I'll Cry Tomorrow (B+ or 3/4 stars)
'I'll Cry Tomorrow' (a 1955 biopic musical hit directed by Daniel Mann) provides a fantastic showcase for Susan Hayward, who won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival in & was Oscar nominated for her rousing performance as Lillian Roth, the real-life 1930s musical star who, by age 20, had risen to fame due to the insistent & damaging efforts of her pushy mother, Katie (Jo Van Fleet). Through she attains great success on Broadway & in Hollywood, Lillian then has her hopes & dreams dashed when her fiancee, David Tredman (Ray Danton, in an impressive debut) tragically dies.
This tragedy + some turbulent family problems make her turn to the bottle. Alcoholism & a string of bad relationships (an immature aviation cadet named Wallie, played by Don Taylor, & a sadistic abuser named Tony, played by Richard Conte) destroy Lillian's career and, ultimately leaves her impoverished. After hitting rock bottom by way of an attempt on her own life, Lillian becomes hell bent on returning to the spotlight; hoping to achieve redemption.
This film is your standard Old Hollywood musical biopic that we've seen before and, that Susan Hayward has done before as well, haha. But Daniel Mann's direction is sturdy, the script - while containing historical inaccuracies & cliches - is involving, it looks pretty spectacular, & the performances from the vast cast are excellent. Susan Hayward is superb, both as Lillian-the-performer, and later when she hits the skids. All the male actors in the film give great dimension to the character of Lillian, including Eddie Albert, who plays a man named Burt McGuire to tries to help her get back on her feet.
Great as Hayward is doing her usual 'sexy broad who becomes defiant in the face of adversity' thing, I was most blown away by Jo Van Fleet, who absolutely rivets as Lillian's domineering, overly ambitious stage mother. Funny enough, though Van Fleet wins an Oscar this year for her performance in the great East of Eden ... I'd have given her the award for her turn in THIS movie. Helen Rose won the Academy Award for her stylish costumes, here. I admire Alex North's score, as well as some music sequences {"When the Red Red Robin (Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along)", "I'm Sitting on Top of the World"}. Good movie, special performances.
This tragedy + some turbulent family problems make her turn to the bottle. Alcoholism & a string of bad relationships (an immature aviation cadet named Wallie, played by Don Taylor, & a sadistic abuser named Tony, played by Richard Conte) destroy Lillian's career and, ultimately leaves her impoverished. After hitting rock bottom by way of an attempt on her own life, Lillian becomes hell bent on returning to the spotlight; hoping to achieve redemption.
This film is your standard Old Hollywood musical biopic that we've seen before and, that Susan Hayward has done before as well, haha. But Daniel Mann's direction is sturdy, the script - while containing historical inaccuracies & cliches - is involving, it looks pretty spectacular, & the performances from the vast cast are excellent. Susan Hayward is superb, both as Lillian-the-performer, and later when she hits the skids. All the male actors in the film give great dimension to the character of Lillian, including Eddie Albert, who plays a man named Burt McGuire to tries to help her get back on her feet.
Great as Hayward is doing her usual 'sexy broad who becomes defiant in the face of adversity' thing, I was most blown away by Jo Van Fleet, who absolutely rivets as Lillian's domineering, overly ambitious stage mother. Funny enough, though Van Fleet wins an Oscar this year for her performance in the great East of Eden ... I'd have given her the award for her turn in THIS movie. Helen Rose won the Academy Award for her stylish costumes, here. I admire Alex North's score, as well as some music sequences {"When the Red Red Robin (Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along)", "I'm Sitting on Top of the World"}. Good movie, special performances.