Lillian Russell (1940)

 

Lillian Russell - 1940

Coming up next we have 1940's "Lillian Russell", a highly fictionalized biopic about the legendary singer and actress who electrified audiences just before and at the turn of the 20th century.

The film's cast includes Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Henry Fonda, Edward Arnold, Warren William, Leo Carrillo, Helen Westley, Dorothy Peterson, Ernest Truex, Lynn Bari, Claud Allister, Eddie Foy Jr., Una O'Connor, Joseph Cawthorn, Ferike Boros, and Irving Bacon.

Helen Leonard wants to be a famous singer/actress one day.  She delights her family by singing such songs as "Brighten The Corner Where You Are" and "Come Down Ma Evenin' Star".

But it's her rendition of "And The Band Played On" that rockets her to stardom and causes her first theater boss to change her name from Helen Leonard to the ultra chic Lillian Russell.

Lillian has all kinds of success in her new career.  Men want to date her, and women want to copy her.  At the opening of her first show, she sings "Ma Blushin' Rosie".  Later, after she is established on the stage, she performs a full rendition of "After The Ball" for President Grover Cleveland over the telephone with a full orchestra and vocal accompaniment during an intermission.

She is a sensation in both America and Europe.  As her career matures, Lillian sings such emotional songs as "Blue Lovebird", but she never loses touch with songs with which she is most often associated, such as "Waltz Is King/After The Ball".

The film also explores Lillian's various relationships, including her longest one with Diamond Jim Brady, who showers her with gifts and is smitten from the moment he first meets her.

Jim is always sending Lillian presents.  At one show, she playfully scolds him.  "Now, Jim Brady, just look at all these lovely presents you sent me.  A basket of orchids with a diamond necklace and bracelet, American Beauty roses with rubies, gardenias with emeralds, violets with pearls, and a jewel studded bicycle.  Jim, have you lost your mind?" she asks.  He smiles and says, "No, just my heart."

We also watch Lillian's happiness with her husband, Edward Solomon, who wrote the song "Blue Lovebirds" for her.

And a man who always seems to be there for the important moments in Lillian's life finds a special place in her heart as well.

Cast rundown:

   Alice Faye................................Lillian Russell

   Don Ameche............................Edward Solomon

   Henry Fonda............................Alexander Moore

   Edward Arnold.........................Diamond Jim Brady

   Warren William.........................Jesse Lewisohn

   Leo Carrillo..............................Tony Pastor

   Helen Westley..........................Grandma Leonard

   Dorothy Peterson.....................Cynthia Leonard

   Ernest Truex............................Charles K. Leonard

   Lynn Bari................................Edna McCauley

   Claud Allister...........................Arthur Sullivan

   Eddie Foy Jr.............................Eddie Foy Sr.

   Una O'Connor..........................Marie

   Joseph Cawthorn......................Leopold Damrosch

   Ferike Boros............................Mrs. Rose

   Irving Bacon............................Soldier

And that's all for Lillian Russell.  Alice Faye absolutely shines in the title role.  Originally, MGM was slated to do a film about the famous songstress with Jeanette MacDonald in the lead role.  That project fell through and 20th Century Fox picked it up.  Henry Fonda was forced to do this film in order for him to play the lead role in "The Grapes of Wrath".  He intensely disliked the experience.

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