musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
film directed by
Curtis Bernhardt
Curtis Bernhardt (15 April 1899 – 22 February 1981) was a Jewish film director born in Worms, Germany, under the name Kurt Bernhardt.
He trained as an actor in Germany, and performed on the stage, before starting as a film director in 1924, wi ...
and starring
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer and producer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined th ...
,
José Ferrer
José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic American actors during his lifetime, w ...
, and
Aldo Ray
Aldo Ray (born Aldo Da Re; September 25, 1926 – March 27, 1991) was an American actor of film and television. He began his career as a contract player for Columbia Studios before achieving stardom through his roles in '' The Marrying Kind ...
. The film was released by
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
. The film is based on
W. Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...
's 1921 short story " Miss Thompson" (later retitled "Rain"). Other film versions include '' Sadie Thompson'' (1928) starring
Gloria Swanson
Gloria May Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress and producer. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most f ...
, ''
Rain
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
'' (1932) starring
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...
, and ''
Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A.
''Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A.'' is a 1946 race film directed by Spencer Williams and produced and distributed by Sack Amusement Enterprises.
This film is in the public domain.
Plot
Gertie LaRue ( Francine Everett) is a nightclub entertainer ...
'' (1946).
The film received a nomination for
Best Original Song
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
bar girl
A bargirl is a woman who is paid to entertain patrons in a bar, either individually or, in some cases, as a performer. The exact nature of the entertainment varies widely from place to place; depending on the venue this can be individual enterta ...
from Hawaii, a religious zealot, and a love-struck Marine struggle with sin and salvation just after World War II while Sadie Thompson kicks out several songs, including "Blue Pacific Blues".
Cast
*
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer and producer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined th ...
as Sadie Thompson
*
José Ferrer
José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic American actors during his lifetime, w ...
as Alfred Davidson
*
Aldo Ray
Aldo Ray (born Aldo Da Re; September 25, 1926 – March 27, 1991) was an American actor of film and television. He began his career as a contract player for Columbia Studios before achieving stardom through his roles in '' The Marrying Kind ...
as Sgt. Phil O'Hara
*
Russell Collins
Russell Collins (born Russell Henry Collins, October 11, 1897
– November 14, 1965) was an American actor whose 43-year career included hundreds of performances on stage, in feature films, and on television.
Early life
Born in 1897 in Indiana ...
as Dr. Robert MacPhail
*
Diosa Costello
Juana de Dios Castrello, better known as Diosa Costello (April 23, 1913 – June 20, 2013), was a Puerto Rican entertainer, performer, producer and club owner,Harry Bellaver as Joe Horn
*
Wilton Graff
Wilton Graff (born Wilton Calvert Ratcliffe; August 13, 1903 – January 13, 1969) was an American actor.
Early years
The son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Graff, he was born Wilton Calvert Ratcliffe in St. Louis, Missouri, US. He graduated ...
as Governor
*
Peggy Converse
Peggy Converse (April 3, 1905, Oregon City, Oregon – March 2, 2001, Los Angeles, California) was an American stage, film, and television actress whose lengthy career spanned seven decades.
She began acting at the age of 16 in Los Angeles. ...
as Mrs. Margaret Davidson
*
Henry Slate
Henry Sonken (July 15, 1910 – August 11, 1996) was an American film, television and theatre actor. He was known for his appearances in the films ''Miss Sadie Thompson'', ''Loan Shark'', '' Hey Boy! Hey Girl!'', ''Somebody Loves Me'' and ''Rock ...
as Pvt. Griggs
*
Rudy Bond
Rudolph Bond (October 10, 1912 – March 29, 1982) was an American actor who was active from 1947 until his death. His work spanned Broadway, films and television.
Early life
Bond was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second youngest of f ...
as Pvt. Hodges
*
Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and war ...
as Pvt. Edwards (as Charles Buchinsky)
* Frances Morri as Mrs. MacPhail
Production
In February 1952, producer
Jerry Wald
Jerome Irving Wald (September 16, 1911 – July 13, 1962) was an American screenwriter and a producer of films and radio programs.
Life and career Early life
Born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, he had a brother and sons who were act ...
announced he had the film rights to the play adaptation of ''Rain'' from producer Lester Cowan. Wald had a production unit at RKO with
Norman Krasna
Norman Krasna (November 7, 1909 – November 1, 1984) was an American screenwriter, playwright, producer, and film director who penned screwball comedies centered on a case of mistaken identity. Krasna directed three films during a forty-year car ...
and wanted to make it as a musical in color.
In October 1953, Wald left RKO to become a vice president and executive producer at Columbia Pictures. He planned to personally produce two films a year and said one of these would be ''Rain''. It would star Rita Hayworth, who was the biggest star at the studio. Harry Kleiner was assigned to write the script. Plans were made to shoot the film in 3-D.
This was Hayworth's third film after her marriage to Prince
Aly Khan
Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan (13 June 1911 – 12 May 1960), known as Aly Khan, was a Pakistani diplomat of Iranian and Italian descent. He was the son of the Aga Khan III, and the father of Aga Khan IV.
A socialite, racehorse owner and jockey, ...
had kept her off screen for four years. The public eagerly welcomed her return in two previous films ''
Affair in Trinidad
''Affair in Trinidad'' is a 1952 American film noir directed by Vincent Sherman and starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford. It was produced by Hayworth's Beckworth Corporation and released by Columbia Pictures.
It is notable as Hayworth's "comebac ...
'' and '' Salome'' so Columbia gave ''Miss Sadie Thompson'' an "A" film budget.
"It would give her the chance to not be glamorous", said Wald.
3-D film
3D films are motion pictures made to give an illusion of three-dimensional solidity, usually with the help of special glasses worn by viewers. They have existed in some form since 1915, but had been largely relegated to a niche in the motion pict ...
s had become a fad, with some 3-D films drawing huge crowds in major cities, so it was used as well. Exteriors were filmed on the island of
Kauai
Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...
,
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
and interiors on the Columbia lot.
The original story of sin and redemption was sanitized to appease the
Production Code
The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...
and several musical numbers were inserted to spice up the tepid reworked plot. As with her previous films, Hayworth's singing was dubbed, this time by
Jo Ann Greer
Katherine Joan Greer (April 3, 1927 – May 24, 2001), known professionally as Jo Ann Greer, was an American singer.
Career
Her career spanned nearly 50 years, and she primarily worked in the fields of movie dubbing and band-singing. She init ...
.
In August 1953, Hayworth and Ray shot some additional romantic scenes.
By the time of the premiere on December 23, 1953, interest in 3-D had died down considerably. After a two-week run, all 3-D prints were pulled. The film was given a national release "flat", in other words, in regular prints, minus the 3-D.
The film was banned in some territories such as Memphis.
Reviews
''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote, "She catches the feel of the title character well, even to braving completely deglamorizing makeup, costuming and photography to fit her physical appearance to that of the bawdy, shady lady that was Sadie Thompson". ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'' wrote, "Although its Hays Code sanitizing is mitigated somewhat by the glorious extravagances of 1950s cinema (it's a Technicolor, 3-D star vehicle with musical numbers), Miss Sadie Thompson (1953) is a scoured version of ''Rain'' (1932)." Bosley Crowther of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote, "The character of Sadie is drained of considerable point by the prudence of the producers. And Miss Hayworth is left with a role in which she is able to inject very little, outside her own particular brand of appeal".
Availability
* A dual projection polarized 3-D print of ''Miss Sadie Thompson'' was screened at The World 3-D Expo 2006 September 10, 2006 at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, Ca.
* A 3-D version of the trailer can be seen in the Blu-ray Collection "3-D Rarities" from Flicker Alley.
* A VHS full screen edition of ''Miss Sadie Thompson'' was released in 1994 but is no longer available.
* A DVD full screen edition of ''Miss Sadie Thompson'' was released in 2001 but is no longer available.
* Another edition of the DVD is available as part of "The Films of Rita Hayworth" 5-disc box set.
* A 3D
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
is now available in the US as of July 12, 2016, from Twilight Time Movies.