Lillian Russell (1940) DVD9 - A Marquee Musical - Alice Faye, Don Ameche [DDR]

2014.05.09


Lillian Russell (1940) DVD9 - Marquee Musical - Alice Faye, Don Ameche [DDR]

Lillian Russell is a 1940 biographical film of the life of the singer and actress. The screenplay was by William Anthony McGuire. The film was directed by Irving Cummings and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It starred Alice Faye in the title role, Don Ameche, Henry Fonda and Edward Arnold as Diamond Jim Brady.

Richard Day and Joseph C. Wright were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction, Black-and-White.

CAST:-
Alice Faye as Helen Leonard / Lillian Russell
Don Ameche as Edward Solomon
Henry Fonda as Alexander Moore
Edward Arnold as Diamond Jim Brady
Warren William as The Famous J.L. - Jesse Lewisohn
Leo Carrillo as Tony Pastor
Helen Westley as Grandma Leonard
Dorothy Peterson as Cynthia Leonard
Ernest Truex as Charles Leonard
Nigel Bruce as William S. Gilbert
Claud Allister as Arthur Sullivan
Weber and Fields as Themselves
Eddie Foy, Jr. as Eddie Foy

Directed by Irving Cummings
Produced by Darryl F. Zanuck
Written by William Anthony McGuire
Running time 127 minutes

SYNOPSIS:- Lillian Russell (1940)
Helen Leonard (Faye) has a beautiful voice. As she grows up, she trains to become an opera singer. Her instructor, however, informs her that her voice is pleasing, but not suitable for grand opera. Returning home one day, she and her grandmother (Westley) are saved by a handsome young man, newspaperman Alexander Moore (Fonda). Meanwhile, Helen's mother, Cynthia (Peterson), has political aspirations, but only receives a handful of votes for mayor.

While singing one evening, Helen is overheard by vaudeville impresario Tony Pastor (Carrillo), who hires her to sing at his theater. She is given a new name, Lillian Russell, and quickly rises to fame as the toast of New York. As the years pass, Lillian becomes one of the most revered stars in America. She has many suitors, including financier Diamond Jim Brady (Arnold), Jesse Lewisohn (William), and composer Edward Solomon (Ameche). She eventually marries Edward and they move to London, where Gilbert and Sullivan are writing an operetta especially for her.

Alexander Moore returns and makes a contract with Lillian to write stories about her rise to fame. But tragedy soon strikes when Edward dies one evening while composing a song for her. Lillian cancels the interviews and makes an appearance in the show, singing the song her husband composed for her, "Blue Lovebird."

Lillian returns to America and is, by this time, the greatest stage attraction of the century. Alexander comes to see Lillian after a new show and the two are happily reunited.



TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:-
Video Codec: MPEG-2
Video Bitrate: 4999 kbps
Video Resolution: 720x480
Video Aspect Ratio: 1.333:1
Frames Per Second: 23.976
Audio Codec: AC3
Audio Bitrate: 192kb/s CBR 48000 Hz
Audio Streams: 2
Audio Languages: English
RunTime 127 mins
Subtitles: None
Ripped by: Trinidad [DDR]
Duration: 127 mins