Joan Crawford Collection, Vol. 2

What, no Mother's Day release?

In spite of that glaring oversight, this solid boxed set from Warner does comprise five heroic Crawford films, including 1934's "Sadie McKee," one of Crawford's many working-girl dramas; 1940's "Strange Cargo," in which Joan is Julie, a saloon girl who comes up against a criminal played by Clark Gable--and naturally falls for him upon his escape from Devil's Island; and George Cukor's 1941's drama "A Woman's Face," in which Crawford played Anna Holm, a physically scarred woman who finds that all the plastic surgery in the world can't heal the scars within.

Also included in the set is 1949's "Flamingo Road," with Crawford getting back to her dance hall roots--and getting framed for murder in the process; and 1953's "Torch Song," in which Crawford throws back her shoulder pads and belts out on hell of a camp melodrama. The extras are expansive, with several featurettes worthy of note--"Crawford at Warners," "Tough Baby: Joan Crawford and 'Torch Song'," and the very good "Gable & Crawford."

Long live the maligned star.

Grade: B+

In commemoration of Crawford and the Feb. 12 release of "The Joan Crawford Collection, Vol. 2," below are several highlights of why we love Crawford, whether she was at her best, her most sincere or at her worst.