Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Instant Favorite.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Despite the dreadful title, I found myself watching this movie. Joan Crawford is okay. I don't find her that beautiful and the movie never really spells out what all the "hussy" business is about - she has friendships with a number of different men - big deal. However, the costumes and sets are well done and the cast includes many big stars who really know how to act.What I truly enjoyed was the extensive dialog concerning states' rights vs. federal government, preserving the union, etc. There was a surprising amount of serious discussion about serious issues - relevant then and relevant now.I much prefer Charlton Heston as Andrew Jackson in The Buccaneer. He seems much closer to the real Jackson than Lionel Barrymore (who makes a much better Ebenezer Scrooge in the A Christmas Carol audio recording than he does our 7th president).

Fanciful, but silly biography of Peggy Eaton (Crawford), a controversial figure during the Andrew Jackson administration in the late 1820s, and her relationships with influential men of that era. Semi-fiction story is "gorgeous" to look at thanks to elegant period settings and costumes, not so much the performances or script.

Joan isn't all that gorgeous, only a halfhearted hussy, and not much of an actress, either--at least not here. Rather, she's a nice but confused innkeeper's daughter in 1820s Washington with love and politics on the brain. Mostly she lifts her considerable eyebrows up and down, up and down, to indicate joy, worry, bafflement, empathy, ecstasy... All the while she's pursued by most of the leading men of MGM circa 1936, for reasons best known to them, since there's nothing particularly fascinating about her character. This lengthy melodrama does have first-rate production values and intermittent good acting, especially from the quieter performers, Melvyn Douglas and (most of all) Beulah Bondi, as a gentle, pipe-smoking Mrs. Andrew Jackson. But as a historical romance it's rather listless, with a rote Snidely-Whiplash villain (Louis Calhern) and much nattering about states' rights. The conflicts feel painted-on. The ending feels hurried and contrived. And Joan always seems to be looking for her key light.

This entertaining story is definitely worth the cost of rental. It is available in most video stores. It follows an Inn keepers daughter (Joan Crawford at her loveliest) through two marriages and a lasting friendship with Andrew Jackson. Although her particular character is fictitious, the rest of the story line is fairly historically accurate, especially the portrayal of the close campaign Jackson ran, due to the opposition of his wife Rachel.