Free Thinking: Mildred Pierce

Mildred Pierce, James M Cain's 1941 novel, was turned into a noir film starring Joan Crawford which earnt her an Academy Award. Matthew Sweet and his guests crime writers Denise Mina and Laura Lippman plus academics Sarah Churchwell and Lizzie Mackarel have been re-watching the film and comparing it with the novel as they consider how the social realism and depiction of suburban female life differs from his other books which became hit films The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity