Torch Song (1953 film)

Torch Song
Original theatrical release poster
Directed by	Charles Walters
Screenplay by	John Michael Hayes  [de]
Based on	Why Should I Cry? (1949) by I.A.R. Wylie[1]
Produced by	Henry Berman Sidney Franklin Jr. Charles Schnee
Starring	Joan Crawford Michael Wilding Gig Young Marjorie Rambeau
Cinematography	Robert H. Planck
Edited by	Albert Akst
Music by	Adolph Deutsch
Color process	Technicolor
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	October 23, 1953 (1953-10-23)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1,029,000[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  [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.

The film has become notorious because of the musical number "Two-Faced Woman": Crawford performs in blackface and body makeup while dancing with a large chorus of male and female dancers, also in blackface. However, Crawford's facial makeup is not a disrespectful caricature of a black performer, as can be seen in other blackface performances during that period. She wore a dark-brown foundation with no exaggerated features. Crawford lip-syncs to the recording Adams originally made for Cyd Charisse in a number discarded from the 1953 film, The Band Wagon. ^[3] That's Entertainment III includes a segment presenting the two numbers side-by-side, in split screen.^[4][5]

The film marked Crawford's return to MGM after a 10-year absence. Her original recordings for the soundtrack, which were not used in the film, have survived and have been included in home video releases.

Plot[]

Jenny Stewart is a tough Broadway musical star, alienating her colleagues with her neurotic demands for absolute perfection. Jenny takes offense when her new rehearsal pianist Tye Graham criticizes her song stylings and ruthless ways.

Graham was blinded in World War II but fell in love with Jenny when he was a young reporter. Deep down, Jenny yearns for a lasting love but is disenchanted with the men around her, such as Broadway parasite Cliff Willard.

At the home of her mother, Jenny discovers an old newspaper clipping in which Tye reviewed one of her early shows and made it evident he loved her. Jenny realizes she is loved, goes to Tye, and they embrace.

Cast[]

• Joan Crawford as Jenny Stewart
  • India Adams as Jenny's dubbed singing voice
• Michael Wilding as Tye Graham
• Gig Young as Cliff Willard
• Marjorie Rambeau as Mrs. Stewart
• Harry Morgan as Joe Denner (as Henry Morgan)
• Dorothy Patrick as Martha
• as Philip Norton
• Eugene Loring as Gene, the Dance Director
• Paul Guilfoyle as Monty Rolfe
• Benny Rubin as Charles Maylor
• Peter Chong as Peter
• Maidie Norman as Anne
• Nancy Gates as Celia Stewart
• as Chuck Peters
• Rudy Render as Singer at Party
  • Bill Lee as Singer's dubbed singing voice

Musical numbers[]

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[]

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."^[6]

Torch Song was regarded as a return for Joan Crawford, who, when the picture was released, had received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in Sudden Fear from the previous year.

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]}

Accolades[]

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

References[]

External links[]

• Torch Song at IMDb
• Torch Song at the TCM Movie Database
• Torch Song at AllMovie
• Torch Song at the American Film Institute Catalog
• Torch Song at Rotten Tomatoes