The Oscar award presented to actress Joan Crawford for her role in 1945's Mildred Pierce has provided the star lot in an online auction that closed September 25.
 Crawford once again proved herself as Queen of the Movies |
Joan Crawford was one of the most successful Hollywood stars of the great depression, and has since been named one of the American Film Institute's top 10 actresses in the history of cinema. She achieved her title of "Queen of the Movies" after successful performances in MGM films such as Sally, Irene and Mary, Our Dancing Daughters and Untamed.
Soon after leaving MGM, she signed with Warner Brothers, where she would meet director Michael Curtiz. Fresh from the success of Casablanca, Curtiz cast Crawford as the lead role in his latest production, Mildred Pierce.
In her first starring role for Warner Bros, Mildred Pierce sees Crawford cast as a long-suffering mother embroiled in a murder mystery with her ungrateful daughter. Widely considered her greatest role, the performance would secure Crawford her only Oscar award.
The trophy was presented to Crawford at the 1946 Academy Awards for "Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role". It sold for $426,732 in the auction, after receiving 24 bids.
While the price was the highest achieved for an Oscar award in 2012, it pales in comparison to the $1.5m that Michael Jackson paid for the Best Picture award for Gone with the Wind in 1999.
Also featuring in the sale was a red feather and silk purse, which once belonged to Marilyn Monroe. Boasting her trademark "MM" monogram on the inside pocket, it sold for an impressive $25,428.
PFC Auctions is currently offering Marilyn Monroe's copy of the script for her final, unfinished film, Something's Got to Give. Interested bidders should hurry, as the sale closes later today.
