Faye Dunaway mentions in her autobiography that she screamed herself hoarse during the filming for the notorious wire hanger tantrum scene in this movie. She called Frank Sinatra for help, and he gave her some pointers on how to get her voice back into shape.
In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Christina Crawford opened up about the film's famous title, saying that, "'Mommie dearest' was a term of enslavement. If we just called her 'Mother' or 'Mommy,' she corrected us over and over and over again."
Cult-film director John Waters recorded a commentary track for the film's DVD release. Ironically, Waters states immediately in his commentary that he feels the film's reputation as being a cult film is undeserved, and proceeds to give a mostly straight analysis of the picture as a drama.
To create the look of screen legend Joan Crawford, actress Faye Dunaway had a 4am make-up call each day of shooting for a minimum three-hour make-up and hair session.
Little love was lost between costume designer Irene Sharaff and Faye Dunaway. "Yes, you may enter Miss Dunaway's dressing room," Sharaff once said, "but first you must throw a raw steak in - to divert her attention." This is another colleague, including Rutanya Alta and Bette Davis, to say that Faye Dunaway was rude and unbearable to work with.
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