{"id":21899,"date":"2012-01-06T16:32:50","date_gmt":"2012-01-06T23:32:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=21899"},"modified":"2021-02-02T18:14:57","modified_gmt":"2021-02-03T01:14:57","slug":"ill-cry-tomorrow-1955","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=21899","title":{"rendered":"I&#8217;ll Cry Tomorrow (1955)"},"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&#8217;m the looking glass you created to see yourself in!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Ill-Cry-Tomorrow-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Ill-Cry-Tomorrow-Poster-141x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"141\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-21900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Ill-Cry-Tomorrow-Poster-141x300.jpg 141w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Ill-Cry-Tomorrow-Poster-60x128.jpg 60w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Ill-Cry-Tomorrow-Poster.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 141px) 100vw, 141px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nRaised for a life in show business by her overbearing mother (Jo Van Fleet), Lillian Roth (Susan Hayward) finds fleeting fame in Hollywood but descends into alcoholism while suffering through a string of unhappy marriages.\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>Biopics<\/li>\n<li>Downward Spiral<\/li>\n<li>Richard Conte Films<\/li>\n<li>Susan Hayward Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nBased on <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lillian_Roth\">Lillian Roth<\/a>&#8216;s memoir of her descent into life-threatening alcoholism (and eventual recovery through <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Alcoholics_Anonymous\">AA<\/a>), this musical biopic afforded Susan Hayward yet another opportunity to portray an aspiring female artist struggling against a seemingly insurmountable host of personal demons. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/2911\/ill-cry-tomorrow\/#articles-reviews?articleId=27618\">TCM&#8217;s article<\/a>, Hayward lobbied strongly for the part, citing her previous work in both <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19263\"><em>Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman<\/em> (1947)<\/a> and <em>With a Song in My Heart<\/em> (1952) as evidence that she was well prepared to tackle such a role. She succeeded in her entreaty, ultimately earning the fourth of five Oscar nominations for her work here, with Peary himself nominating her in his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em> as one of the Best Actresses of the Year (thus prompting me to check this film out as a potential Missing Title). However, as with <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=21768\"><em>Annie Get Your Gun<\/em> (1950)<\/a>, I&#8217;m afraid a strong lead performance isn&#8217;t enough to make the film itself must-see. <\/p>\n<p>While I don&#8217;t quite agree with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.chicagoreader.com\/chicago\/ill-cry-tomorrow\/Film?oid=1056715\">critic Jonathan Rosenbaum<\/a> that it&#8217;s &#8220;truly dreadful&#8221;, the film &#8212; directed by Daniel Mann &#8212; never really redeems itself as anything other than a standard episodic biopic, marching steadily along a predictably chronological pathway. In addition, having recently read Roth&#8217;s memoir, I couldn&#8217;t help noticing how (inevitably) white-washed this Hollywoodized adaptation ultimately is; for instance, while Richard Conte is suitably malicious as the most abusive of her many husbands, the real-life loser he represents was at least 10 times worse. With that said, the movie may remain of minor interest to film fanatics due to Roth&#8217;s erstwhile status as a fleeting starlet (she&#8217;s probably best remembered for her memorable supporting work in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=20580\"><em>Love Parade<\/em><\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19025\"><em>Animal Crackers<\/em><\/a>). However, for those truly interested in her sordid life history, you&#8217;re better off simply reading her much-harder-hitting memoir instead. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Susan Hayward as Lillian Roth<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Ill-Cry-Tomorrow-Hayward.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Ill-Cry-Tomorrow-Hayward.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-21901\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Ill-Cry-Tomorrow-Hayward.jpg 800w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Ill-Cry-Tomorrow-Hayward-128x72.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Ill-Cry-Tomorrow-Hayward-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, but it&#8217;s worth a look simply for Hayward&#8217;s performance. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0048191\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1956\/01\/13\/archives\/screen-return-from-alcoholism-ill-cry-tomorrow-is-film-at-music.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.slantmagazine.com\/film\/review\/ill-cry-tomorrow\/3260\">Slant Magazine Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/2911\/ill-cry-tomorrow\/#articles-reviews?articleId=27618\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.chicagoreader.com\/chicago\/ill-cry-tomorrow\/Film?oid=1056715\">Chicago Reader Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/ill-cry-tomorrow\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/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&#8217;m the looking glass you created to see yourself in!&#8221; Synopsis: Raised for a life in show business by her overbearing mother (Jo Van Fleet), Lillian Roth (Susan Hayward) finds fleeting fame in Hollywood but descends into alcoholism while suffering through a string of unhappy marriages. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Biopics Downward Spiral Richard Conte Films Susan Hayward Films Review: Based&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=21899\"> 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-21899","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\/21899","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=21899"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68171,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21899\/revisions\/68171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}