Standard-issue (read mediocre/highly fictionalized) bio-pic of Australian dramatic soprano Marjorie Lawrence whose career was ‘interrupted’ by polio. With Eleanor Parker unable to do the one thing she must: convince us that Eileen Farrell’s thunderous voice is emanating from her throat. Oh, the mouth moves more-or-less in synch with the arias & pop tunes (Farrell unusually comfortable in all genres), but there’s no sense of a body participating in vocal production as she flings her arms out. And there's even less going on physically between Parker and Glenn Ford as the doctor/husband who didn’t want to become Mr. Marjorie Lawrence, then gave it all up to help her recover enough strength to resume her singing career to some extent. (The film has her return to the MET for the five hour TRISTAN AND ISOLDE!) Alas, all the dramatics in this M-G-M production, before and after her health crisis, have aged as poorly as the hazy print out on Warner Archive’s VOD. And director Curtis Bernhardt’s early CinemaScope megging feels nearly as wheelchair-bound as our protagonist. Somehow this tripe won a Best Writing Oscar® for William Ludwig & Sonya Levien. Ho-Yo-To-Ho, indeed!
SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: The first half of the film (farm girl/ Paris studies/stage/romance) is so conventional, it’s a relief when polio comes into play and gooses up the drama. How sick is that?
WATCH THIS, NOT THAT: The year’s best musical bio-pic was more ‘Pop’ oriented: LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME with smash perfs from Doris Day & James Cagney (and even stiffer CinemaScope compositions from a becalmed/befuddled Charles Vidor).
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: Listen up during a brief excerpt from CARMEN where William Olvis makes a standout partner for Parker on film (and Farrell on the vocal track). His next gig put him on B’way (and the Original Cast Recording) for all the character tenor roles of Leonard Bernstein’s masterpiece CANDIDE.
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