''The Story of Esther Costello'' is a 1957 British
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
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 ...
,
Rossano Brazzi
Rossano Brazzi (18 September 1916 – 24 December 1994) was an Italian actor.
Biography
Brazzi was born in Bologna, Italy, the son of Maria Ghedini and Adelmo Brazzi, an employee of the Rizzoli shoe factory. He was named after Rossano Vene ...
, and
Heather Sears
Heather Christine Sears (28 September 1935 – 3 January 1994) was a British stage and screen actress.
Early life
Sears was the daughter of distinguished London doctor William Gordon Sears by his marriage to Eileen Gould."SEARS, Heather, actre ...
. The film is an exposé of large-scale fundraising. ''The Story of Esther Costello'' was produced by
David Miller and
Jack Clayton
Jack Isaac Clayton (1 March 1921 – 26 February 1995) was a British film director and producer who specialised in bringing literary works to the screen.
Overview
Starting out as a teenage studio "tea boy" in 1935, Clayton worked his way up ...
, with Miller directing. The screenplay by
Charles Kaufman was based on the 1952 novel by
Nicholas Monsarrat
Lieutenant Commander Nicholas John Turney Monsarrat FRSL RNVR (22 March 19108 August 1979) was a British novelist known for his sea stories, particularly '' The Cruel Sea'' (1951) and ''Three Corvettes'' (1942–45), but perhaps known best i ...
. It was distributed 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 ...
.
Plot
With her marriage to womaniser Carlo Landi (
Rossano Brazzi
Rossano Brazzi (18 September 1916 – 24 December 1994) was an Italian actor.
Biography
Brazzi was born in Bologna, Italy, the son of Maria Ghedini and Adelmo Brazzi, an employee of the Rizzoli shoe factory. He was named after Rossano Vene ...
) in ashes, wealthy and childless Margaret Landi (
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 ...
) finds an emotional outlet in patronizing a 15-year-old deaf, dumb, and blind Irish girl named Esther Costello (
Heather Sears
Heather Christine Sears (28 September 1935 – 3 January 1994) was a British stage and screen actress.
Early life
Sears was the daughter of distinguished London doctor William Gordon Sears by his marriage to Eileen Gould."SEARS, Heather, actre ...
). Esther's disabilities are the result of a childhood trauma and are psychosomatic rather than physical. As Costello makes progress with Braille and sign language, she is seen as an example of triumph over adversity. Carlo gets wind of Margaret's new life and re-enters the scene. He views Esther as a source of cheap financial gain and arranges a series of exploitative tours for her under a mercenary manager Frank Wenzel (
Ron Randell Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald.
Ron or RON may also refer to:
Arts and media
* Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character
* Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character
*Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...
). One day when Margaret is absent from the Landi apartment, Carlo rapes the now 16-year-old Esther. The shock restores the girl's sight and hearing. When Margaret learns of her husband's business duplicities and the rape, she consigns Esther to the care of a priest and a young reporter who loves her (
Lee Patterson
Lee Patterson (March 31, 1929 – February 14, 2007) was a Canadian film and television actor.
Life and career
Patterson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, as Beverley Frank Atherly Patterson. He attended the Ontario College of Art and D ...
). Margaret then kills Carlo and herself.
Cast
Production notes
The film is based on a book by
Nicholas Monsarrat
Lieutenant Commander Nicholas John Turney Monsarrat FRSL RNVR (22 March 19108 August 1979) was a British novelist known for his sea stories, particularly '' The Cruel Sea'' (1951) and ''Three Corvettes'' (1942–45), but perhaps known best i ...
that nearly had
Helen Keller's co-workers suing for libel due to perceived parallels between Helen's story and Esther's. In particular, the book seemed to slur the character of
Anne Sullivan's husband, writer-publicist John Macy, who was close to Keller's age. A relationship between Macy and Keller has long been a subject of speculation. Esther's reporter friend was reminiscent of Keller's highly publicised attempt to elope with reporter-secretary Peter Fagan.
The novel focuses mainly on the falsehoods behind large-scale charities and the self-serving natures of those involved. When Esther recovers her sight and hearing, her promoters worry that this will put an end to the Costello Fund. They convince her that the rape was her fault, and that to reveal that she is healed would bring shame and ruin to Margaret. She is actually coached to continue acting as deaf-blind, and does so for about a year; however, in that time she makes several slips (some deliberate). Esther's reporter friend discerns the truth and meets Esther privately, whereupon she tells him everything. He plans to write up the story, then take Esther away and marry her. But a few hours later, as he completes the story at the newspaper office, word comes to him that Esther has suddenly died. The official story is that she mistook a bottle of very strong sedatives for mild sleeping pills. When Harry confronts Margaret she reveals she knew of the meeting as he had left his handkerchief behind. She maintains she did not kill Esther, and continues the charade. The story can never be printed because Margaret and the charity managers command extreme wealth to fund a coverup. Even if the story were printed and people believed it, it would smear Esther's name and disillusion the people who believe in the Costello charity, and other, honest charities, and their message of hope. The novel closes with Margaret, robed in black, giving an impassioned speech at a convention, as millions of attendees open their wallets.
A key support role went to
Ron Randell Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald.
Ron or RON may also refer to:
Arts and media
* Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character
* Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character
*Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...
.
Reception
Box office
The film was the 11th most popular film at the British box office in 1957.
Critical
The ''New York Times'' noted, "Miss Crawford, Mr. Brazzi, and Mr. Patterson and all the minor players are professional throughout." William K. Zinsser in the ''New York Herald Tribune'' wrote, "It wouldn't be a Joan Crawford picture without plenty of anguish...And her fans will have their usual good time...this plot enables Miss Crawford to run a full-course dinner of dramatic moods, from loneliness to mother love, from pride in the girl to passion with her husband, and finally to smouldering rage...Somehow she pulls it off. This may not be your kind of movie but it is many women's kind of movie and our Joan is queen of the art form."
DVD
''The Story of Esther Costello'' was released on DVD by Turner Classics (under license from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) on 25 November 2014, as part of the "Joan Crawford in the 1950s" collection.
See also
*
List of American films of 1957
A list of American films released in 1957. ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
A-B
C-H
I-N
O-Q
R-T
U-Z
See also
* 1957 in the United States
References
External links
1957 filmsat the Interne ...
*
List of films featuring the deaf and hard of hearing
There is a body of films that feature the deaf and hard of hearing. The ''Encyclopedia of Film Themes, Settings and Series'' wrote, "The world of the deaf has received little attention in film. Like blindness... it has been misused as a plot gimmi ...
References
;Citations
;Works cited
*
External links
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Review of filmat Variety
{{DEFAULTSORT:Story of Esther Costello, The
1957 films
1957 drama films
British drama films
British black-and-white films
Columbia Pictures films
1950s English-language films
Films based on British novels
Films directed by David Miller
Films about rape
Mariticide in fiction
Films about blind people
1950s British films