Neither this Playhouse 90 live production nor the bug screen version of The Helen Morgan Story is completely truthful about the tragic torch singer of the
Roaring Twenties. But Polly Bergen gives a good account of herself in the
part of Morgan.
We got all the Morgan songs in the story, those she's identified with except for What Wouldn't i Do For That Man which she sang in the early sound film Applause. Helen was on Broadway at the time in Sweet Adeline and on off days and night she shot Applause at Paramount's Astoria Studio. It was the height f her career.
The production shows that the Roaring 20s were one long party for Helen as it was for a lot of the country. She made money and spent it just as fast. She was a generous touch for anyone in real life and in this teleplay. Her health was permanently ruined.
Bergen gets good support from Sylvia Sidney as her mother and there's a nice part for Hoagy Carmichael as a mentor who spots her talent early on.
See this and the big screen production with Ann Blyth and Paul Newman and compare.
We got all the Morgan songs in the story, those she's identified with except for What Wouldn't i Do For That Man which she sang in the early sound film Applause. Helen was on Broadway at the time in Sweet Adeline and on off days and night she shot Applause at Paramount's Astoria Studio. It was the height f her career.
The production shows that the Roaring 20s were one long party for Helen as it was for a lot of the country. She made money and spent it just as fast. She was a generous touch for anyone in real life and in this teleplay. Her health was permanently ruined.
Bergen gets good support from Sylvia Sidney as her mother and there's a nice part for Hoagy Carmichael as a mentor who spots her talent early on.
See this and the big screen production with Ann Blyth and Paul Newman and compare.