''Torch Song'' is a 1953 American

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

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 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-gen ...

distributed by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

and 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

Michael Wilding Michael Charles Gauntlet Wilding (23 July 1912 – 8 July 1979) was an English stage, television, and film actor. He is best known for a series of films he made with Anna Neagle; he also made two films with Alfred Hitchcock, '' Under Capric ...

in a story about a Broadway star and her blind rehearsal pianist. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes and 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 Charles Powell Walters (November 17, 1911 – August 13, 1982) was an American Hollywood director and choreographer most noted for his work in MGM musicals and comedies from the 1940s to the 1960s. Early years Charles Walters was born in Pa ...

and produced by Sidney Franklin, Henry Berman and

Charles Schnee Charles Schnee (6 August 1916 Bridgeport, Connecticut - 29 November 1963 Beverly Hills, California) was a screenwriter and film producer. He wrote the scripts for the Westerns '' Red River'' (1948) and ''The Furies'' (1950), the social melodrama ...

. 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. The film marked Crawford's return to MGM after leaving to 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.

Cast

as Jenny Stewart ** India Adams as Jenny's dubbed singing voice *

as Tye Graham *

Gig Young Gig Young (born Byron Elsworth Barr; November 4, 1913 – October 19, 1978) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in '' Come Fill the Cup'' (1952) and ''Teacher's Pet'' ...

as Cliff Willard *

Marjorie Rambeau Marjorie Burnet Rambeau (July 15, 1889 – July 6, 1970) was an American film and stage actress. She began her stage career at age 12, and appeared in several silent films before debuting in her first sound film, '' Her Man'' (1930). She was ...

as Mrs. Stewart *

Henry Morgan Sir Henry Morgan ( cy, Harri Morgan; – 25 August 1688) was a privateer, plantation owner, and, later, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he raided settlements and shipping on the Spanish Main, becoming ...

as Joe Denner * Dorothy Patrick as Martha * James Todd as Philip Norton * Eugene Loring as Gene, the Dance Director *

Paul Guilfoyle Paul Vincent Guilfoyle () (born April 28, 1949) is an American television and film actor. He was a regular cast member of the CBS crime drama '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', on which he played Captain Jim Brass from 2000 to 2014. He ret ...

as Monty Rolfe * Benny Rubin as Charles Maylor * Peter Chong as Peter * Maidie Norman as Anne *

Nancy Gates Nancy Gates (February 1, 1926Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume''. Perigee Books. .P. 471. – March 24, 2019) was an American film and television actress. Early ...

as Celia Stewart * Chris Warfield as Chuck Peters * Rudy Render as Singer at Party ** Bill Lee as Singer's dubbed singing voice

Musical numbers

# "You're All the World to Me" – Danced by Crawford and Walters # "Follow Me" – Sung by Crawford (dubbed by Adams) # "Two-Faced Woman" (outtake) – Sung by Crawford (dubbed by Adams) # "You Won't Forget Me" – Sung by Crawford (dubbed by Adams) # "Follow Me" (reprise) – Sung by Render (dubbed by Lee) # "Two-Faced Woman" – Sung and danced by Crawford (dubbed by Adams) and chorus # "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."Quirk, Lawrence J.. ''The Films of Joan Crawford''. The Citadel Press, 1968. 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. The film is regarded as a camp classic and a possible influence on

Faye Dunaway Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Faye Dunaway, many accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden ...

's portrayal of Crawford in ''

Mommie Dearest ''Mommie Dearest'' is a memoir and exposé written by Christina Crawford, the adopted daughter of actress Joan Crawford. Published in 1978, it attracted much controversy for its portrayal of Joan Crawford as a cruel, unbalanced, and alcoholic m ...

''.

Accolades

Rambeau was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the

26th Academy Awards The 26th Academy Awards were held on March 25, 1954, simultaneously at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood (hosted by Fredric March), and the NBC Century Theatre in New York City (hosted by Donald O'Connor). The second national telecast o ...

References

External links

* * * * * {{Charles Walters 1953 films 1953 romantic drama films American musical drama films American romantic drama films American romantic musical films Films scored by Adolph Deutsch Films about actors Films based on short fiction Films directed by Charles Walters 1950s musical drama films 1950s romantic musical films Films with screenplays by John Michael Hayes Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films based on works by I. A. R. Wylie 1950s English-language films 1950s American films Films about disability