The film is the story of Mildred Pierce, a woman of humble roots who is married to Bert and has two daughters – Veda and Kay. Her husband is a successful real estate entrepreneur with his partner Wally but ultimately loses his job, so Mildred begins to bake pies and sell them to make money to provide nice things for her daughters. The older daughter Veda is a spoilt brat but Mildred loves her and is determined to provide nice things for her. When her husband disagrees with her and refuses to let her spend money on pampering Veda and spoiling her, Mildred leaves him and is determined to get a job. After a great deal of struggle, she lands a job as a waitress and learns the nuts and bolts of the restaurant business, so that she can pay for Veda’s piano lessons and other vanities. She enters into an agreement with a man named Monty who is from a higher class to buy his house in order to satisfy her daughter’s craving to live a rich lifestyle. She even makes him a partner in her restaurant business. Everything she does is for her daughter Veda. But as the girl grows up, she turns out to be a spoilt brat who expresses her contempt for her mother’s humble roots and is completely ungrateful for all the sacrifices her mother has made on her behalf. Finally, she even wants to run away with Monty and kills him when he refuses to run away with her.

Champoux (1999:206), points out that “film enhances the learning process in ways unavailable in other media.” The film Mildred Pierce provides several positive images of women however the ultimate objective in the film is to illustrate the destructive effects of such liberation. In this aspect, therefore, the film is one that falls into the classic film noir category. Orr (1997) considers two basic approaches to genre theory and describes one that is applicable to the film Mildred Pierce. This approach holds that the genre of a film cannot be defined by its dominant expression but rather by the subtext which creates a framework of expectations, Hence the application of such an approach is audience-based and its impact is geared to produce a specific reaction in an audience, for example, a tragic plot generates pity and fear in an audience.