I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955)

Director:

Daniel Mann

Writers:

Helen Deutsch (screenplay) and
Jay Richard Kennedy (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

25 December 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Music

Tagline:

Filmed on location; inside a woman's soul.

Plot:

Deprived of a normal childhood by her ambitious mother, Katie, Lillian Roth becomes a star of Broadway and Hollywood before she is twenty...

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | Alcoholic | Divorce | Drink | Breadwinner

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Susan Hayward	...	Lillian Roth
Richard Conte	...	Tony Bardeman
Eddie Albert	...	Burt McGuire
Jo Van Fleet	...	Katie Roth
Don Taylor	...	Wallie
Ray Danton	...	David Tredman
Margo	...	Selma
Virginia Gregg	...	Ellen
Don 'Red' Barry	...	Jerry (as Don Barry)
David Kasday	...	David as a Child
Carole Ann Campbell	...	Lillian as a Child
Peter Leeds	...	Richard
Tol Avery	...	Fat Man
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mary Bear	...	Wife (uncredited)
Larry J. Blake	...	AA Member (uncredited)
Nesdon Booth	...	Pawnbroker (uncredited)
Veda Ann Borg	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Peter Brocco	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Henry Brock	...	Stagehand (uncredited)
Budd Buster	...	Streetcar Switchman (uncredited)
Timothy Carey	...	Derelict (uncredited)
Harry Cody	...	Stagehand (uncredited)
Lucille Curtis	...	Stage Mother (uncredited)
Jack Daly	...	Cab Driver (uncredited)
Robert Dix	...	Henry (uncredited)
Joe Duval	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Ralph Edwards	...	Himself (uncredited)
Kay English	...	Dress Designer (uncredited)
Stanley Farrar	...	Movie Director (uncredited)
Jerrilyn Flannery	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Joel Fluellen	...	The Porter (uncredited)
Gail Ganley	...	Lillian Roth - Age 15 (uncredited)
Jack Gargan	...	Restaurant Cashier (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Elizabeth Holmes	...	Stage Mother (uncredited)
Bob Hopkins	...	MC (uncredited)
Sonny Howe	...	Acrobatic Dancer (uncredited)
Anthony Jochim	...	Paul - Butler (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp	...	Alcoholics Anonymous Patient (uncredited)
Marc Krah	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Frank Kreig	...	Bar Patron (uncredited)
Henry Kulky	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Eddie Lee	...	Chinese Grocer (uncredited)
George Lloyd	...	Studio Messenger (uncredited)
Alyn Lockwood	...	Stage Mother (uncredited)
Herbert Lytton	...	Streetcar Conductor (uncredited)
Nora Marlowe	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Alphonse Martell	...	Nightclub Waiter (uncredited)
Eve McVeagh	...	Ethel (uncredited)
Cheerio Meredith	...	Elderly Lady (uncredited)
Frank Mills	...	Dock Worker (uncredited)
Jimmy Ogg	...	Usher (uncredited)
Kenneth Patterson	...	Audition Director (uncredited)
George Pembroke	...	Husband (uncredited)
Voltaire Perkins	...	Mr. Byrd - Movie Producer (uncredited)
Florence Ravenel	...	Stage Mother (uncredited)
Vernon Rich	...	Club Manager (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Man in TV Audience (uncredited)
George Selk	...	Switchman (uncredited)
Robert R. Stephenson	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Ruth Storey	...	Marge Belney (uncredited)
Charles Tannen	...	Audition Stage Manager (uncredited)
Bill Walker	...	Porter (uncredited)
Harlan Warde	...	Stage Manager (uncredited)
Guy Wilkerson	...	Barfly (uncredited)
Robert Williams	...	Stagehand (uncredited)
Bernadette Withers	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Jeane Wood	...	Stage Mother (uncredited)

Directed by
Daniel Mann

Writing credits
Helen Deutsch		(screenplay) and
Jay Richard Kennedy		(screenplay)
Lillian Roth		(book "I'll Cry Tomorrow") and
Mike Connolly		(book "I'll Cry Tomorrow") and
Gerold Frank		(book "I'll Cry Tomorrow")

Produced by
Lawrence Weingarten	....	producer

Original Music by
Alex North

Cinematography by
Arthur E. Arling		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Harold F. Kress

Art Direction by
Malcolm Brown
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Hugh Hunt
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by
Helen Rose

Makeup Department
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist
William Tuttle	....	makeup creator

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Al Jennings	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Wesley C. Miller	....	recording supervisor (as Dr. Wesley C. Miller)

Special Effects by
Warren Newcombe	....	special effects

Music Department
Johnny Green	....	music supervisor
Maurice De Packh	....	orchestrator: Alex North (uncredited)
Robert Tucker	....	vocal coach (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1955) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1956) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1978) (USA) (TV)
• MGM/UA Home Video (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Turner Entertainment  DVD package design

Also Known As:

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Canada:PA (Ontario) | Canada:14A (video rating) | USA:Approved (certificate #17685)

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Lillian Roth was disappointed that MGM did not ask her to sing for Susan Hayward on the soundtrack. Coordinated with the movie's release, Epic Records issued an album of Lillian reprising tunes associated with her career in vaudeville, on Broadway and in Hollywood. Containing 12 songs with an orchestra directed by Don Costa, the album used the same title ("I'll Cry Tomorrow") as Miss Roth's 1954 autobiography (co-written with Mike Connolly and Gerold Frank), plus the 1955 biopic. Miss Roth's LP contained the three complete numbers performed by Susan in the movie: "Sing You Sinners," "When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along" and "Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe." Lillian's LP did not include "The Vagabond King Waltz" (sung partially on screen by Miss Hayward) nor the film's promotional song (music by Alex North, lyrics by Johnny Mercer), a mournful ballad introduced on disc by Susan, who was backed by Johnny Green and His Quartette. Initially, the Hayward cut was released by MGM Records on both a 45-rpm single (flip side: Cole Porter's "Just One of Those Things") and on a six-selection EP. In 2004, the commercial theme recorded by Susan was reissued on the full soundtrack CD by Film Score Monthly.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Susan is giving her "I'm a drunk" speech in the bar (at around 1h 16 mins) the woman she has accosted suddenly turns into a man in a dark suit.

Quotes:

[alcoholic Lillian is desperate for a drink - mother drops the glass bottle on the floor, shattering it]
Lillian Roth:OH! Look what ya did! And ya DID IT ON PURPOSE! You're still trying to make me do what you want, to be what you want! I can't be anything except what I am! Look, look what did you drop that bottle for? What are you trying to do, drive me crazy? Go on, GET THE BOTTLE! GET IT NOW!
Katie Roth:All right! All right! All right, it's my fault, huh? I made you become an actress, you didn't want to, all right. I've been a bad mother, you had to support me, all right! All right! ALL RIGHT, EVERYTHING! Just this, and for once in your life you're gonna hear it...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Maude: The Convention (#1.14)" (1973)

Soundtrack:

Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe

Superb Susan Hayward

Superb performance by Susan Hayward as Lillian Roth.

No eye for period detail, not even an attempt, and probably a lot of hooey biographically, BUT....

Terrific performances by Susan Hayward as Lillian Roth and Jo Van Fleet as her mother. The two women give stunning performances.

The film is a tad preachy with the AA message but Hayward and Van Fleet (born a year apart) are a feast. I don't think any actress ever gave better performances as a drunk than Hayward (SMASH-UP), And Van Fleet, who made her film debut in 1955, scored in this film as well as EAST OF EDEN and THE ROSE TATTOO--all in 1955! Richard Conte, Eddie Albert, Margo, Don Taylor, Virginia Gregg, Ray Danton, Henry Kulky, Veda Ann Borg, and Tol Avery co-star......

Anyone know who did the singing voice for Hayward?

Lillian Roth was a big stage star who made a few good films in the early 30s and always seemed likable.