Lillian Russell
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Irving Cummings
Alice Faye
Don Ameche
Henry Fonda
Edward Arnold
Warren William
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Helen Leonard, who was born in Clinton, Iowa at the beginning of the Civil War, moves with her family to New York, where, under the tutelage of music teacher Leopold Damrosch, she develops into a talented singer. While returning home from her lessons one day, Helen meets Alexander Moore, an aspiring reporter, when he stops her runaway carriage, and later, they make a pact to celebrate together when they find success. Success comes quickly to Helen when impressario Tony Pastor overhears her singing and puts her on stage as Lillian Russell. Lillian's rise to immediate stardom prompts her suffragette mother to warn that success will interfere with her personal happiness. Sadly, Mrs. Leonard's prediction comes true when Alexander, who is in love with Lillian, becomes intimidated by her fame and loses touch with her. Although showered by jewels sent by "Diamond" Jim Brady and pursued by Jessie Lewisohn, Lillian chooses to marry frustrated composer Edward Solomon. After the wedding, the newlyweds travel to London, where Edward's tempermental meddling provokes William Gilbert to fire Lillian. Soon after the birth of their daughter, Edward dies of a heart attack, and Lillian, driven by her husband's dream for her success in Europe, triumphs in London. Lillian returns home to a marriage proposal from Diamond Jim, which she refuses. That night, Alexander, who now owns a newspaper in Pittsburgh, comes to visit Lillian backstage, and their old love is rekindled.
Director
Irving Cummings
Cast
Alice Faye
Don Ameche
Henry Fonda
Edward Arnold
Warren William
Leo Carrillo
Helen Westley
Dorothy Peterson
Ernest Truex
Nigel Bruce
Lynn Bari
Claude Allister
Weber And Fields
Eddie Foy Jr.
Una O'connor
Joseph Cawthorn
Diane Fisher
Elyse Knox
Joan Valerie
Alice Armand
William Davidson
Hal K. Dawson
Charles Halton
Robert Emmett Keane
Harry Hayden
Frank Darien
Frank Sully
Ottola Nesmith
Ferike Boros
Frank [m.] Thomas
Robert Homans
William Haade
Irving Bacon
Paul Burns
Cecil Cunningham
Richard Carle
Milburn Stone
Charles Tannen
Philip Winter
Leyland Hodgson
Thaddeus Jones
Dave Morris
Bob Ryan
Tom London
Paul Mcvey
Alex Pollard
James C. Morton
Steve O'brien
Stella Shirpser
Lillian West
Floyd Shackelford
A. S. "pop" Byron
Dennis Kaye
Robert Shaw
Crew
Travis Banton
Madame Rosa Binner
Richard Day
Seymour Felix
Mack Gordon
Roger Heman
Charles Henderson
Gus Kahn
Bronislau Kaper
Arthur Von Kirbach
D. Ross Lederman
Thomas Little
Gene Markey
Booth Mccracken
William Anthony Mcguire
Alfred Newman
Alfred Newman
Leon Shamroy
Walter Thompson
Joseph C. Wright
Darryl F. Zanuck
Film Details
Technical Specs
Award Nominations
Best Art Direction
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
According to news items in Hollywood Reporter, this film was shot on location in Santa Barbara, CA, and at the T. J. Bradford estate in Pasadena, CA, which Lillian Russell had leased in 1905 while on vacation. Studio publicity contained in the Production Files at the AMPAS Library notes that Madame Rosa Binner, who designed the diamond-studded corset in the film, also designed Russell's original diamond-studded corset. A 1939 item in the New York Times adds that Darryl Zanuck bought Alice Faye's radio contract because he believed that radio appearances by film stars were hurting the box office receipts of their pictures. Richard Day and Joseph C. Wright were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction for their work on this film. In this picture, Edward Arnold portrayed Diamond Jim Brady for the second time; the first was in the 1935 film Diamond Jim Brady. In October 1940, Lux Radio Theater presented a radio version of Lillian Russell starring Alice Faye and Victor Mature.
