Faye Dunaway was afraid to film ‘Mommie Dearest’ wire hangers scene — so ‘desperate director’ made this 1 change

“No wire hangers, at any time!”

There may be no a lot more iconic utterance in the historical past of on-display screen parenting, but actress Faye Dunaway could hardly bring herself to movie the scene.

Dunaway, now 83, famously portrayed silver-display screen icon Joan Crawford in the 1981 cult vintage “Mommie Dearest.”

Directed by Frank Perry, “Mommie Dearest” is based mostly on the tell-all memoir of the exact identify written by Crawford’s adopted daughter Christina, performed in the film by child actor Mara Hobel. The reserve exposed — and the motion picture introduced to vivid everyday living — the alleged childhood abuse Christina suffered at the fingers of her managing, alcoholic mother.

A new reserve by Hollywood historian A. Ashley Hoff, “With Adore, Mommie Dearest: The Making of an Unintended Camp Classic,” reveals the issues Dunaway professional filming the movie’s most notorious scene.

In an excerpt from the reserve acquired by People today, Hoff contains gossip columnist Liz Smith’s report of filming.

“In the ‘wire coat hanger’ scene where by Crawford goes ridiculous and mercilessly beats the youthful Christina, actress Dunaway balked. She could not carry herself to carry by on the bodily violence and rage. Each time Perry tried to movie the scene, Faye drew back again from thrashing the minor lady.”

Smith ongoing, “Finally, the determined director [Frank Perry] had a variety of Mara Hobel’s overall body produced and dressed it in her pajamas. He called in Faye’s stand-in and had her beat the dummy though Mara cried and sobbed off-monitor. Perry was anxious about exhibiting Faye the final outcome … but the star remaining the screening area in a thoughtful mood.”

“She stated at final, ‘Frank, you had been certainly appropriate. I was incorrect. The scene had to be like that!’ “

Dunaway’s trepidation above filming the abusive scene was a lot less about her dread of traumatizing Hobel and additional about her concern of demonizing Crawford.

In the reserve, technological advisor Jonathan Zimbert remembers, “Faye comprehended pretty effectively that that character would be seen, a hundred %, as a monster if she were aggressively to do what was scripted. And so she held back. It was a lot more comical [on the set] than it exists [on-screen]. And she wouldn’t do it, even with encouraging and encouraging and some far more encouraging. Inevitably, soon after she was performed, there were some inserts carried out which glance variety of hokey mainly because the angles are a minor off, but some of it is in the film.”

Many years later, Dunaway herself was accused of verbal abuse by her staff members, which includes individual assistants and stylists, and in 2019, she was fired from the Broadway-certain perform “Tea at 5” for allegedly making a “hostile” and “dangerous” operate ecosystem that left creation associates fearing for their protection.

Crawford’s profession bought a different on-screen cure with Ryan Murphy’s “Feud: Bette and Joan” in 2017. Jessica Lange portrayed the Hollywood icon reverse Susan Sarandon’s Bette Davis. The Forex anthology collection focused on Crawford and Davis’ notorious rivalry whilst starring in the 1962 Academy Award-nominated horror thriller “What At any time Transpired to Baby Jane?”

“With Really like, Mommie Dearest: The Making of an Unintended Camp Classic” hits bookstores on May well 7.