Glendale, California, 1931: Mildred Pierce, a young mother with a talent for baking, is left a "grass widow" after throwing her husband, Bert, out of the house. Forced to hunt for work to support herself and her two young daughters, 11-year-old Veda and seven-year-old Ray, Mildred visits an employment agency, only to encounter job opportunities she feels are beneath her. Amidst her job search, she receives dating advice from her friend and neighbor, Lucy Gessler, and begins an unexpected affair with an ex-business partner of her husbandʼs, Wally Burgan. When Mildred receives a call from the agency regarding an opening as a housekeeper to a wealthy socialite, she reluctantly agrees to meet with her. After cutting the acerbic interview short, Mildred seeks refuge at a local diner, Cristofors Café, where fate, and a waitress named Ida, will play a role in shaping her future.
Mildred brings a sample of her pies into the diner and they're a big hit with the customers. Soon she gets an order for 35 pies a week and the orders start to pile up from other restaurants as well. Veda discovers her waitress uniforms and Mildred is forced to admit what she does for a living. The selfish Veda thinks it's all so degrading.
These are the circumstances in which this spanking scene takes place, a scene described in the book as follows:
"For heaven's sake,. Mother, haven't I told you once? How often do I have to tell you? I won't have you questioning methis way. Good night--I'm going to bed."
Mildred caught her arm, pulled her back. "You knew, when you gave it to Letty, that that was my uniform, didn't you?" -
"_Your_ uniform?"
Veda's simulation of surprise was so cool, so calculated, so insolent, that Mildred waited longer than she usually did, when angered. Then she went on: "I've taken a job as a waitress in a restaurant in Hollywood."
"As a--_what?_"
"As a waitress, as you very well know."
"Yee gods! Yee--"
Mildred clipped her on the cheek, but she gave a short laugh, and brazenly finished: --"gods and little fishes!"
At this, Mildred clipped her a terrific wallop on the other cheek, that toppled her to the floor. As she lay there, Mildred began to talk. "So you and your sister can eat, and have a place to sleep, and a few clothes on your backs. I've taken the only kind of a job I could get, and if you think I'm going to listen to a lot of silly nonsense from you about it, you're mistaken. And if you think your nonsense is going to make me give up the job, you're mistaken about that, too. How you found out what I was doing I don't know--"
"From the uniform, stupid. You think I'm dumb?"
Mildred clipped her again, and went on: "You may not realize it, but everything you have costs money, from the maid that you ordered to go traipsing with you to the pooi, to your food, and everything else that you have. And as I don't see anybody else doing anything about it--"
Veda had got up now, her eyes, hard, and cut in: "Aren't the pies bad enough? Did you have to degrade us by--"
Mildred caught her by both arms, threw her over one knee, whipped the kimono up with one motion, the pants down with another, and brought her bare hand down on Veda's bottom with all the force her fury could give her. Veda screamed and bit her leg. Mildred pulled loose, then beat the rapidly reddening bottom until she was exhausted, and Veda screamed as though demons were inside of her. Then Mildred let Veda slide to the floor, and sat there panting and fighting the nausea that was swelling in her stomach.
Presently Veda got up, staggered to the sofa, and flung herself down in tragic despair. Then she gave a soft laugh, and whispered, in sorrow rather than anger: "A waitress."
The hint of the existance of that scene in this remake came from cinndunc, it was recorded and made accesible by Mrs. Smith. All credit goes to them.
Spanker: Kate Winslet
Spankee: Morgan Turner
Director: Todd Haynes
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