Mommie Dearest is a 1981 American
biographical drama film about
Joan Crawford and the abusive relationship she had with her adopted daughter
Christina Crawford and her adopted son Christopher, starring
Faye Dunaway,
Mara Hobel and
Diana Scarwid. The film was directed by
Frank Perry. The story was
adapted for the screen by
Robert Getchell, Tracy Hotchner, Frank Perry, and
Frank Yablans, based on the 1978
autobiography of the same name by
Christina Crawford. The executive producers were Christina's husband, David Koontz, and
Terrence O'Neill, Dunaway's then-boyfriend and soon-to-be husband. The film was distributed by
Paramount Pictures, the only one of the
"Big 8" film studios for which Crawford had never appeared in a feature film.