LuvSopr
While there were many actresses who shone in pre-Code films and were inhibited by the shift to stricter censorship (Barbara Stanwyck and Jean Harlow, among others), Claudette Colbert may not have been one of them, if this film is any indication.Colbert was a warm presence, a sly comedienne, a likable and brittle by turns actress who always filled out every scene. What she was not - to me anyway - was brazen or bawdy or hysterical. And too much of this film is an attempt to give her that type of material. I also don't think some of the songs suited Colbert's voice. I can't help wondering if other actresses turned the part down. The best parts of the film are Lyda Roberti as the woman she lives with during the brief period where they are raising their out of wedlock children (Roberti sadly disappears early on), a scene of Colbert singing a lullaby to a baby, and a startling scene, one that does show the strengths of the pre-Code era, where a little girl who is the same age and has the same name as the daughter Colbert gave away contacts her radio show. Colbert goes to the girl's neighborhood, she walks out...and it's a little black girl. Rather than being treated as a joke, or an excuse for eye-popping stereotypes, Colbert has a sweet, short conversation with her and gives her some candy. It's a nice moment.
mark.waltz
What's an unwed mother to do when her reputation proceeds her, the father of her child is a member of the upper-crust and his snooty aunt wants no part of the child (also named Sally), and the widow with a baby born on the same day as her whom she rooms with suddenly gets married and moves away? Claudette Colbert's Sally is on the verge of turning into Marlene Dietrich in "Blonde Venus" as she faces not only homelessness but obvious other sinful methods of making a living. Actually, this movie is a lot better than that more famous Dietrich tearjerker, even if it has so many implausibilities you could fill a pad of post-its with them. Rather than turn to the obvious occupation of streetwalker, she ends up singing in some shady cafés, moves up to some more glamorous nightclubs, and is eventually singing on a stage made up to look like a giant piano. One of many movies made on this theme (a woman sinks to degradation thanks to the absence of some man who leaves her in the family way), "Torch Singer" is truly a hoot and one of the better of this genre. Colbert looks totally ravishing whether in her down-on-her-luck dowdy duds or clad in fur. "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Love", her repeated anthem, shows off Colbert's fine pipes, and it is surprising that she didn't do more musicals. No matter how ridiculous the plots of these films got (especially here with Colbert's desire to find her child by making a plea for all girls named Sally to write in to the program to get a free doll) they usually come out all right, and this works because Colbert really makes you root for her. Taking a break from his usual scoundrel, Ricardo Cortez plays a much more well-rounded character who is totally likable, and equally as noble as any of these long-suffering heroines that wrapped around a street lamp in order to prevent their babies from starving. The handsome David Manners is the man Colbert believes ran out on her, while "Uncle Henry" Charley Grapewin is very amusing as the sponsor of the kiddies' show Colbert ends up being hostess of. Virginia Hammond gets deliciously knocked down a peg or two as Grapewin's "slightly" younger wife who obviously feels threatened with Colbert taking her meal ticket away from her, and Lyda Roberti is also memorable as Colbert's widowed friend who helps her out after she has the baby. Other memorable performances are by Florence Roberts as the kindly nun and Ethel Griffies as Manners' domineering aunt. It's interesting to note that Griffies, only 55 when this was made, usually played characters much older than herself, and would continue to work for many years later. Also of interest is Mildred Washington as Colbert's devoted beautiful black maid who sadly died the year this was made at the age of 28. (She seems a natural for roles like the role that Fredi Washington played in "Imitation of Life").
kidboots
With this sudsy woman's picture complete with songs, Claudette Colbert proved there was no genre she couldn't do well - she even handles the songs okay.Sally Trent (Claudette Colbert) meets Dora (Lyda Roberti) at a maternity hospital and they become friends. Dora has a little boy and Sally, a little girl, but although at first she tries to make a go of it, Sally is , at last, forced to put her baby up for adoption. Trying to rebuild her life and career - after many tryouts she is told she must learn to suffer!!!! She then refines her singing to become a "torch singer" (a woman who sings of love gone wrong). She picks up a manager, Tony (fascinating Ricardo Cortez) and soon becomes "Mimi" - the most notorious torch singer in town!!!! When she fills in for a woman with "mike fright" she picks up a new career and is a sensation as "Aunt Jenny" on a daily children's radio show. Cards and letters pour in, including one from a little girl called Sally - it brings back memories of her own little girl. She then uses the radio show in her quest to try to find the child she gave up for adoption four years before. She finds her, as well as Mike (boring David Manners), the father of her child. Yes, the ending is unsatisfactory but it would have pleased audiences at the time.Baby LeRoy's name was featured quite prominently in the credits but he only had one scene. He was riding on the crest of a wave then, being Paramount's great find of the year but unfortunately he stopped being quite so popular when he grew up - which was within a year or two. Cora Sue Collins, who played Sally's little girl (in a quite self conscious way, I thought), because she wasn't under contract to any studio spent most of her career way down the cast list playing "little girls". Her most prestigious role was in "Queen Christina" (1933) where she played Garbo as a child and her most memorable came at the end of the thirties as Amy Lawrence, Tom Sawyer's little girlfriend before Becky Thatcher moved into town. I would definitely have liked to see more of Lyda Roberti. I was hoping she would reappear but she never did. Her delightful way with the English language gave the movie a much needed brightness.The song "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Love" became a popular song hit of the day, with recordings being made by Bing Crosby and Annette Hanshaw.
lugonian
TORCH SINGER (Paramount, 1933), directed by Alexander Hall and George Somnes, from the story, "Mike" by Grace Perkins, gives indication as a musical drama starring torch singer Helen Morgan, but, while Morgan, best known for her early work in Rouben Mamoulian's APPLAUSE (Paramount, 1929), might have stepped into this particular role with conviction, especially when songs are concerned, the leading role went to none-other than Claudette Colbert, with screen personality most associated with comedy than singing. The finished product, however, is not so much a musical, in spite of songs thrown in, but a Depression era theme of a poor woman's rise to success, unable to forget her past concerning that special someone she hopes to meet again.Following the opening credits with titles over blazing fire, this hot item begins with Sally Trent (Claudette Colbert), a show girl by profession, arriving at St. Ann's Hospital, registering as a free clinic patient, where she soon gives birth to her illegitimate daughter. While there, she befriends Dora (Lyda Roberti), a young Bronx widow who gives birth to a little boy, Bobby. Upon their release, the two mothers help each other by sharing an apartment together and watching each other's babies while looking for work. With Dora finding a new husband after losing her job, Sally struggles on her own after landlady evicts her for non payment of rent. Unable to care for Little Sally, she comes to the rich aunt (Ethel Griffies) of the man who fathered her child for help, but is refused. Sally makes the supreme sacrifice by giving up her child to the sisters of St. Ann's Hospital, with the condition that she'll never see her daughter, again. The next few years finds Sally, now known professionally as Mimi Benton, torch singing in restaurants and night clubs before being discovered by Tony Cummings (Ricardo Cortez), who arranges her new career singing on radio for Andrew Judson's (Charley Grapewin) Pure Food Broadcast. Mimi soon finds further success hosting as Aunt Jennie on a children's radio program telling bedtime stories. In spite of her fame and fortune, and fan letters from children, Sally, a/k/a Mimi, starts yearning for her daughter, using her radio broadcast to regain custody of her, while the father of her child, Michael Gardner (David Manners), who had been away in China during her pregnancy, makes every effort to find her.The supporting players consists of Florence Roberts (Mother Angelica); Mildred Washington (Carrie, the maid); Virginia Hammond (Mrs. Julia Judson); Helen Jerome Eddy (Miss Spaulding); William B. Davidson and Toby Wing in smaller roles. Ricardo Cortez, noted for playing heals or villains, is surprisingly effective as a loyal friend for a change, while David Manners, usually the good guy, as a rich young lad unaware of his child's existence. Appearing 40 minutes into the start of story, Manners is given little to do in the process, as with Lyda Roberti, whose character disappears shortly before the plot gets underway.In a role that might have dramatically suited Paramount's own drama queens as Sylvia Sidney or Tallulah Bankhead, TORCH SINGER is made credible by the casting of Colbert, shortly before reaching super star status in 1934, vocalizing such tunes as: "Here Lies Love," "I'm Waiting For You," "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Love," "Sail, Baby, Sail," "You Can Depend on Me" and the reprise of "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Love." For her introduction during the opening minutes in the hospital, she comes close to becoming recognizable without makeup, especially during her moments of labor pain.When this long unseen drama was selected as part of Turner Classic Movie's spotlight on "Complicated Women" broadcast May 13, 2003, host Robert Osborne, during his after movie profile, mistakenly gave credit to Baby LeRoy as Colbert's long lost son (an error commonly found in other related sources), instead of rightfully naming those who played her daughter, Shirley Christensen (the baby), and Cora Sue Collins (the child). Not broadcast since its TCM premiere, TORCH SINGER was brought back in circulation again when distributed on DVD in 2009 by MCA Universal.With TORCH SINGER being one of the many prime examples on how unwed mothers are portrayed during Hollywood's pre-code era, and this being Colbert's preparation for another self sacrificing mother role in IMITATION OF LIFE (Universal, 1934), the movie itself is basically weakened by unbelievable circumstances taking place after such a fine start. Regardless of its flaws, TORCH SINGER is a worthy rediscovery. (**)
