{"id":19263,"date":"2011-08-24T14:05:35","date_gmt":"2011-08-24T21:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19263"},"modified":"2021-01-26T21:40:27","modified_gmt":"2021-01-27T04:40:27","slug":"smash-up-the-story-of-a-woman-1947","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19263","title":{"rendered":"Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman (1947)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[<strong>Note:<\/strong> The following review is of a non-Peary title; click <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=4388\">here<\/a> to read more.]<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;I can&#8217;t keep her away from the stuff if she&#8217;s determined to get at it!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Poster-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-19266\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Poster-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Poster-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Poster.jpg 497w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAn aspiring singer (Susan Hayward) gives up her career for marriage, then suffers from jealousy and despondency &#8212; fueled by alcohol &#8212; when her husband (Lee Bowman) suddenly becomes a hit radio star.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Alcoholism and Drug Addiction<\/li>\n<li>Downward Spiral<\/li>\n<li>Marital Problems<\/li>\n<li>Susan Hayward Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nIn his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em> book, Peary argues that Susan Hayward is the actress from the forties and fifties who &#8220;most needs rediscovery&#8221;. In addition to awarding her Best Actress of the Year in 1958 for <em>I Want to Live!<\/em>, he nominates her no less than three other times &#8212; yet he neglects to include the titles of two of these four films in his own <em>GFTFF<\/em>: <em>I&#8217;ll Cry Tomorrow<\/em> (1955), an adaptation of Lillian Roth&#8217;s best-selling memoir about her battles with alcoholism (certainly worth a look for Hayward&#8217;s performance, but ultimately not must-see); and this film, an unsung &#8220;female&#8221; counterpoint to Billy Wilder&#8217;s Oscar-winning <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19222\"><em>The Lost Weekend<\/em><\/a>, and a minor must-see title. <\/p>\n<p>Bolstered by a brave, nuanced, and sympathetic central performance by Hayward, the Oscar-nominated script manages to portray the insidious effects of alcoholism (still a mostly misunderstood disease at the time) within the context of a woman who is subconsciously devastated by the &#8220;need&#8221; to give up her own career for the presumed ideal of marriage and motherhood. Despite the overly simplistic rationale provided for why Hayward drinks too much (while she once drank for courage on stage, she&#8217;s soon drinking to assuage her increasing feelings of jealousy and inadequacy), it&#8217;s nonetheless impressive to watch a film about marital dysfunction in which neither party is truly to blame. Knowing as we do now that alcoholism is an addiction, it&#8217;s painful to watch Bowman treating Hayward with such disdain late in their marriage &#8212; but his actions and attitude are somewhat understandable, given that she really does make a mess of things. We are genuinely rooting for both these individuals throughout the entire film &#8212; a rare and worthy feat for a movie of this kind. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Susan Hayward as Angie Conway<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Hayward2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Hayward2-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-19267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Hayward2-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Hayward2-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Hayward2-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Hayward2.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Stanley Cortez&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Cinematography-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-19268\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Cinematography-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Cinematography-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Cinematography-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Cinematography.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A few-holds-barred look at the havoc wreaked on a marriage by alcoholism<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Alcohol.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Alcohol-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-19269\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Alcohol-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Alcohol-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Alcohol-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Smash-Up-Alcohol.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for Hayward&#8217;s Oscar-nominated central performance, and as a fine early film about alcoholism. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<li>Oscar Winner or Nominee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0039840\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvguide.com\/movies\/smash-up-the-story-of-a-woman\/review\/2030282194\/\">TV Guide Review (Spoiler Alert!)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[Note: The following review is of a non-Peary title; click here to read more.] &#8220;I can&#8217;t keep her away from the stuff if she&#8217;s determined to get at it!&#8221; Synopsis: An aspiring singer (Susan Hayward) gives up her career for marriage, then suffers from jealousy and despondency &#8212; fueled by alcohol &#8212; when her husband (Lee Bowman) suddenly becomes a hit radio star. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Downward Spiral Marital Problems Susan Hayward Films Review:&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19263\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-missing-title-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19263"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66261,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19263\/revisions\/66261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}