Torch Singer [Blu-ray]

Director: Alexander Hall, George Somnes Alexander Hall

Overview

In this musical, a club singer also hosts a children's radio show. She is drawn to kiddies because a few years past she gave up her own child because she was unmarried. She dreams of seeing the lost child and spends much time searching for him. Songs include: "Don't Be a Cry Baby," "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Love," "It's a Long Dark Night," "The Torch Singer" (Ralph Rainger, Leo Robin, sung by Claudette Colbert).

Product Details

Release Date:	10/26/2021
UPC:	0738329256005
Original Release:	1933
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Language:	English
Time:	1:11:00
Sales rank:	34,208

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Claudette Colbert	Sally Trent, aka Mimi Benton
Ricardo Cortez	Tony Cummings
David Manners	Michael 'Mike' Gardner
Lyda Roberti	Dora Nichols
Baby LeRoy	Bobbie
Florence Roberts	Mother Angelica
Shirley Ann Christensen	Baby Sally
Cora Sue Collins	Little Sally
Ethel Griffies	Martha Alden
Helen Jerome Eddy	Miss Spaulding
Mildred Washington	Carry
Charles Grapewin	Mr. Judson,Mr. Judson
Albert Conti	Carlotti
Virginia Hammond	Mrs. Judson
James Burke	Actor,Sobbing Girl
Davison Clark	Detective
Edward Le Saint	Doctor
Bobbe Arnst	The Blonde
William B. Davidson	Jarrett
Dennis O'Keefe	Nightclub Patron

Technical Credits

Alexander Hall	Director
Albert Lewis	Producer
George Somnes	Director

Editorial Reviews

Torch Singer is a not-so-hot "women's picture" (as they were called in the 1930s) that's notable for Claudette Colbert's surprising performance and for its pre-Code acceptance of the fact of unwed motherhood. Suffering mother pictures are by nature soapy, and Torch is a awash in suds almost from beginning to end. At times, the plot gets positively ridiculous, and there is little artistry to be found in the screenplay. However, as a pre-Code film, the script is straightforward about the fact that Colbert's character has a child out of wedlock; it also presents her resentment toward men and her cynical feelings about them in an equally straightforward manner. Alexander Hall and George Somnes direct in the time honored fashion for this genre, playing for emotion and never letting common sense get in the way. Fortunately, Colbert is on hand to deliver a sterling performance that is quite different from the more refined parts with which she is more commonly identified. She gives it her all, and that's saying a good deal. If she occasionally comes across as a bit self-conscious in places, she still makes it work, and much more. She also does her own singing, revealing an unusual but pleasing voice, odd in the contrast between upper and lower register, but winning nonetheless. More important than the quality of her singing voice is the dramatic power she brings to her songs, which is considerable.