En Kvinnas Ansikte, which was based on the French drama "Il Etait Une Fois" by Francis de Croisset. Crawford's performance is solid, and she should have been nominated for an Oscar, but this was the year of Joan Fontaine in Suspicion as well as some excellent films by Greer Garson, Olivia de Havilland, Bette Davis, and Barbara Stanwyck. This was one of the few quality projects offered to Crawford during a period when she was appearing in one disasterous vehicle after another.





The story takes place in Stockholm Sweden, where Crawford plays Anna Holm, a shady innkeeper. Her face was disfigured as a child and she is now a lonely, bitter woman. She becomes a part of a blackmail ring and meets Torsten Barring (Conrad Veidt), an evil with dark passions. She falls for him and learns that he stands to inherit a huge sum from his father, Consul Magnus Barring (Basserman), but his nephew, Lars Eric, played by the adorable Richard Nichols, will also get a large part of the fortune. Barring wants it all and he uses his charms to involve Anna in a scheme to murder little Lars Eric.





Meanwhile, Anna has gotten her hands on some steamy letters written by the wife of Dr. Gustav Segert, a plastic surgeon played by Melvyn Douglas. The letters are written to Mrs. Segert's lover, and Anna visits her home and attempts to extort money from her. is interrupted with the arrival of the doctor. She hides but is found and Segert, thinking she is burglar, threatens to call the police. His wife dissuades him and then Segert takes an interest in Anna, offering to surgically repair her face.

Anna reluctantly submits to the procedure, and is transformed into a thing of beauty. The operation to improve her physical appearance has done little to heal Anna's emotional scarrs. Anna returns to the evil Torsten Barring, who puts in motion his plan to murder his nephew, Lars Erik. Barring gets Crawford a job in his father's mansion as the boy's nanny. Crawford quickly realizes Lars Erik is a sweet child and can't go through with the murder plan. Out of desperation, Veidt attempts to kill Nichols, but is stopped by Crawford who shoots him to death.





There is a murder trial and Anna is acquitted when the defense produces a letter she'd written earlier that detailed Barring's plot. The improprieties of Dr. Segert's wife are releaved to him in the end, and he falls in love with Anna. The two are united at the conclusion. The picture begins at the trial and is told in flashback. The victim's identity in the trial is not revealed until the end. Anna's catharsis is complete with the transformation from a bitter, disfigured creature, to a beautiful woman who is capable of loving someone unselfishly.





Conrad Veidt is superb as the dispicable Torsten Barring. There are some scenes between he and Crawford that make your skin crawl as the extent of Barring's evil personality is revealed. Melvyn Douglas, leading man to the likes of Greta Garbo, is as solid as ever as Crawford's love interest. The character of Anna Holm provided Crawford a rare opportunity to diplay her range as an actress. Impeccable production standards, stylish direction by Cukor, as well as expert editing, combined to make A Woman's Face one of Crawford's finest vehicles.