Movies:
The Helen Morgan Story
- Rating:
- Genre: Drama
- Movie Type: Showbiz Drama, Musical Drama
- Themes: Musician's Life, Alcoholism, Rise and Fall Stories
- Director: Michael Curtiz
- Main Cast: Ann Blyth, Paul Newman, Richard Carlson, Gene Evans, Alan King
- Release Year: 1957
- Country: US
- Run Time: 118 minutes
Plot
Ann Blyth plays famed "torch singer" Helen Morgan, from her humble beginnings as a carnival dancer to the height of her nightclub fame in the 1920s. Helen spends most of her spare time anguishing over the on-and-off affections of her boorish boyfriend (Paul Newman), who had discovered Helen during her carnival days and promoted her to stardom. By 1927, Helen is headlining in her own nightclub, with further fame and fortune greeting her when she is cast as Julie in the blockbusting Broadway hit Show Boat. But when she realizes that her erstwhile boyfriend has been using her as a "meal ticket", Helen turns to drink. Losing her fortune to Revenue agents and the Stock Market crash of 1929, Helen hits rock bottom, ending up in the Bellevue alcoholic ward. Her boyfriend suddenly has a change of heart and declares his love for Helen, arranging for a lavish testimonial in her honor, hosted by Walter Winchell. The film ends at this point, suggesting that Helen Morgan is on the road to lasting success and happiness (tragically not the case in real life). For reasons unknown, Ann Blyth, an excellent singer in her own right, was dubbed in The Helen Morgan Story by songstress Gogi Grant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie GuideReview
No more faithful to facts than other Hollywood biopics of entertainers, The Helen Morgan Story piles up a lot of clichés as it tells its rise-fall-rise story, adding in a standard tortured romance along the way. (The real story of Helen Morgan has plenty of drama and soap opera itself and would probably have made for a more compelling film.) Still, Morgan works as a showcase for a number of great standards, as well as for director Michael Curtiz' atmospheric recreations of honkytonks, nightclubs, and the backstage life. There's also some nifty period dialogue, as well as some interesting "is she or isn't she?" allusions regarding the sexual preferences of some of the characters. In the title role, Ann Blyth is appropriately sympathetic and handles her numbers (to Gogi Grant's voice) well, but she has a difficult time with the scenes in which we see the alcohol affecting her. Paul Newman gives a strong and assured performance, and he makes an unsympathetic character fairly likeable -- which goes a long way to explaining why Blyth stays attached to him. In a supporting role, Alan King makes a definite impression and helps to make up for the rather colorless performance of Richard Carlson. If Morgan is not the picture that its subject deserved, it still provides a good deal of entertainment. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie GuideCast
- Ann Blyth - Helen Morgan
- Paul Newman - Larry
- Richard Carlson - Wade
- Gene Evans - Whitney Krause
- Alan King - Ben
Cara Williams - Dolly; Virginia Vincent - Sue; Walter Woolf King - Ziegfeld; Dorothy Green - Mrs. Wade; Warren Douglas - Hellinger; Sammy White - Sammy; Jimmy McHugh - Himself; Rudy Vallee - Himself; Walter Winchell - Himself; Iris Adrian; Edward Platt - Haggerty
