Based on Christina Crawford's slanderous, tell-all biography, Mommie Dearest paints a portrait of a Joan Crawford the public never knew. The film portrays Crawford (Faye Dunaway, in an over-the-top performance) as a wicked, abusive mother who lives as though she's perpetually onscreen. In the movie's most memorable scene, Crawford berates her daughter, Christina (Mara Hobel), for improperly hanging her clothes, screaming, "No more wire hangers!"