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Steve D

Newman is good the film is not.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/08/23

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ashley h

The Helen Morgan is a decent film. It is about torch singer Helen Morgan who rises from sordid beginnings to fame and fortune. Ann Blyth and Paul Newman give good performances. The screenplay is a little slow in places. Michael Curtiz did an alright job directing this movie. I liked this motion picture because of the drama and music.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

The biopic of a woman who, despite her connections with the wrong men and the tumult of the roaring twenties, rises to showbiz prominence. I don't know anything about the real Helen Morgan, so the comparisons between the film and actual events are lost on me. If there are inaccuracies, they should've elected to make the story more interesting. As it is, the rise to fame is rather basic, and the film's chronicle of Morgan's rise is uneven. As a film, the story is interrupted by musical numbers that only occasionally reflect the action that we're supposed to be most concerned with. Also, Ann Blyth and Paul Newman have almost no chemistry, which is odd considering the fact that Newman made a career out of leveraging his irresistible charm. When Newman's character says that he's "stuck on her" and when Morgan sings love songs in his general direction, I can't understand why or what motivated their romance. Overall, if you like the music of the roaring twenties, those beginnings of jazz, then you'll love the soundtrack, but try to ignore the attempts at a story interrupting the songs.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

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Audience Member

Classy production of a performer who I'd never heard of before, but it's a rather TV Movie of the Week quality of melodrama about singer Helen Morgan's rise and fall due to bad romances and alcoholism. Ann Blyth plays Morgan, but Paul Newman in an early film role nearly steals the film. Director Michael Curtiz also brings some flair to the Jazz Age setting and that also goes a long ways, but the melodrama itself if little better than a run of the mill soap opera/

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

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Audience Member

Run-of-the-mill musical bio lacks energy.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Audience Member

year s/b 1957 for this bio-pic

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Michael Curtiz

Director

Ann Blyth

Helen Morgan

Paul Newman

Larry Maddux

Richard Carlson

Russell Wade

Gene Evans

Whitey Krause

Alan King

Benny Weaver

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Paul Newman is good as the gangster, but Ann Blyth is miscast in this rise and fall biopic of the famous singer.

Rated: C+

Jun 25, 2011

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Synopsis

Helen Morgan (Ann Blyth) is a singer and dancer working at a carnival. Larry Maddux (Paul Newman), a bootlegger, recognizes her talent and agrees to promote her, and the two begin a tumultuous romantic relationship. Through his conniving ways, Larry propels Helen to stardom. She lands a starring role in a hit Broadway musical, "Showboat," and later maintains a residency at her own nightclub. But, when she realizes Larry is only with her for her money, Helen succumbs to alcoholism.

Director: Michael Curtiz
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Genre: Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 2, 1957, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 1, 2012
Runtime: 1h 58m

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