|
I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955)
In director Daniel Mann's and MGM's dramatic and poignant
musical biopic about a showbiz singer/actress and Broadway star named
Lillian Roth - the film followed Billy Wilder's account of a doomed
male alcoholic Don Birnam (Ray Milland) in The
Lost Weekend (1945), and prefaced director Blake Edwards' Days
of Wine and Roses (1962). Hayward had also already starred in
an Oscar-nominated role as an alcoholic nightclub singer in Smash
Up - The Story of a Woman (1947). "I'll Cry Tomorrow"
was Hayward's first singing role.
The film's taglines were: "This story was filmed on
location... inside a woman's soul!" and "She fell from
fame to shame!" The plot was based upon Lillian Roth's own forthright and courageous
best-selling 1954 "tell-all" autobiographical
account of her personal tragedies (including five marriages) and
16 years of struggles with alcoholism and mental illness. The film's
title was derived from her determined stage mother's advice to her
resistant, crying daughter: "You got all day tomorrow to cry":
- during the opening title credits, one of Lillian
Roth's own quotes was displayed on a title card: "My life was never
my own - - it was charted before I was born. Lillian Roth"
- the film's opening was composed of scenes to
illustrate young 8 year-old Lillian Roth's (Carole Ann Campbell)
quick rise to stardom on the stage and screen, due
to the constant pressure from her domineering "stage mother"
Katie (Jo Van Fleet), who urged: "There'll be Broadway plays and
Hollywood. You'll be happy, successful, the best....They gotta
know who you are, see? And we gotta show them. And you have to
believe that I know what's right"; Lillian's critical, pushy,
over-ambitious and controlling mother orchestrated her daughter's
entire career to seek fame and success; she also reassured her
crying daughter: "I'll tell you what, you could cry tomorrow, huh?
Huh? Sure. You wait until tomorrow. You got all day tomorrow to cry, huh?"
Lillian's Stage Mother Katie: "I'll tell you
what, you could cry tomorrow, huh?"
|
Lillian Roth: "Broadway's Youngest Star"
|
At Paramount Pictures: "Sing,
You Sinners"
|
- years later in a Paramount Pictures studio in Los
Angeles, the glamorous screen star Lillian Roth (Oscar-nominated
Susan Hayward) sang the jazzy number on stage: "Sing,
You Sinners" - during the filming of the pre-Code Hollywood
musical comedy Honey (1930), while her mother watched from off-stage
- Katie had limited Lillian's romantic prospects with
her childhood sweetheart and fiancee David Tredman (Ray Danton),
an entertainment company lawyer from New York; as her agent, he had
arranged for a B.F. Keith's Palace Theatre (Broadway) engagement
and a national tour; Katie tried to convince David that all of her
hard-work was finally paying off: ("The troubles. The disappointments
we've had, the sacrifices we've had to make, just so Lillian could
sing and go on singing and the whole world would hear her"),
but she now feared David might jeopardize Lillian's ambitions and
success due to the couple's desire to marry, settle down and raise
a family
- just before Lillian's opening night performance at
the Palace Theatre, she and David (in the hospital) spoke by phone
and pledged their love to each other; shortly later after
she went on-stage to sing the number: "When the
Red, Red, Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along", she was notified
that David had suddenly died of an undisclosed illness (brain cancer?)
in the hospital; she reacted with extreme despondency and grief
- although she continued on a national vaudeville tour,
Lillian continued to be stage managed by her mother, who wanted her
to forget David's memory, and kept controlling her, as Lillian objected: "You
always know what's good for me. How to dance, where to sing, what
to wear, who to go out with"; Lillian also complained about
how her mother had always stymied her romance with David: ("You
hated him. You think I don't know? All those phone calls you never
even told me about?");
she delivered an ultimatum to her mother: "I want you to leave
me alone," but remained distraught ("I'm so mixed-up, so
confused")
- during a long period of recovery from emotional pain
and paralyzing grief, Lillian was offered alcohol by her nurse Ellen
(Virginia Gregg) to calm her and help her to get a good night's sleep;
she descended into a pattern of drunkenness and alcohol abuse; Lillian
narrated in voice-over the devastating effect alcohol had on her:
"I felt I no longer needed Katie's reassurance. I was getting it
out of a bottle. For the first time, I was completely secure on a
stage. I was sure at last that they liked me. And I deserved it.
I was something. I was glamorous. I was the best singer in the world"
Lillian Completely Grief-Stricken by David's Death
|
Offered A Glass of Alcohol by Her Nurse Ellen (Virginia
Gregg)
|
- after dating and getting drunk with immature aviation
soldier-cadet Wallie (Don Taylor), a surprised Lillian (who had
blacked out) was told that they had gotten married; it was emblematic
of Lillian's independence and rebellion against her mother ("Now,
I was really on my own. I was doing exactly what I wanted to do");
Lillian's very short, year-long loveless marriage was mostly a
drunken stupor between the two: ("We tried
to forget that we didn't love one another...In fact, we tried just
about everything but staying sober. Drinking became our way of life.
It was a means of forgetting our problems"); it was not long
before Wallie become fed up with being known as "Mr.
Lillian Roth" and the two broke up and divorced
First Husband Aviation Cadet Wallie (Don Taylor)
|
Second Husband Tony Bardeman (Richard Conte)
|
- two years later in NY, she met and fell prey to manipulative,
sadistic and fellow alcoholic Tony Bardeman (Richard Conte) from Los
Angeles, who charmed her; as she was getting more involved with Tony,
Lillian's mother arrived for a visit after learning about Lillian's
excessive drinking, and she warned: "You're going to become an old-fashioned
drunkard...Everybody is talking, the agents, the managers"
- Lillian realized that she had become a full-blown
alcoholic and her life continued to revolve around the bottle (voice-over): "Almost
overnight, I became a secret drinker. I lived in constant terror
of being found out of having my name spread over the newspapers.
But like all alcoholics, I lied to myself. I told myself I was drinking
because I was high-strung and sensitive. I was an artist. I'd been
hurt. One day, it was to pick me up because I was down. Another,
it was to quiet me down because I was so high"
- soon after, Tony and Lillian became reacquainted and
he promised that they could have a lifetime of sobriety
together: ("Let's go on the wagon together, huh? On a wagon like that,
we could travel anywhere...I'm gonna take you away, and we'll help each
other"); he proposed marriage, and then deceived
her into a loan of $5,000 for a business deal in Chicago
- Lillian moved to California with Tony, and in a Los
Angeles bar with the emotionally-abusive Tony, she
confessed to him and other bar patrons: ("I'm
what you call an adorable drunk... I'm no good. That's the way it's
gotta be. I'm just nothin'. A hopeless drunk. Gettin' just what I
deserve"); their altercation led to a
very public incident in the parking lot
- soon after, Lillian's life and career descended
into ruin; she left Tony in the middle of the night, pawned her fur
coat to obtain a drink, and eventually she ended up on LA's Skid
Row - in dive bars, flop houses, and on the street
A Drunken and Ruined Lillian
|
On the Street in LA's Skid Row
|
- realizing that she needed help, she contacted her
mother (off-screen) to rescue her ("Katie, come and get me...take
me home"); she returned to NYC to live in a tiny apartment with her
mother for a brief time; in one of the film's most memorable sequences,
they had a vicious argument together when the alcohol-addicted Lillian
blamed her mother for deliberately breaking an alcohol bottle: ("OH!
Look what ya did! And ya DID IT ON PURPOSE! You're still tryin' 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 tryin' to do, drive me crazy? Go on, GET THE BOTTLE! GET
IT NOW!")
- her mother admitted pushing her into being the
famed actress Lillian Roth and projecting her own ambitions onto
her, in order to survive: ("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! Do you know at all why I
did it, do you? No, you don't! Do you know what kind of a life I
had? Do you know what it was like to live with your father, put up
with his mistakes and afterwards to be left alone with nothin'? No
money, no career, not young anymore, nothin' to fall back on? No,
you don't! You don't know at all what I tried to save you from, the
kind of freedom I never had! I tried to give to you by making you
LILLIAN ROTH!")
- Lillian barked back that her mother's efforts
weren't entirely successful: ("So you admit it! You invented
Lillian Roth! All right, now look at me. I said look at me, don't
turn your face away! I'm the looking glass you created to see yourself
in! All right, all right see yourself now in me! Look at this ugly
picture! And then GET OUTTA HERE! But keep this picture before your
face for as LONG AS YOU LIVE!")
- the two made up and hugged, and Lillian comforted
her sobbing mother: ("It kills me when you cry....Remember, remember
what you used to tell me? You said, 'Cry tomorrow. You've got all
day tomorrow.' Mama. Cry tomorrow")
- the very-depressed Lillian left her mother's apartment
and rented a room on the upper floor of a hotel, where she attempted
suicide by jumping from the skyscraper window,
but when she was unable to do it ("Oh, dear God, help me, help
me"), she slumped and fell to the floor;
her life had devolved to one of self-pity, self-hate, and self-destruction
- she left the hotel and wandered on the street, and
happened to come across an AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) building, where
she entered and soon made a remarkable comeback in her battle against
alcohol; polio-crippled friend and AA sponsor
Burt McGuire (Eddie Albert) (whom she eventually married), and two
others: Selma (Margo) and Jerry (Don "Red" Barry) helped
her to recover in her hotel room; with their
support and encouragement, she suffered through painful withdrawal
and delirium tremens
- during regular attendance
at AA meetings, she heard Burt's wise words: ("We have three choices:
AA, the psycho ward, or the graveyard. And when we get close
enough to the graveyard to recognize it, the issue becomes clear-cut
and simple. Die now or fight and live")
|
|
Burt and Lillian at AA Meetings
|
- Lillian finally became sober, but due to
his own feelings of inadequacy, Burt rebuffed and refused
to acknowledge her growing love for him
- in the film's conclusion set in 1953, Lillian was
offered an opportunity to make an appearance
on the This Is Your Life NBC-TV program hosted by Ralph Edwards
(as Himself) in California; she sought advice from Burt about whether
she should accept the offer; he told her that it was her decision to
make on her own, and that she didn't need him anymore; he finally confessed
that he was afraid to allow himself to love her; they agreed that together,
they would help each other: ("Love me, Burt. We belong together. Together,
we can help each other") - before kissing
- she made a courageous decision
to go public and appear on the TV show to give hope to others who
suffered the same pain due to alcoholism; before
walking down the aisle of the TV audience to speak to the host, she
shared her thoughts to Burt (with tears welling up in her eyes): ("I
only know that you get by giving, and this is all I've got to give")
|
|
|
Lillian's Appearance on "This Is
Your Life" NBC-TV Program
|
- Lillian's life was introduced by Ralph Edwards as: "A
story of degradation and shame, but when you hear the facts, you'll
realize how much courage it took for her to come here tonight.
You'll also realize that it's a story full of hope, hope for many
who are living and suffering in a half-world of addiction to alcohol.
Hope for all people, whoever and wherever they are, so THIS IS
YOUR LIFE, LILLIAN ROTH!"
|
Lillian Roth Quote
Showbiz Singer/Actress Lillian Roth (Susan Hayward)
Lillian's Childhood Friend/Agent David Tredman (Ray Danton)
Romance with David
Katie's (Jo Van
Fleet) Worries About Lillian's Success Going Away
Lillian Telling Her Mother About Her Goal to Marry
David
Lillian's Last Phone Call-Conversation with David Before His Death
Lillian: "When the Red, Red, Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along"
Lillian to Her Mother: "I want you to leave me alone!"
Lillian's Descent into Drunkenness and Alcohol Abuse
With Abusive and Mean Husband Tony in an LA Bar
A Public Altercation Between Tony and Lillian in the Parking Lot
Argument With Her Domineering Stage Mother Katie in Their
NYC Apartment
Lillian Comforting Her Mother Afterwards: ("Cry tomorrow...")
Lillian's Failed and Aborted Suicide Attempt In a Hotel
Room
Burt McGuire (Eddie Albert)
Lillian Roth with Burt - During Alcohol Withdrawal Pains
Burt and Lillian: "Together, we can help each other"
|