Crawford never ceases to amaze me.  The more I see, the deeper my appreciation grows.  And as Bette Davis put it, "What a face that dame had!"  From the beginning of her career to the very end, Joan Crawford believed in gratitude and showed it to her fans, writing to them religiously and attending functions, letting them get up close and personal with her.  Even if it was a need for love, it was also a desire to give back.  Fans got their money's worth.  Once she invited a whole mob of fans into a tony nightclub because it was cold outside.  Cliff Robertson remembers her flipping on the light in a limo in which she and Al Steele were seated, so the fans could see them as they drove away.  Who does that?  Spending so many formative years at MGM, she had a hard time letting go of the star image, believing her fans should see her looking glamorous at all times, so she wouldn't disappoint them.  Louis B. Mayer taught his stars to always dress the part, chastising her once for dressing inappropriately, a lesson she  never forgot.  Yet I feel there was another Joan, too -- the one that loved the water and beach, the one that a fan remembered as freckled and unpretentious, buying hot dogs from him on the beach and acting as if they were the best hot dogs in the world back in her early days -- a natural and raw self.  She had as many facets to her personality as a diamond, a "dazzling armor," as it has been aptly put.  In spite of all her interviews and access she allowed public and press, she remains somehow intangible.  Given the fact that she was without much foundational childhood support and love, one can understand why her film persona was so important to her and why she lived and breathed it.  Beneath the self-sufficient and arguably -- in later years -- steely exterior, there always seemed something fragile, sensitive and yearning about Joan; one can see it in most of her work.  Her eyes convey whole passages of dialogue; her whole heart does seem to be revealed on her face sometimes or in her eyes.  In an interview during outtakes footage before shooting, she was asked to put out her cigarette.  No diva behavior from our gal.  She put it out immediately, smiled graciously and said, "It's done."  Crawford fought some tough battles throughout her life, but she wanted to be liked.  She wanted approval and made an enormous effort to challenge herself and become something and give back.  Here are fifty (50) more photos of my glittering gal -- for the fans! - D. Nowak