In her best picture from the 1930s, Joan Crawford absorbs slings and arrows from men. Men call her cheap, a chiseller, a tramp. She's abandoned on her wedding day. Punched in the face by a drunk husband. But with the help of Jean Dixon, who plays a hardboiled dame, Joan's Sadie fortifies herself with courage and exquisite style. I live inside the scene set in the Automat, where Joan conceals her desperation with great style.

Sadie McKee (1934) has everything a woman's picture needs.