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The Story of Esther Costello

Play trailer Poster for The Story of Esther Costello 1957 1h 43m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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A terrible accident leaves Esther Costello (Heather Sears) blind, deaf, mute and without a mother. Living in squalor with her aunt in Ireland, Esther is rescued by a kind American, Margaret Landi (Joan Crawford). Margaret brings the girl back with her to Boston. There, Esther learns how to use sign language and blossoms into a lovely young woman. But her life darkens when Margaret's scheming husband, Carlo (Rossano Brazzi), comes back into the picture.

Audience Reviews

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Efrem M 01/06/2024 Ridiculous. Over the top. Absurd at certain times, but I still entertaining to watch. Needless to say Joan Crawford's talent was so remarkable. Even at that stage of her career, she managed to save a movie with a script like that. Not many actors could do that. See more 02/08/2021 A great campfest of a film that could have gone either way. It's saved by Joan Crawford's old pro presence and star quality. Joan was in the twilight of her career, but she could still give a good performance. One can only think about what this film would have been like in lesser hands. Rosanno Brazzi provides the right amount of shadiness as her estranged husband. See more steve d 07/20/2020 It's stars do a great job. See more 10/04/2013 It's a fair enough story... anyone would probably say that this story is a rip-off of The Miracle Worker with Anne Bancroft, and I guess I can't really deny that... but, one thing this movie has that the other hasn't is an actress that looks just like Jim Carrey as a small framed woman who is physically enchanting to all guys who meet her... it's pretty hilarious. See more 06/20/2010 Hands down, the craziest, WTF'iest Joan Crawford movie outside of "Johnny Guitar." Margaret (Joan, still trim and pretty at 53, if a little heavy in the eyebrows at this point), a wealthy socialite, visits the Irish city of her birth, and a local priest sort of tricks her into taking with her a psychosomatically deaf, dumb, and blind teen. Margaret works to teach Esther sign language, and they gain acclaim by traveling and fund raising for charity. Re-enter Margaret's shady estranged husband (Rossano Brazzi), clearly up to no good. I won't spoil it, but things get really creepy, then downright crazy. I loved it, in a "I can't believe this movie!" sort of way. See more 10/17/2008 Joan embodies yet another suffering soul, and she milks the most out of a melodrama that mixes maternal love, greed, lust, and innocence until they explode into both a miracle and a tragedy. See more Read all reviews
The Story of Esther Costello

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Movie Info

Synopsis A terrible accident leaves Esther Costello (Heather Sears) blind, deaf, mute and without a mother. Living in squalor with her aunt in Ireland, Esther is rescued by a kind American, Margaret Landi (Joan Crawford). Margaret brings the girl back with her to Boston. There, Esther learns how to use sign language and blossoms into a lovely young woman. But her life darkens when Margaret's scheming husband, Carlo (Rossano Brazzi), comes back into the picture.
Director
David Miller
Producer
Jack Clayton, David Miller
Production Co
Romulus Films Ltd.
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 8, 2019
Runtime
1h 43m
Sound Mix
Stereo