Watch The Helen Morgan Story For Free

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hyped garbage

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Producer: Martin Rackin. Copyright 1957 by Warner Brothers Pictures Corporation. New York opening at the Astor 2 October 1957. U.S. release date: September 1957. U.K. release: 29 December 1957. Australian release: 12 June 1958. U.S. and Australian running time: 118 minutes. U.K. length: 8,914 feet (99 minutes). U.K. release title: BOTH ENDS OF THE CANDLE. SYNOPSIS: Singer takes to drink.NOTES: Warner Bros purchased the rights to Helen Morgan's story from her estate in 1942 — a year after her death. The title role was initially offered to Susan Hayward — to capitalize on her success in "I'll Cry Tomorrow" — but she turned it down. COMMENT: Despite its simple, melodramatic, "Love Me Or Leave Me" triangle framework, "The Helen Morgan Story" is not only unwound at a wonderful pace, but given such breadth that it introduces a whole host of interesting support characters and diverting scenes. True, Ann Blyth is not much of an actress. She never was. But it still comes as something of a shock to see such a poor performance here, considering that she responded so effectively to Curtiz's direction in "Mildred Pierce". Not only does she give little indication of Morgan's personality and charisma, she doesn't even look like her. Fortunately, all her singing chores are entrusted to Gogi Grant, a splendid vocalist who really gives the old Morgan standards a great run. The many welcome musical interludes are, for the most, simply staged, but marvelously effective. And what a great score! In the Cagney role, Paul Newman gives a smashing, hard-edged performance — right up to his last-minute change of heart (which is the least believable plot twist of all the unbelievable episodes the writers have managed to dream up). In fact, Newman's powerful portrayal of the embittered gangster ("I got a chest full of medals") brings what could have been a conventional, clichéd character to vibrant life. Newman projects a magnetism that makes both his portrait and Morgan's reaction to him utterly believable. (Compare Omar Sharif's tepid and lackluster interpretation of a similar nemesis in "Funny Girl"). By contrast, co-star Richard Carlson is weak as water (as usual), but Cara Williams — more attractively gowned and photographed than Blyth herself — and Alan King head an energetic and highly ingratiating support cast. Alas, Rudy Vallee appears only briefly (but enjoyably). In addition to numerous other incredible liberties that the script takes with Morgan's "life", insult is added to injury when no mention whatever is made of the star's Hollywood fling in such films as "Applause", "Roadhouse Nights", "Sweet Music", "Go Into Your Dance" and "Show Boat". In fact the "story" ends with a spurious, happy re- union stolen from "The Joker Is Wild".But what does truth matter? When the songs, the lighting, the director's firm control and occasional inventiveness (Curtiz just loves to work with a mammoth budget), the crowd and street scenes are so marvelous. The number and variety of sets, their depth, the vast number of extras, Curtiz's tight CinemaScope compositions, all overwhelm us with a fabulous sense of period. Above all, Ted McCord's superb black-and-white cinematography (some of the outdoor, Depression shots have the look and texture of Steiglitz photographs) entrances the senses with its wondrous lighting. Always most attractive just to look at, "The Helen Morgan Story" is a terrific example of Hollywood craftsmanship at its best. It's a shame it wasn't appreciated for the gem it is at the time of its original release. Most critics homed in on the fictitious story line, dismissed Blyth's impersonation, and let it go at that. I say, never mind the flaws. Judge the movie as entertainment. Is the story interesting, is the acting engaging, are the songs and singers absolutely captivating? My answer is yes, yes, yes!

The movie doesn't come up to the height of Love Me or Leave Me. The reviews of the day called it a soap opera and it has that feeling. Love Me or Leave had a better script and a better cast. The reason that Blyth was miscast is the same reason that they didn't use her voice (Gogi Grant dubbed over all the singing). Blyth doesn't have the emotional heft to match the torch-singing quality that is necessary for the part or necessary to match the dubbed singing by Gogi. A more powerful actress would have made the scenes with her and Newman much better. His acting ability stands out of course, but it is mostly wasted on this script. Who would have been perfect for this?...easy...Judy Garland. She may have looked to old for the part at this point...she didn't have the beauty of Blyth...who was a good singer in her own right...but not for this. Blyth looked like Morgan...and she was fantastic in Kismet...perfect. I had the pleasure of meeting her about 10 years ago and shared some coffee with her and her husband. She's a lovely lady. This movie is just lacking.

With a song in her heart, Helen Morgan was one of the top Broadway divas of the pre-Ethel Merman era. By the 1950's, such chanteuses as Jane Froman, Lillian Roth, Blossom Seeley and Ruth Etting had their stories told on film, so it was inevitable that someone did Morgan's. Polly Bergen did this story for TV, but Ann Blyth, the lovely soprano of "Rose Marie" and "The Student Price", got the movie-and got dubbed by a recording star-Gogi Grant. In those operettas, Blyth totally tossed out the memory of Veda from "Mildred Pierce", but by 1957, musicals were slowly being phased out on the big screen. Perhaps formula stories like this (plus plenty of musicals filmed for TV) were responsible, as more and more they reeked of familiarity. With this one, the formula combined with two recent similar stories, "The Lillian Roth Story" ("I'll Cry Tomorrow") and "The Ruth Etting Story" ("Love Me or Leave Me") to glue its plot together.Lillian Roth fought alcoholism and Ruth Etting was at the mercy of a mobster, and here, Helen Morgan is both. This provides plenty of drama, but unfortunately it is mashed together in an unconvincing manner that the other films managed to dramatize. Here, Paul Newman is the duplicate of "Love Me or Leave Me's" James Cagney. Unfortunately, as magnetic as Newman is, his character is weakly developed and lacks the heart Cagney displays in his Oscar nominated role. Richard Carlson is good as the equivalent to Cameron Mitchell's "Love Me or Leave Me" character, a basic good guy stuck in a loveless marriage. It's all predictable what happens in both relationships.As for Blyth, she does very well exploring Morgan's downfall and in spots, really captures her changing image. Gogi Grant's vocal range is appropriate to the downfall as well, and at times has voice mannerisms close to Judy Garland whom it is rumored was a contender for this role which may have been too close to home. But what fails to come through in her performance is the ambition, overwork and despair that would drive her to become a lush.There are many great standards and of course the two songs from "Show Boat" which have become her signature songs. Unfortunately, they are only heard as cabaret numbers, not shown being performed in the Broadway production or shown being filmed for the magnificent 1936 film version. In black and white more suited for early TV, the film lacks the impact the same story would have had if it was made 15 years before, as do many films of that era set in the 1930's. Then, the ending comes along, repeating one seen in one of the musical bios I discussed earlier, and on comes a major let down and lack of originality. Blyth shines, however, in a drunk scene in a New York dive where she badly sings along to a recording of herself on the radio.

Clearly inspired by other biopics like Love Me or Leave Me (1955) and I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955), this is another tale of a chanteuse whose career success is affected by booze and bad men. Helen Morgan was a star in the 1920's, a nightclub singer who crossed-over into theater for Flo Ziegfeld on Broadway in Showboat. However like so many others, a rapid ascent gave way to a slow decline.The screenplay by Oscar Saul, Dean Reisner, Stephen Longstreet, and Nelson Gidding, rationalises that the sado-masochistic love of Helen (Ann Blyth) for Larry Maddox (Paul Newman) is what brings her success and failure. Her alcoholism is an ironic symptom of the era of prohibition. Helen is ambitious, but her love for Larry tells us that she would give it all up if he would agree to marry her. However as Larry isn't the marrying kind, she is miserable, not a good state for an entertainer to be in. The lower class milieu that accompanies showbusiness is a breeding ground for these crooks, who see talented women as their meal ticket and a way to improve themselves, and it's no coincidence that Ruth Etting and Fanny Brice too had their troubles with gamblers. When Larry slaps Helen repeatedly and calls her a tramp, the scene could be from any number of biopics.The dialogue uses period slang for amusing affect eg 'You made those dames look like they were hanging out to dry', Larry is 'stuck on' Helen and tells her 'You're hooked'. When Helen is drunk at a rehearsal, it is said of her 'She's only running on 4 cylinders. It's the gasoline she uses'. The narrative has period oddities such as a lesbian at a rent party, and the wife of lawyer Russell Wade (Richard Carlson) who has an arrangement where it appears she too can be a lesbian, though she refuses to release her meal ticket. Helen gets the standard self-pity in 'I'm no good' and 'Everything I touch turns bad', and we hear the tale of the death of her father when she was a child (Freud, anyone?). However what no one seems to notice is that when Helen is appearing in Showboat and at her nightclub AND drinking, the plain fact seems to be is that she is overworked. Also when Ziegfeld offers her the part of Julie in Showboat that would make her famous, there is no indication that she can even act.Although the biopic is one of Hollywood's most corrupt genres - revisionist history existing as a star vehicle - it is redeemed when the person biographed is presented as a star. Although Ann Blyth can sing, her vocals are (inexplicably) dubbed, not with Morgan's recordings - Morgan died in 1941 - but by Gogi Grant. Grant's voice is lovely, has that Garland loudness and heartthrob sincerity for ballads, and is also able to jazz it up for 'On The Sunny Side of the Street'. Director Michael Curtiz only lets us see Helen as a star in two numbers - 'The Man I Love', and Why Was I Born?', both when she is supposedly drunk and of course, in perfect voice. Curtiz uses the genre standard cut-aways so we have others opinion of how wonderful Helen is, but otherwise we get Helen singing numbers interrupted or up-staged by drama. There are two other numbers which Helen completes in full - her two songs from Showboat performed in non-Showboat settings, Bill and Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man, but the songs are less showy.Blyth uses Morgan's signature scarf and sits on the accompaniest's piano as she sings, however often her buck teeth up-stage her. Blyth had been memorably directed by Curtiz in Mildred Pierce (1944) with Joan Crawford, and the later Helen recalls Crawford, in her stark make-up and, in a scene where she is required to tell a lie, where her face is a grimace. Curtiz uses expressionist camera-work to indicate Helen's drunken point of view, and the numbers she falters in when performing are camp - her tipsy rehearsal for 'Somebody Loves Me' wearing a hideous dress, and 'You Do Something to Me' where she falls off the piano. Curtiz cuts from her fall to a newspaper headline 'La Morgan stops Broadway show - flat on her face!'. When Helen is 'missing' on a drunken binge, she gets splashed by a passing car, and is ridiculed in a bar when she sings along to a radio broadcast of her own vocal. However, Blyth's screams of Helen in detox jump over camp into empathy.Curtiz uses the cringe-worthy orchestration of Morgan songs behind dialogue scenes - you can bet 'The Man I Love' gets a workout in the Helen/Larry scenes, but also the silhouette of someone who hangs themselves. Newman is too young for his role - he was actually older than Blyth when the film was made, but he seems younger - and his technique shows. But although he has practically nothing to do, Alan King is good to have around.