Editing Mildred Pierce (section)

==Adaptations==

===1945 film adaptation===

{{main article|Mildred Pierce (film)}}
Cain was first approached about a film adaptation of ''Mildred Pierce'' by [[Warner Bros.|Warner Brothers]] producer [[Jerry Wald]] in 1943. Though Cain declined Wald’s request to write a film treatment, Wald—known as a producer of films appealing to women moviegoers—continued to seek a suitable screenwriter. In the spring of 1944, Warners purchased the film rights for $15,000,<ref>Hoopes, 1982 p. 339-340, p. 345</ref> 
When Cain received Wald’s proposed treatments, the producer had inserted a murder into the story, and according to Cain, had failed to emphasize the dramatic implications “of having a big coloratura soprano in the family.” When filmmaker [[Michael Curtiz]] was enlisted to direct ''Mildred Pierce'', Cain urged him to avoid introducing hard-boiled themes and rather emphasize the novel’s “wider implication… Mildred Pierce is one woman’s struggle against a great social injustice—which is the mother’s necessity to support her children even though husband and community give her not the slightest assistance.”<ref>Hoopes, 1982 p. 348-349</ref> Literary critic Paul Skenazy notes the impact that Cain’s novels had on 1940s filmmaking in America:

{{blockquote|  In quick succession - in 1944, 1945 and 1946 - Hollywood produced successful movies from Cain’s ''Double Indemnity'', ''Mildred Pierce'' and ''The Postman Always Rings Twice''. All three films helped break down the censorship barriers constructed by the [[Motion Picture Production Code|Hays Office]] in the 1930s that prevented the portrayal of infidelity and sexual passion on the screen.<ref>Skenazy, 1989 p. 13</ref>}}

The film was a box-office success. According to Warner Bros., it earned $3,483,000 in the U.S. and $2,155,000 in other markets.<ref>Glancy, 1995</ref><ref>Hoopes, 1982 p.351-352: See here for conflicts on set between Curtiz and Crawford.</ref>

===Other adaptations===

'''1954''': An hour-long radio play of the novel was first broadcast by the [[Lux Radio Theatre]] on the [[NBC Radio Network]] on 14 June 1954 starring [[Zachary Scott]] (also in the 1945 film) and [[Claire Trevor]].{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

'''1993''': A 90-minute dramatization by John Fletcher for the Radio Noir series for Saturday Night Theatre on BBC Radio 4 was first broadcast on 26 June 1993.  [[Shelley Thompson]] played the title role with [[Martin Jarvis (actor)|Martin Jarvis]] as Monte Beragon and [[Ed Bishop]] as Bert Pierce.

'''2011''': {{main article|Mildred Pierce (miniseries)}} Director [[Todd Haynes]] filmed a five-part miniseries for television, with [[Kate Winslet]] as Mildred, [[Guy Pearce]] as Monty Beragon, and [[Evan Rachel Wood]] as Veda, in Spring 2010 (with Morgan Turner as the young Veda). Haynes wrote the script with [[Jon Raymond]] and served as an executive producer with Pamela Koffler, John Wells, Ilene S. Landress, and [[Christine Vachon]], along with HBO in association with [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]].{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The miniseries aired on HBO, starting on March 27, 2011, and ending with a two-part finale on April 10, 2011. Unlike the movie version, it is almost a word-for-word dramatization of the novel, including nearly every scene and using Cain's dialogue. It features period music performed by [[Vince Giordano]] and the [[Nighthawks Orchestra]].{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}