Main Cast: Lana Turner, Ray Milland, Tom Ewell, Louis Calhern, Ann Dvorak, Jean Hagen
Release Year: 1950
Country: US
Run Time: 108 minutes
Plot
Lana Turner stars as an ambitious model who seeks her fortune in New York City. She is befriended by over-the-hill cover-girl Ann Dvorak, whose performance carries the story until she commits suicide twenty minutes into the film. Turner promises herself that she won't end up burned out like Dvorak, but as her fame grows, she is inexorably drawn into the hectic social whirl that sealed Dvorak's doom. Enjoying the favors of wealthy Ray Milland, Turner seeks out Milland's wife (Margaret Phillips), hoping to convince the woman to give up her husband. When she meets the crippled Mrs. Milland, Turner is made painfully aware of the length and breadth of the woman's love for her husband. Turner pulls out of the relationship, and we are encouraged to believe that hers will be a much happier and more fulfilling life than that of the unfortunate Ann Dvorak (ironically, in real life Ann Dvorak's final days were relatively contented ones, while Lana Turner spent her twilight years wondering where the looks, the men and the money had gone). Though not so noted in the credits, A Life of Her Own was inspired by The Abiding Vision, a novel by Rebecca West. Bronislau Kaper's musical score was later recycled for the 1951 MGM romantic drama Invitation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
A Life of Her Own is an entertaining enough little melodrama that might have been more memorable if Douglas Sirk had gotten his directorial hands on it. This isn't to impugn George Cukor, whose direction is solid and gets the job done in an admirable fashion, but this kind of ridiculous romance needs the kind of full-blown, devil-may-care commitment that Sirk excelled at. Even Sirk couldn't have made a classic of Life, the material is simply too weak for that. But he would have found the nuggets in it that really spoke to him and mined them for all they were worth, giving A Life of Her Own some mountainous heights rather than the little hills that Cukor builds up. Things certainly start out promisingly, but as soon as Ann Dvorak bites the dust -- which is less than 20 minutes into the film -- a lot of life goes out of the film. Things are also not helped by an ending that is lame and lifeless. Dvorak is a marvel, making the most out of what is really second rate material, and star Lana Turner suffers in comparison. However, Turner's glamour and appeal see her through the role and she's so stunning -- even with a few extra pounds on -- that one is willing to accept the fact that she's a little too old and too hefty to be playing an aspiring young model. Ray Milland is fine as her love interest, and there's good supporting work from Jean Hagen, Kathleen Freeman, and Margaret Phillips, among others. For fans of the genre, it's not bad and it's worth watching -- but it's not a classic. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Barry Sullivan - Lee Gorrance; Margaret Phillips - Nora Harleigh; Phyllis Kirk - Jerry; Sara Haden - Smitty; Hermes Pan - Lily's Dance Partner; Dorothy Abbott; Richard Anderson - Hosiery Man; Whit Bissell - Rental Agent; Madge Blake; Carol Brannan; Carol Brewster; Frankie Darro - Bellboy; Kenne Duncan - Man Asking Invitation; Elizabeth Flournoy - Caraway Receptionist; Kathleen Freeman - Peg; Beverly Garland - Girl at Parly; Gertrude Graner - Woman Photographer; Sam Harris - Man Model; Percy Helton - Hamburger Proprietor; Robert Emmett Keane; Meredith Leeds - People at Party; Queenie Leonard - Hotel Matron; Walter McGrail; Maura Murphy - Vogue Receptionist; Kerry O'Day; Sarah Padden - Overseer; Hilda Plowright - Desk Clerk; Tom Seidel - Bob Collins; Beverly Thompson; Dorothy Tree - Caraway's Secretary; Joan Valerie; Geraldine Wall - Hosiery Woman; Bunny Waters; Wilson Wood - Cab Driver; Harry Barris - Piano Player; Arthur M. Loew, Jr.; Bridget Carr; Kenneth Garcia; Alice Wallace; Sally Cooper - Uncredited
Small town girl Lily Brannel James leaves her home in Kansas and heads to New York City, where she applies for work at the Thomas Caraway Model Agency. Hired by Tom Caraway, she becomes friends with former top model Mary Ashlon, who teaches her the ropes about the business. Mary is depressed about her foundering career and, following a night of excessive drinking, she commits suicide.
Lily quickly becomes a success. Through her friend, attorney Jim Leversoe, she meets Steve Harleigh, a Montana copper-mine owner in New York on business. Steve is lonely, and although he is married, Lily accompanies him on several innocent outings during his stay. The two fall in love, but both realize nothing can come of it. Steve sends Lily a bracelet, and she misinterprets the gift as payment for the time she spent with him.
Lily's career flourishes, although she is not as happy as she had hoped she would be. Eventually Steve returns to New York and accidentally runs into Lily. He tells her he will be working in the city on a regular basis, and the two decide to live together and allow their relationship to develop. Complications arise when Steve's wife Nora plans to visit him for his birthday. He reveals she was crippled in an automobile accident for which he was responsible and admits he never could leave her.
On the night of Steve's birthday, Lily continues with her plans to host an elaborate celebration, while Steve stays with Nora, who is making some progress in relearning to walk. Steve arrives at the party and is distressed by Lily's reckless behavior. Fearful of losing him, Lily decides to confront Nora and asks Jim to introduce them. Touched by Nora's love for and dependence upon Steve, Lily realizes she cannot come between them.
Some time later, Lily runs into advertising executive Lee Gorrance, who had been dating Mary just prior to her death. When Lily resists his romantic advances, he predicts she will end up lonely and depressed like Mary. Upset by his comments, Lily considers ending her own life, but finally resolves to remain strong and continue, even if alone.
Production
Joseph I. Breen rejected the original script as unacceptable and termed it "shocking and highly offensive" for its portrayal of "adultery and commercialized prostitution." A revised version was found to have "insufficient compensating moral values." In order to bring the story into agreement with the Production Code, screenwriter Isobel Lennart was required to "show that the adulterous situation is wrong and that sinners must be punished for their sin."[1]
Vincente Minnelli originally was assigned to direct the film, but numerous script revisions and problems with casting delayed the start of production by several months, and Minnelli began work on Father of the Bride instead. Lana Turner initially refused to star in the film, but MGM executives Louis B. Mayer and Dore Schary demanded she honor her contract with the studio. Howard Keel, Cary Grant, George Murphy, and James Mason were among those considered for the role of Steve Harleigh, which eventually went to Wendell Corey, who worked on the production through mid-February 1950 but then allegedly asked to be released from the film because he felt he wasn't right for the role. Other sources claimed he was dismissed at the request of Turner and director George Cukor following an argument between the two stars. He was replaced by Ray Milland.[1]
The film's original ending had Lily leaping to her death, but the studio insisted on a happier finale. Cukor disapproved of the studio's interference and was unhappy with the film as it was released.[1]
Variety observed, "The soap opera plotting has been polished to considerable extent, the playing by the femme cast members is topnotch and the direction aids them, but it is still a true confession type of yarn concerned with a big city romance between a married man and a beautiful model. Script is spotted with feeling and character, and also a lot of conversation that doesn't mean much. A decided asset is Lana Turner's performance."[2]
Music
As revealed in the liner notes of the Film Score Monthly release of the music from the film, the main theme for this film would be reused by the composer in the 1952 film Invitation.
