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I am a great-niece of Marjorie Lawrence. It's a very sad fact that Marjorie is best known outside of Australia. However, she was recently honored as one of 100 Australian Entertainers of the Century. It's also a bit of a shame that this movie is a Hollywood producer's interpretation of an American publisher's version of my Great-Aunt's life. The real family story is actually much more interesting. Auntie Marj never smoked a cigarette in her life - but it seems everyone smoked in the movies of the 50s. My mother and my aunt attended the world premiere here in Melbourne. I remember meeting Auntie Marj as a child in the 70s.

'Interrupted Melody' is the film adaptation of Australian soprano Marjorie Lawrence's autobiography. It tells the fascinating tale of the young woman's thunderous ascent to stardom, her marriage to Dr Thomas King (Glenn Ford), and finally deals with her struggles with polio.

The great Eleanor Parker delivers a fantastic performance as Lawrence (with the equally fine Eileen Farrell providing the voice of the Australian prima donna). Parker's acting here is wonderfully appropriate, and captures the intense but subtly delicate style of the great operatic stars of the time. With sumptuous sets, costumes and, of course, music, 'Interrupted Melody' seems to equate to a practically perfect film. In my opinion though, the reality is not quite the case. Lawrence's story is one that is wrought with drama and this movie just doesn't do it complete justice.

Nevertheless, 'Interrupted Melody' is a film worth seeing, for all the reasons mentioned earlier. There are many memorable scenes throughout the movie; the ones that deal with her battle against illness are particularly moving. And when, finally, she triumphs after a great fight, both emotionally and physically, it is indeed very poignant.

MGM fashioned a sumptuous, full-scale production in bringing the career of Australian opera diva Marjorie Lawrence to the screen. Heading the cast as Lawrence is the fine Eleanor Parker, in one of her most impressive roles. Co-starring as her supportive doctor-husband is the talented Glenn Ford. Both are most convincing in relaying the inspirational "real life" story of their struggle with physical- career- and marital-obstacles.

Whether Lawrence did in fact sing roles which included lyric soprano, dramatic soprano, mezzo and Wagnerian, as depicted here, is open to question. Still, it is lovely to see these excerpts staged so beautifully, and in gorgeous Technicolor. Of invaluable assistance is the magnificent voice of Eileen Farrell in a remarkably varied repertoire.

It may not be possible to experience the real impact of these scenes unless there is a special house revival with a full-sized Cinemascope screen and stereo sound. The formats of VHS and even DVD to not do justice to the original production.

Although Lawrence assisted on the script, the actual unfoldment has the ring of fact merging with fiction for maximum dramatic impact. Now that Lawrence's 30's and 40's career is but a memory in the minds of a few, what remains is this romanticized version of history. As such, lovers of romantic drama and of music may revel in a tale of ardor and challenge, with the artistic product being the "fusion of the arts": grand opera.

This film will always have a great significance to me because it introduced me to the beauty of opera. Marjorie Lawrence was a major soprano with the Metropolitan Opera, and her career was cut short by polio while she was still in her vocal prime. Her story is told with great sensitivity and warmth. The operatic scenes are done to perfection, with the superb soprano Eileen Farrell doing the vocals. Eleanor Parker is seen here in what must be her greatest work as an actress. Parker was a great, if somewhat under-appreciated actress, and she was a beautiful woman. Of course, it is she who dominates the movie. Glenn Ford provides excellent support as her doctor husband who guides her back to her career. When this film was released, I was ten years old, and kept going back again and again to see it over and over. I loved the music, loved the story, and will forever be indebted to it for having introduced me to the beauty of grand opera. If I had to choose a film as the most important of my life, it would have to be this one.

The film does a fine job with the crippling illness of Lawrence and her comeback onstage, but most notable are the performances by the stars. Glenn Ford and Eleanor Parker were never better. Just superb. The scene where she tried to commit suicide and Ford stopped her, broke down, and asked God for help is magnificent and a must-see. Ford and Parker should be well-remembered as excellent actors.