Will There Really Be a Morning? (1983) (TV)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Fielder Cook

Writers:

Frances Farmer (book)
Dalene Young (teleplay)

Release Date:

22 February 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

This is the story of actress Frances Farmer.

Plot Keywords:

Actress | Frances Farmer | Theater | Clifford Odets | Paramount Pictures

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Susan Blakely	...	Frances Farmer
Lee Grant	...	Lillian Farmer
Royal Dano	...	Ernest Farmer
Joe Lambie	...	Bill Anderson
John Heard	...	Clifford Odets
Melanie Mayron	...	Sophie
Leonardo Cimino	...	Adolph Zukor (as Leonard Cimino)
Jack Creley	...	Professor Williams (as Jack Creeley)
James Eckhouse	...	Harold Clurman
Jeannie Elias	...	Lottie (as Jeanne Elias)
Joseph Maher	...	1st Doctor
Bruce Ornstein	...	John Garfield
Paul Perri	...	Luther Adler
Madeleine Sherwood	...	2nd Doctor (as Madeline Thornton-Sherwood)
Ivor Francis	...	Drama Teacher

Runtime:

180 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Jaffe-Blakely Films

Trivia:

'Jeanira Ratcliffe', Farmer's ghostwriter, wrote a draft of the screenplay in the early 1970s when the book was being considered for a big screen adaptation.

One of the best movies in film history!

Trying to reflect an image of a persons life, nothing more or less then it was, is very difficult. Especially when the particular person has lived an extraordinary life. But, 'Will There be Really a Morning' is an exceptional example of how an autobiography should be filmed. The story is simple. A young teenage girl (Frances Farmer, played by Susan Blakely), who grew up in Seattle, turned out to be a very talented actress. She moved to Hollywood (1936), despite the disapproval of her parents, who characterized the glamorous life as Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll, which they rejected strongly. Frances was an instant success, she had the right look, the right talk, and the right walk. All the ingredients for living the American dream. But, she paid a prize for that. Not used to the glamour and glitter, and not able to control her life, she became an addict. Eventually, she was sent into a clinic where she got treatments to recover from her addicts and breakdowns (1942). After 11 years she was declared competent, and healthy. She took care of her parents, and after their death she felt that she was finally ready for her own life. Compliments to the cast, who enabled the viewer to experience the tremendous emotional struggles of Frances almost physically. Watching her life in two hours is like a waterfall of emotions pounding into your head, leaving the viewer wondering when she will explode and becomes really psycho, when everybody around her considers her for 11 years wrongly as incompetent, while she knows she's not. As times goes by, the viewers' amazement changes, via anger, into admiration for the way Frances picks up her normal life again. She starts all over again, she has nothing. But, she knows who she is, she has seen the ultimate limit of herself, and with that knowledge you can't get a better start. This movie is not spoiled with the characteristic 'over-acting' (like in 99% of the American movies), and is not waiting for sentimental sympathy of the viewer. Susan Blakely showed us what acting is all about. It's just what it is, nothing more, and nothing less. Will There be Really a Morning can be considered as one of the best films (in its own genre). All the starting actors should be urged to watch this movie, learning what acting really means.