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Torch Song (1953 film)

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Torch Song
Theatrical release poster
Directed byCharles Walters
Screenplay by
Based onWhy Should I Cry?
by I.A.R. Wylie[1]
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyRobert H. Planck
Edited byAlbert Akst
Music byAdolph Deutsch
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byLoew's, Inc.
Release date
  • October 23, 1953 (1953-10-23)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1 million[2]
Box office$1.7 million[2]

Torch Song is a 1953 American Technicolor musical drama film distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Joan Crawford and Michael Wilding in a story about a Broadway star and her blind rehearsal pianist. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes and Jan Lustig [de] was based upon the story "Why Should I Cry?" by I.A.R. Wylie in a 1949 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. The film was directed by Charles Walters and produced by Sidney Franklin, Henry Berman and Charles Schnee. Crawford's singing voice was dubbed by India Adams.

Crawford lip-syncs to the recording Adams originally made for Cyd Charisse in a number discarded from the 1953 film, The Band Wagon. That's Entertainment III includes a segment presenting the two numbers side-by-side, in split screen.[3]

The film marked Crawford's return to MGM after leaving the studio to join Warner Bros. in 1944. Her original recordings for the soundtrack, which were not used in the film, have survived and have been included in home video releases.

Plot

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Cast

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Musical numbers

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  1. "You're All the World to Me" – Danced by Crawford and Walters
  2. "Follow Me" – Sung by Crawford (dubbed by Adams)
  3. "Two-Faced Woman" (outtake) – Sung by Crawford (dubbed by Adams)
  4. "You Won't Forget Me" – Sung by Crawford (dubbed by Adams)
  5. "Follow Me" (reprise) – Sung by Render (dubbed by Lee)
  6. "Two-Faced Woman" – Sung and danced by Crawford (dubbed by Adams) and chorus
  7. "Tenderly" – Sung partially by Crawford along to a recording by Adams

Reception

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Otis Guernsey Jr. in the New York Herald Tribune wrote "Joan Crawford has another of her star-sized roles...she is vivid and irritable, volcanic and feminine...Here is Joan Crawford all over the screen, in command, in love and in color, a real movie star in what amounts to a carefully produced one-woman show."[4]

According to MGM records, the film made $1,135,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $533,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $260,000.[2] The film is regarded as a camp classic and a possible influence on Faye Dunaway's portrayal of Crawford in Mommie Dearest.[citation needed]

It was parodied (as "Torchy Song") in a January 22, 1977 episode of The Carol Burnett Show.[5]

Accolades

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Rambeau was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 26th Academy Awards.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Torch Song". Archived from the original on January 8, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  3. ^ "That's Entertainment! III". tcm.com. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  4. ^ Quirk, Lawrence J. (1968). The Films of Joan Crawford. Lyle Stuart. ISBN 978-0806503417.
  5. ^ Powers, Dave (January 22, 1977), Family Show - Torchy Song, The Carol Burnett Show, Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, retrieved July 28, 2024
  6. ^ "26th Academy Awards". oscars.org. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
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