''The Helen Morgan Story'', released in the UK as ''Both Ends of the Candle'', is a 1957 American

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...

directed by

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz (; born Manó Kaminer; from 1905 Mihály Kertész; ; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed classic films from the silen ...

starring

Ann Blyth Ann Blyth (born Anne Marie Blythe; August 16, 1928) is an American retired actress and singer. She began her career in radio as a child before transitioning to Broadway, where she appeared in Lillian Hellman, Lillian Hellman’s ''Watch on the R ...

and

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...

. The screenplay by Oscar Saul, Dean Riesner, Stephen Longstreet, and Nelson Gidding is based on the life and career of

torch singer ''Torch Singer'' is a 1933 American pre-Code Paramount Pictures film directed by Alexander Hall and George Somnes and starring Claudette Colbert, Ricardo Cortez, David Manners and Lyda Roberti. The screenplay was written by Lenore J. Coffee ...

/actress Helen Morgan, with fictional touches liberally added for dramatic purposes. This turned out to be Blyth's final film role. Another version of Morgan's life story, '' Helen Morgan'', was produced as a live television drama on ''

Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' is an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 134 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of t ...

'', with

Polly Bergen Polly Bergen (born Nellie Paulina Burgin; July 14, 1930 – September 20, 2014) was an American actress, singer, television host, writer, and entrepreneur. She won an Emmy Award in 1958 for her performance as Helen Morgan (singer), Helen ...

as Morgan. Despite requests to delay the television version, it aired five months before the release of the motion picture.

Plot

Helen Morgan begins her career as a Chicago carnival dancer. She catches the eye of fast-talking, double-dealing Larry Maddux, whose promotion catapults her to fame as a Broadway performer in ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the per ...

'' and a headliner in her own nightclub. Helen is involved in two romantic relationships – with Maddux, and with wealthy attorney Russell Wade – each of which cause her great anguish. When she realizes the caddish Maddux has been merely using her to support the upscale lifestyle he has come to enjoy, she turns to alcohol. Wade, who is genuinely in love with Helen, is nonetheless married and a divorce is impossible; this helps drive her further into the bottle. She loses the bulk of her money to the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Wall Street crash of 1929, hits rock bottom and, finally is hospitalized in the alcoholic ward of Bellevue. Maddux has a redemptive change of heart and arranges a gala dinner, hosted by

Walter Winchell Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and c ...

and

Florenz Ziegfeld Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (; March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), inspired by the '' Folies Bergère'' of Paris. He al ...

, in Helen's honor. The film's ending suggests this was her first step on the road to recovery, success, and happiness; this, however, was not the case for the real Helen Morgan.

Cast

as Helen Morgan *

as Larry Maddux * Richard Carlson as Russell Wade * Gene Evans as Whitey Krause * Alan King as Benny Weaver * Cara Williams as Dolly Evans * Walter Woolf King as Florenz Ziegfeld * Virginia Vincent as Sue * Juanita Moore as Lucey – Backstage Maid *

Iris Adrian Iris Adrian Hostetter (May 29, 1912 – September 17, 1994) was an American stage and film actress. Life and career Adrian was an only child, born in Los Angeles, California, to Florence (née Van Every) and Adrian Earl Hostetter, who wed in 1 ...

as Louise Jensen (uncredited)

Production

In 1950, '' Boxoffice'' announced

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

was planning to release a musical biography with

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

as Helen Morgan. This is one of the few studio projects Day refused to make, citing she did not want to portray the sordid aspects of Morgan's life, which were in direct contrast to Day's wholesome screen image. There was also considerable speculation and negotiation over the prospect that the film would be made with

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

, following her Oscar-nominated performance in ''A Star is Born''.

Soundtrack

* Why Was I Born * I Can't Give You Anything But Love * Medley: If You Were the Only Girl in the World/Avalon/Do Do Do/Breezin' Along with the Breeze * Love Nest * Medley: Someone to Watch Over Me/The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else * Body and Soul * April in Paris * Speak of Me of Love * More Than You Know * On the Sunny Side of the Street * The Man I Love *M edley: Just a Memory/Deep Night * Don't Ever Leave Me * Medley: I've Got a Crush on You/I'll Get By * Something to Remember You By * My Melancholy Baby * Bill *

Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" with music by Jerome Kern, and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, is one of the most famous songs from their classic 1927 musical play ''Show Boat'', adapted from Edna Ferber's 1926 novel. Its musical composition entered ...

Although

was known to be a talented singer, her voice was dubbed by Gogi Grant. A

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

is available on

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...

Critical reception

In his review in ''The New York Times'', A. H. Weiler called the film "as uplifting as soap opera" and added, "The indestructible tunes and the producers' fairly honest approach to the sleaziness of the

speakeasy A speakeasy, also called a beer flat or blind pig or blind tiger, was an illicit establishment that sold alcoholic beverages. The term may also refer to a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. In the United State ...

era should generate genuine nostalgia, but Miss Morgan's career, on film, appears to be uninspired, familiar fare...It's all about as heart-warming as an electric pad. Ann Blyth...desperately attempts to capture the essentially moving qualities of the performer... heis fragile, sweet and timorous in the role, but she cannot manage to project the idea that she is swaying audiences either by singing or emotional force." ''Variety'' called it "little more than a tuneful soap opera" and added, "The story line sometimes strains credulity and the dialogue situations occasionally give the production a cornball flavor...Director Michael Curtiz has done a good job with the material at hand, injecting a pacing and bits of business that help maintain interest, and the production gets added benefit from a series of hit tunes of the era...Blyth turns in a sympathetic but not always convincing performance. Newman is very good as the rackets guy, giving the part authority and credibility." ''TV Guide'' wrote "Helen Morgan was the greatest torch singer, a petite brunette who sat atop pianos plaintively warbling sad songs about the men who mistreated her. More a profile of those songs than a detailed exposition of her life, this film offers only a slice of a fabulous and unforgettable career...most of the wobbly plot is fictional, which is unfortunate since Morgan's true story was much more spectacular and, had it been followed, would have provided a finer film."

References

External links

''The Helen Morgan Story'' at the Internet Movie Database

''The Helen Morgan Story'' at AllMovie
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Helen Morgan Story, The 1957 films 1950s biographical drama films American musical drama films 1950s musical drama films American biographical drama films Biographical films about singers American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films American films based on actual events Films based on television plays Films directed by Michael Curtiz Films scored by Ray Heindorf Warner Bros. films Cultural depictions of pop musicians 1957 drama films 1950s American films English-language biographical drama films English-language musical drama films