Desespero

Popular nightclub entertainer Angie Evans marries struggling but adoring musician husband Ken Conway, and she retires to raise a family. His career soars, and he dotes on her with his new wealth. Still, she sinks into alcoholism. Despite a weak second half, and a pat, disappointing ending (I can't help but think the current ending was changed from the original script and reshot, as was "Magnificent Ambersons") there is much to recommend "Smash-Up". First is Eddie Albert's flawless work as the Conways' gumchewing family friend and songwriting partner. Secondly, there are three great songs by Harold Adamson and Jimmy McHugh. One of these, "Hushabye Mountain", sung in the Conway nursery, is sheer screen magic. And the "Life Can Be Beautiful" theme will keep you humming for weeks. Another big positive is the exceptional cinematography which jumps in and out of film noir, even in the nursery sequences, and not necessarily during only the "crisis" moments, which is refreshing. Lee Bowman, an underrated and talented actor, gives some depth to the part of the sainted husband, and his work will hold the interest of those who usually avoid this sort of thing. Susan Hayward does circumvent most (but not all) of her chances to chew the scenery as she self-medicates herself in an effort to control her personal demons. Still, this film is hers. It's worth your time.

Anyone who passes up the chance to see Susan Hayward in "Smash-Up" because they've already seen her play a drunk in 1956's more popular "I'll Cry Tomorrow" are missing out on a great performance from the star. Hayward seems to relish her role in this extremely well-written melodrama deluxe involving a nightclub songbird who gives up her career to be a wife and mother. But when husband Lee Bowman's singing career takes off, she feels forgotten and falls back on her main weakness (always a little shy--maybe anti-social--she hits the sauce). John Howard Lawson wrote the screenplay from a treatment by Dorothy Parker (!) and Frank Cavett, and their dialogue has a canny ring of Hollywood-ized truth (meaning it's ripe with romanticized realizations). Far from camp, the movie shrewdly gives a woman who doesn't fall apart simply because of her husband's popularity--she had a streak of insecurity before they wed--and even a loyal friend of hers doesn't come racing to her rescue (she has to hit bottom, and even at the finale I wasn't totally sure she had embraced sobriety). Some odd moments: there's a quick scene with Hayward waking up in a stranger's house on Skid Row which isn't used for anything other than a bridge to the next scene, and the crucial last shot of Hayward and Bowman is muffed because Hayward has her back to the camera. Eddie Albert is very good as Bowman's accompanist (he helped Hayward out in "I'll Cry Tomorrow" too) and Marsha Hunt is fantastic as an executive with eyes for Bowman (her designs are subtle, but Susan catches them, leading to a great catfight). Glossy but not soft, "Smash-Up", which may have been loosely based on Bing Crosby's first marriage, was criticized at the time for being merely a distaff variation of "The Lost Weekend". However, it gives us a fine actress in her prime, and her strong performance here is well worth-seeing. *** from ****

This was Hayward's watershed film, thrusting her into the A-Bracket. That's not surprising since she delivers an ace performance as a down spiraling alcoholic wife. Angie's (Hayward) given up her singing career so that hubby Ken (Bowman) can shoot to the top of his. Trouble is he now neglects his wife, while his super organized assistant Martha (Hunt) attends to his every need. So Angie looks for consolation in one bottle that quickly leads to two, and so on. Now Bowman must take informal custody of their baby. Looks like both the marriage and Angie are doomed.

The movie's pretty strong melodrama with some nice touches by director Heisler, (e.g. the subjective camera conveying Angie's delirium). It's hard to picture the wooden Bowman as any kind of lounge singer; still he is recessive enough not to take focus from Hayward's central role. I expect that's why he was cast. Eddie Albert certainly has an easy way as nice guy Steve, while Marsha Hunt appears ice cold except for her one revealing scene, (btw, she's still with us as of 2015 at age 98, a fine actress whose career was unfortunately damaged by the blacklist). And catch the omniscient psychiatrist (Esmond) back when Hollywood was having a love affair with head doctors.

Anyhow, the film holds up as human interest, even if it long ago lost its cutting edge. Too bad there's that phony Code enforced ending. It's so abruptly brief, my guess is writer Lawson and director Heisler wanted to lessen the sappy impact as much as possible. Nonetheless, the film does showcase one of Hollywood's few glamour girls who was also a whale of an actress. RIP Susan.

A radio singer's wife turns to self destruction through alcoholism when her husband's success interferes with their life. Although it looks dated now and obviously was not a big budget Hollywood film, but this was Hayward's breakthrough performance and deservedly earned her a first Oscar nomination.

In the Citadel Film Series, The Films of Susan Hayward, the authors put forward the proposition that if The Lost Weekend had not come out the year before and carried all the awards it won, Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman might have garnered a lot more acclaim and maybe an Oscar for Susan Hayward.

As it is the film got two Oscar nominations for Best Story by Dorothy Parker and Frank Cavett and for Best Actress for Susan Hayward. It was Hayward's first of five nominations and she lost to Loretta Young for The Farmer's Daughter. That in itself was an upset because odds-makers had Rosalind Russell the favorite for Mourning Becomes Electra. Rounding out the field were Dorothy McGuire for Gentleman's Agreement and Joan Crawford for Possessed.

At the time Smash-Up came out there were hushed rumors going around that this film was based on the troubled marriage of Bing Crosby and Dixie Lee. Having just read a biography of Gene Autry that came out last year an equally good case can be made for it being modeled on his first marriage to Ina Mae Spivey. Especially since Lee Bowman's character starts out as a cowboy singer and branches out as Autry was doing right about that time.

In any event the story has Susan Hayward as a lounge singer who falls in love with another singer Lee Bowman and marries him and they have a daughter. Bowman's career surges ahead of her's and she's left at home bored and raising the daughter they both love. She turns to drink and with that come all the attending problems. How they're resolved you'll have to see Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman to find out.

The musical score was written mostly by Jimmy McHugh and Harold Adamson and two songs really stand out. The theme song Life Can Be Beautiful and another terrific ballad I Miss That Feeling. The latter was recorded by Tony Martin for Mercury Records, I've not heard a commercial recording of the former.

Bowman and Hayward were dubbed by vocalists Hal Derwin and Peg LaCentra respectively. The voices perfectly suit the players.

In the supporting cast Marsha Hunt should be singled out as the agent's secretary carrying the Olympic torch for Bowman. Even though he doesn't notice her, she sure gets Hayward's back up and they have one outstanding chick fight in a powder room.

Still the film belongs to Susan Hayward as the girl from Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn was taken seriously as an actress for the first time in her career. After Smash-Up no one took Susan Hayward any other way.