* Published specifically for The Fall 2023 CMBA Blogathon: Blogathon & the Beast *

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There are some movies out there that I absolutely never get tired of watching. It can be my 50th viewing and I will still find some detail, either in the background or in regards to the storyline, that I never noticed before. I am a self-confessed “rewatcher”! Now, this can be pretty annoying to members of your family who are forced to watch the same thing over and over again. To be honest, I have gotten embarrassed at having my husband catching me watching a film for the umpteenth time. Sorry, dear… I cannot help myself!

The many faces of Mildred Pierce:

Dedicated stay-at-home mother.
Single parent & successful entrepreneur
Amateur Cook
Shoulder to cry on
Widow & Suspect
Damsel in Distress

One film that I have seen countless times is Mildred Pierce. It was one of the very first Joan Crawford pictures that I saw and it instantly made me a fan. The title role seemed to have been custom made for Joan, who embodied the character of Mildred with daring realism. I found myself rooting for her character’s success and even forgiving her for the poor choices she made in her personal life. To me, Mildred was a do-gooder with who had everyone’s best interests in mind. She was the heroine who had to contend with the brutish world around her.

Veda & Monty

When it comes to villains, there is no shortage of them wreaking havoc in Mildred’s life. The two most prominent are her second husband, Monty, and her older daughter, Veda. They are downright despicable and they just happen to be the two people with whom Mildred is the closest. In a more minor fashion is her first husband, Burt, and his well-off mistress Mrs. Biederhof (at least in the beginning). They carried on an extramarital affair right under Mildred’s nose without any real effort in hiding the true nature of their bond. And then there is Wally Fay.

Wally Fay is a middle-aged bachelor who loves to drink cheap liquor and make snazzy business deals. He and Mildred have known each other since childhood and it is through her that he met Burt, who later became his business partner. The men worked together in Real Estate and were successful for a number of years until a recession hit. They parted ways and without explanation, Wally stayed on while Burt lost his job. Having always had eyes for Mildred, Wally never misses an opportunity to try and win her affections. In doing so, he comes off as arrogant and brash.

Mildred and Wally maintain a relatively stable relationship throughout the film that is largely business in nature. After paving the way for her to open her first restaurant, he agrees to manage Mildreds, Incorporated and becomes a stakeholder; something that was a gesture of gratitude. This certainly did nothing to dissuade Wally from holding onto the hope of one day having a real romance with Mildred. It is only when he learns that Mildred and Monty have been seeing each other that he retreats into a more obscure, morally ambiguous existence. Nevertheless, he always seems to come around whenever it involves Mildred.

Wally: “I’ve been trying once a week since we were kids.”

Mildred: “Twice”

Wally: “Ok, twice.”

Now, this Wally guy seems to have plenty of faults but being a dangerous monster does not appear to be one of them. Sure, he lacks tact and does not seem to easily get the hint. It also does not help that, right off the bat, he is introduced to the audience as a potential cold-blooded killer. As a matter of fact, I myself spent years buying the narrative of Wally being the bad guy. He made my skin crawl and I honestly believed that he deserved every bad thing that came to him. And then something very unexpected happened: I changed my mind.

Rewatching Mildred Pierce one evening a few months ago, I came to see Wally Fay in a completely new light. He was no longer just a lonely, pathetic figure who only cared about making a buck off of people’s backs. Wally was revealed to be a sympathetic individual who was treated heartlessly by the people around him – especially Mildred. This change of heart so marked me that I knew I had to take the opportunity to set the record straight about Wally, who turns out not to be such a beast after all.

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Let us take things from the beginning.

We get our first glimpse of Wally Fay in almost a surprise fashion. The camera is following Mildred from the pier where she has just had an uneasy confrontation with a police officer. As she is heading back to her car, she walks by a seaside nightclub where Wally happens to be looking out of the window. He fervently hails Mildred who, lost in her thoughts, takes a moment to react. Seeing her distress, Wally invites her in for a drink on the house; at which time we learn that he is the owner of this seedy joint. Over small talk, Mildred flirtingly invites Wally to the beach house she shares with her husband, Monty. He accepts without hesitation. Once at the beach house, Mildred becomes very frigid towards Wally. She manages to a quick getaway and leaves Wally by himself, er… at least the only person to be amongst the living. Mildred failed to mention that Monty’s fresh corpse is in the living room and that all the exits are blocked. The cops arrive and haul Wally in as a murder suspect.

This incriminating set-up is the earliest example of Mildred’s betrayal of Wally although chronologically it is one of their last known interactions. We learn later on in the film that Mildred knew that Monty lay dead in the beach house and that she was fully intent on pinning the crime on Wally. It was the most convenient solution, especially since she knew that Wally was like putty in her hands and would be an easy seed to plant. Mildred’s desperation does not excuse her actions especially when she knew that Wally did not do her wrong.

Going back through time via flashback, we meet these characters four years prior. Mildred has just given her husband, Bert, the boot for a variety of reasons, notably his judgement of her mothering skills and a certain Mrs. Biederhof. Wally happens by the Pierce home unannounced one evening and after learning of their split, becomes almost giddy at the thought of pursuing Mildred. He is not the slightest bit shy about declaring his romantic feelings. It is obvious that Mildred does not share his position and instead of being overly pushy, he respects her wishes for him to leave. His propositions are playful in tone though serious in nature, so he hopes that she will eventually return his affections with time. And although Mildred does not exactly string Wally along, she is not firmly straightforward in turning him down either.

Wally to Mildred: “You know, I’ve always been a little soft in the head where you’re concerned.”

These dynamics repeat themselves several months later when Mildred comes to see Wally about helping her obtain a property. After working long and tiresomely as a waitress, she wants to use all of her resources to open her own restaurant. Through her own scouting, she found a “white elephant” home in an ideal location. Wally finds out that the property belongs to the prominent Beragon family who has fallen on hard times financially. He is sure that he will be able to bargain for a fair price and then some, much to Mildred’s delight. Wally’s playful flirtations continue, as do Mildred’s vague rebuffs, but when it comes to business, it is all business.

The grand opening of Mildred’s is a terrific success and Wally is there to support both the venture and his interest in the company. He even helps Mildred out in the kitchen by taking care of the potatoes. When Monty drops by, it is unsettling to Wally because he had no idea that he and Mildred had secret meetings with one another. Wally should have known anything there was to know on an executive level and Mildred was far too busy with romance, so why in the world was Monty bringing her fresh orchids? Again, Mildred never flat out rejected Wally so he likely believed that she just needed more time before he could more actively pursue her.  

Now, do not get me wrong. Mildred has the right to choose with whom she falls in love. She is not forced to feel something for Wally or enter into an artificial relationship with him. Setting boundaries is a different story. The issue I have with Mildred is that she waits decades before she finally sets the record with Wally that she is not interested in seeing him romantically. Having him at her disposal whenever she needed help or to feel good about herself is very selfish. She is never seen showing the slightest amount of remorse for the way she toys around with his feelings.

Veda: “I don’t like this house, mother.”

Mildred: “Neither do I but that’s no reason for me to marry a man that I’m not in love with.”

Veda: “Why not?”

As we all know, Veda is a disgustingly superficial individual who only cares about money and material goods. She would stop at nothing to reach a superior social status and to live a more dignified existence, such as having a chauffeur and a maid. Although Wally is not exactly rolling in the dough, he makes a good living and would at least bring them to a more acceptable social standing if he and Mildred married. Veda knows that her mother does not love Wally but suggests the idea of marriage all the same. In turn, Mildred is taken aback and shocked that her daughter would seemingly swap her happiness for a more comfortable life.

Fast-forward a few years and we see that Mildred’s attitude about a loveless marriage with financial benefits has greatly changed. In an effort to win Veda back into her life, Mildred goes running back to Monty. A broke, washed-up Monty who is so bad off that he is forced to sell the last hurrah of the Beragon family – their mansion in Pasadena. In what appears to be a twisted attempt to create a DIY family sprinkled with the glazed over benefits of high society, Mildred not only decides to buy the mansion but also to propose marriage to Monty. All of this for her spoiled rotten daughter.

It is nonsensical that Mildred would be so contemptible towards Wally all the while being so blindly permissive with Monty. She is not in love with Monty, confiding in both Ida and Bert that she once tried to foolishly convince herself that was the case. When Mildred sees the bad influence Monty is having on Veda, she orders him out of their lives – with all accounts settled at the end of the day. Wally is never forced out of the picture or deemed to be unsuitable company. Moreover, he does not take Mildred to the cleaners either emotionally or financially. Sure, Wally did not always practise restraint or put forth the best judgement but his intentions were never meant to be destructive.

“I get a kick out of doing things for other people.”

Those words were spoken by Wally himself as he was pouring champagne for Veda and Ted Forrester to celebrate their very short-lived marriage. He has been good to the young lovers, showing them support when their respective families were unable to do so. Well, at least that is the conclusion he is led to believe. In reality, neither family knows that they have been married. Ted’s mother believes them to be engaged and Mildred is clueless, having been left completely in the dark. This situation becomes part of a bigger ruse that Veda has been drawing out and she is just about to follow in her mother’s footsteps in using Wally to her fullest advantage. Not by any means a hopeless chump, Wally is sadly viewed and treated that way by the Pierce women.

So, Wally becomes Veda’s indentured servant in her quest to milk the Forrester family out of easy money. She butters up Wally into believing her story about not loving Ted and having made a mistake by marrying him. Then to top it off, she feigns a pregnancy so that it will “seal the deal” on a financial settlement. Veda is the undisputed queen of moral blackmail. The more that I think about it, the more that I think that Wally did not know that Veda was lying about having a baby. She clearly states that some of the money she obtained will have to be used to silence Wally. Had the out-of-court divorce been legitimate and Veda on the level, then there would be no need for Wally to receive additional compensation (aside from any fee he charged being a legal representative). My gut tells me that had Wally known the true nature of Veda’s angle, he would have never gone along with the scheme.

Wally to Mildred: “You married him. I didn’t.”

That is as close to an offensive comment as Mildred could get from Wally. He did not employ harsh, crude words or take on a demeaning tone. Wally kept it simple, honest and to the point. And even so, he still showed a certain sensitivity towards Mildred and the endless chain of negative events happening in her life. It was not his fault that her business fell apart and he even apologised for looking out for himself, so that he would not take the fall because of Monty’s irresponsible greed. All of this fell on deaf ears.

In the end, the real villains do pay a price for their actions and Wally does not take the blame. Their penances are very watered-down, however, and they expose these hastily constructed fates as Hays Code-enforced additions to the script. There is a sense of justice seeing both Veda and Monty put away (so to speak) but where is the equity for Wally Fay? His character is not redeemed by way of Mildred admitting her wrongdoing or clearing his good name. Instead, he is escorted out of the police station still wondering how he is going to defend himself. Even when he faces Mildred one last time, he is not the least bit aggressive towards her.

The film closes with the rising dawn on a new day and a fresh beginning for everyone. I could see Wally deciding that he has had it with Los Angeles, selling all his properties/businesses and settling down somewhere else. It took him a long time to get smart to Mildred’s antics but at least he found out before it was too late. The cherry on the top of the cake would be for Ida to come to her senses and run off with Wally after realising that he is actually a pretty great catch. They have both had the worst of luck with love so what better way is there to mend their wounds? 😊

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Joan Crawford would again co-star with both Jack Carson and Zachary Scott in 1949.

It’s a Great Feeling
Flamingo Road

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