Interrupted Melody

Interrupted Melody (1955)

The greatest musical drama since "The Great Caruso."

Interrupted Melody is the inspirational filmed biography of world-renowned Australian soprano Marjorie Lawrence. She’s a foremost Wagnerian, equal to the vocal and physical demands of the composer’s oeuvre. And she’s a beacon of triumph to anyone who fights back when personal tragedy strikes.

Date of release
1955-05-05
TMDB
5.8 / 10 (13)
Runtime
1h 46m
Genres
Drama, Music
Director
Curtis Bernhardt

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Awards: 1 · Nominations: 3. Including: Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay

Interrupted Melody is a 1955 American musical biopic film about the opera singer Marjorie Lawrence starring Eleanor Parker, Glenn Ford, Roger Moore, and Cecil Kellaway. Directed by Curtis Bernhardt, it was filmed in CinemaScope and Eastman Color, and produced for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by Jack Cummings. With an Oscar-winning screenplay by Lawrence, Sonya Levien, and William Ludwig, the operatic sequences were staged by Vladimir Rosing, and Eileen Farrell provided the singing voice for Parker. It tells the story of Australian soprano Marjorie Lawrence's rise to fame as an opera singer and her subsequent triumph over polio with her husband's help.

Production

In 1947, it was reported that Marjorie Lawrence was writing her memoirs, titled Interrupted Melody, and that she wanted Greer Garson to play her in a film. The book was published in 1950. The Chicago Tribune called it "engrossing".

In June 1951, MGM, which had just had a huge success with The Great Caruso, another biopic of an opera star, announced that it had bought the screen rights to the book. Jack Cummings was going to produce, and Kathryn Grayson was a possible star. Other possible leads were Greer Garson and Deborah Kerr, who would use Lawrence's voice. Lawrence flew to Hollywood in July to have discussions with Cummings and Sonya Levien, who was to do the script.

On April 7, 1954, The New York Times announced that Eleanor Parker would play the part because all the other candidates, with the exception of Lana Turner, had left MGM. The article reported that Lawrence had recorded the songs for the film. Filming started in September 1954. According to Parker, the filmmakers could not use Marjorie Lawrence's voice, because she had lost her upper register.

Glenn Ford would only appear in the film if he got top billing. Parker says: "I wanted to do what was right for the picture, so I said: 'Let him have the top billing.' Glenn was a kind of a difficult man, but he was right for the picture and a very fine actor."

A key supporting role was given to Roger Moore, who had just made The Last Time I Saw Paris for MGM and had been put under contract to the studio. The cast included Cecil Kellaway, who had lived for many years in Australia, and it was one of the few times he played an Australian during his Hollywood career.

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