Michael_Elliott Jimmy Fund: At Home With Joan Crawford (1953) *** (out of 4) This short film was made to help raise money for the Jimmy Fund, which was a hospital in Boston that took care of children with cancer. The film shows Joan Crawford walking out of her daughter's bedroom and heading for the camera where she talks about the children with the disease and then asks people to donate money. Several of these shorts were made back in the 1950s and if you're a fan of Crawford then you'll want to check this out. This isn't the most cheerful short ever made but it did serve its purpose. It's rather sad to think that 55-years after this was released that we're no closer to any cure.

charlytully A totally naive person might wonder why an ancient public service announcement (PSA) is taken note of on IMDb. The reason is that Joan Crawford appears in it. That's right, if Nadine Schwackhammer, who has never had a SAG card, recorded a PSA for a local Cedar Rapids TV station 10 years ago for the Beulah Benzie Park Beautification Project, that PSA--apples to donuts--would NOT be here on IMDb. However, the average PSA recorded by Crawford, or Kate Hepburn, Gary Cooper, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Betty Davis, Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, Jimmy Stewart, and the other major stars in Hollywood's firmament are MORE worthy to be archived here than the average TV sit-com episode of MY MOTHER THE CAR or CAR 54, WHERE ARE YOU? (even though these ALSO have their own niche on IMDb). The reason being, that researchers need access to every minute of screen time that EVER has been publicly released by such figures. C'mon, this is not just Lindsay Lohan getting out of a car, or something.Like any ratable item, Joan's PSA for the Jimmy Fund SHOULD be judged in the context of its own genre and time period. Know-nothings who automatically rate things a "1" because they're from the 1930s, or they're shorts, or they're black-and-white or silent, or some actor named "David" is in it and they divorced a "David," or they read MOMMIE DEAREST may LEGALLY be able to vote in the IMDb ratings process, but their arbitrary nuisance marks are absolutely no different from spitting into a punch bowl: they are spoiling something other people value. This is a definition of vandalism, if there ever was one.Raising money for child cancer victims, which Joan was doing when this plea for Boston's Jimmy Fund was made at New England theaters (followed by the movie ushers passing the hat) is no laughing matter. Joan begins the PSA at the top of a staircase, presumably leading to the kids' rooms at her own home. She does NOT mention wire hangers at all. This is a straight-forward plea for a worthy cause, and deserves at least a rating of "7." They were not attempting to make WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? here; they were just trying to keep little kids from dying before their time. It is really sad that dozens of meanies cannot get this through their brains.

MartinHafer This is a film you really can't rate, as it's really a public service announcement--and I am actually shocked it's listed on IMDb. Unfortnuately, while it is a noble little advertisement, it's just creepy when seen today.The film begins with Joan Crawford telling her perfect children goodnight in her perfectly arranged life. It's all very waxy-looking considering how well-orchestrated and non-spontaneous it all is. And, in light of the book and movie "Mommy Dearest", it's hard to take this extremely crafted scene as anything other than a creepy portrait of a very creepy family. The purpose of the segment is to encourage New Englanders to contribute to a cancer research fund--a noble cause.Bizarre, very fake and creepy.

DeanandJoplinforever yes this short is dated and could possibly be seen as money grabbing but it is for a good cause....the Jimmy fund! which i believe is for cancer research, and Joan is delectable as always, the users who gave this a 1 rating are either, Joan haters, uncharitable or just plain dumb. Most people don't know but Joan actually anonymously paid for (most of her life) a hospital bed for people who don't have much money for them to use. She's not the child beating sado-masochistic mother that her Jealous daughter Christina (John Travolta) makes her out to be, she was a beautiful woman outside, but especially inside and is still to this day loved and missed.