This is the movie that proves Natalie Wood can act. Being beautiful, it was axiomatic once in Hollywood that beautiful women couldn't act. Or maybe it was against the entrenched male status quo way of looking at things that they weren't allowed to act.Anyway, 'The Cracker Factory' is about a troubled housewife, and in the part I think that Natalie Wood as Cassie Barrett, gives it all she's got. The character has mental problems and is also struggling to curb her alcoholism in the hope that she will not become a permanent mental patient and lose her husband and family. Shelly Long has a supporting part as an inmate of Wood's in the 'cracker factory' of the title. This is a true obscurity and is not listed in any film guide or credit listing of Natalie Wood's that I can get my hands on. It was made for television but looks good and has a believable script, contributions to a project that seems to have had a lot of thought put into it, unlike a lot of other movies specially made for television.Wood gives a bravura performance reminiscent of her part in 'Splendour in the Grass', but while she was young in that film, here she is a middle aged woman struggling to maintain her sanity with an unsympathetic mother and demands at home from spouse and children that she is simply emotionally incapable of fulfilling. As a result she ends up in the 'cracker factory', and not for the first time. This situation I think is far more interesting than 'Splendour in the Grass', as the story is seen within the context of adults attempting to adjust to life's demands as they already exist, as opposed to how they are going to do so in the future. 'Splendour in the Grass' was a portrayal of life in a small town, and the social pressures on young people to avoid sex in order that they not bear the responsibility of having children too young. The roles Natalie Wood plays in both films are similar, the difference being that they are a generation apart from one another. Cassie Barrett appears to be Wilma, that is if she had ever been allowed by her mother to grow up and move away from that small Kansas town.There is no explanation as to why Cassie gets to be in such a predicament of drinking too much, and living as if she has no responsibilities in life. Whilst in the hospital, Wood's character has a confrontation with a Catholic priest where she attempts to explain her bewilderment and despair, but it becomes obvious that the priest has no idea what she is talking about. Cassie appears to be a lapsed Catholic, but as a final straw attempts to find some answers from the church. For a Catholic priest, a woman's place is in the home with a husband and children and the priest rebuffs her as a shameful alcoholic. Character actor John Harkins gives a great performance as the staid and unfeeling man of the cloth, but the sequence in question, as well as the rest of the film belongs to Natalie. The denouement is ambiguous with Wood returning to her family for Thanksgiving with the audience not knowing how long the truce she has anxiously cobbled together with her husband is going to last.This is a thoughtful and illuminating film which examines the effects of alcoholism and mental illness on individuals and society in a non-judgmental manner. It is very frank, and definitely for adults only. It is also a very good film that deserves to be seen by Wood fans as well as others who appreciate insightful entertainment, and comes with a high recommendation.

Having just finished Suzanne Finstad's biography of Natalie Wood, I was eager to see The Cracker Factory because it was one of Natalie's favorite roles and a performance that she was very proud of. I have seen almost all of Natalie's films, and after watching this one, I can definitely say that it is perhaps her best work as an actress. Don't get me wrong, she was excellent in all of her films, but in The Cracker Factory, her acting was sheer brilliance. She was extremely convincing as Cassie, a depressed alcoholic housewife who drifts in and out of mental treatment. The role not only called for tough dramatic acting, which Wood of course tackles excellently, but also calls for an actress that has great comic timing due to Cassie's acerbic wit, which Natalie displays effortlessly and hilariously.The supporting cast is also in top form. Peter Haskell is great as the distant husband, Perry King is good as Cassie's psychiatrist, Juliet Mills is excellent as a supportive nurse, and a young Shelley Long is superb as the manic depressive Cara. The film itself is very good overall, although the music and certain parts of the script make it obvious that it is a made for TV movie.In a great production, however, the highest honors must go to Natalie Wood. In her biography, Finstad writes about how Natalie often felt that her acting was inferior to her peers that had studied Method Acting in New York at the Actor's Studio (like James Dean). Watching The Cracker Factory, it is obvious that she had no reason to feel that way, her acting was brilliant, as good and even better than many of the great Method actors. I only wish that Wood would have received the critical recognition for this performance that she so richly deserved.

Burt Brinckerhoff's exceptional made-for-television movie "The Cracker Factory" based upon the Joyce Rebeta-Burditt book of the same name offers a phenomenal performance by the late, great Natalie Wood. Natalie Wood shines as Cassie Barrett, a suburban alcoholic housewife who's in and out of the local hospital mental ward. She gives a rare look into the turbulent life of a wife and mother who suffers from depression, alcoholism and slight mental difficulty. Wood's Cassie Barrett is a spunky, bright individual looking for answers as to why she can't seem to handle her own life, while others do. Wood is warm, witty, intelligent and adds a special glow to this perceptive film.

I had read the book by Joyce Burditt -- even wrote her a fan letter, so was prepared NOT to like this television movie. Boy, was I wrong. Natalie Wood plays a wise-cracking suburban mom with a severe alcohol addiction. She loses control in a supermarket and ends up on the seventh floor of a hospital where they put the addicts and mentally ill. She has a crush on her psychiatrist and a wonderfully warm relationship with the night supervisor played by Juliet Mills. She confronts the pain she puts her family through, especially the children. Despite the serious subject matter, she is so charming and witty you can laugh and then cry with her. Highly recommend.