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Like others commenting on this film, I saw "Interrupted Melody" many years ago, and it left a deep impression on me. I found when watching it again that I had retained so many of the scenes in my memory.

"Interrupted Melody" tells the story of Australian soprano Marjorie Lawrence (played by Eleanor Parker), who was stricken with polio at the height of her career. The singer then has to find the courage to reclaim her will to live, her voice, and her career.

This is one of the few films, including anything of Lanza's, where entire arias and/or operatic scenes have been performed - and correctly. Singing for Ms. Parker is dramatic soprano Eileen Farrell, whose voice also acts. In the beginning, when the young Marjorie is in a vocal competition, Farrell takes her powerful chest voice out and instead carries her middle voice down to the low notes, giving the impression of a young, untrained singer. Truly inspired.

This has to be the high point of Eleanor Parker's career. I had a chance to see her nearly 30 years ago in a preview performance of "Pal Joey" - regretfully, there were many problems and she and her costar left the show before it opened. It was a shame, because Parker's Vera was wonderful. Here, she plays the young Marjorie with energy and determination, capturing the soprano's nervousness at being away from home when she goes to school in Monte Carlo. Later, she plays the perfect diva not afraid to state what she wants. Finally, she's the crippled Marjorie with no will to live, finding solace entertaining wounded soldiers who are worse off than she is. All through the film, she looks absolutely stunning, and her lipsyncing in Italian, French, and German is perfect.

The music is glorious - "Tristan und Isolde," "La Boheme," "Samson et Delilah," "Carmen," "Il Trovatore," (the fastest I've ever heard it), "Madama Butterfly," "Don Carlos," and "Gotterdammerung" - truly a feast for the ears with Eileen Farrell's magnificent singing.

Some have questioned whether or not Lawrence actually sang both mezzo and soprano roles. Lawrence did sing "Carmen," which can be sung by a dramatic soprano. Also, Lawrence probably started out as a mezzo - it was not until she trained in Paris that her upper range was extended. She sang Wagner, Strauss, Puccini, and Verdi in the big opera houses. "Samson and Delilah" was perhaps done for the film so we could see Eleanor Parker being sexy and seductive in a gauzy costume. The thing is, Lawrence's specialty was Wagner and you can't only have heavy Wagner scenes throughout a movie. The glamorous soprano did her own dancing in "Salome," and played the immolation scene in "Götterdämmerung" by riding her horse into the flames as Wagner had intended, making her one of the few, possibly the only, soprano to do this. She also did Thais, which calls for sex and beauty - "Thais" was the inspiration for the role Susan Kane bombed in during "Citizen Kane."

Glenn Ford plays Lawrence's husband, Dr. Thomas King, and the marriage of a successful opera star and fledgling pediatrician is realistically portrayed with all its difficulties. In real life, Tom King was an osteopath and a Christian Scientist. Ford has a background role much of the time, but also some very dramatic moments and some romantic ones. His gentle, easygoing style fit the character well. A very young Roger Moore is Marjorie's manager-brother.

If you love opera, or if you love a story of courage and the power of the human spirit, this film is for you. Have a box of tissues nearby - the ending is very powerful.

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.

'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.

I studied opera with Marjorie Lawrence in the 1970's and she was an incredible, vital, and exciting personality. She was larger than life and her presence dominated any gathering she attended.

The movie captures many of her physical mannerisms. Her voice was most suited to the Wagnerian repertoire and the selection of the great Eileen Farrel to sing the more popular arias chosen for the film was an excellent one. However, Miss Lawrence was disappointed that her own voice wasn't used as had been agreed, which I understand resulted in a settlement in her favor.

Her husband, Doctor King, was an great gentleman and devoted to her.

Following the years depicted in the film, she became an educator at Southern Illinois University where she was very respected and loved.

Seems to be the (mostly) true story of marjorie lawrence, australian operatic singer, portrayed by eleanor parker. Based on the book by... marjorie lawrence! Her brother (roger moore, years before "the saint" or james bond) is her agent. Meeting the dashing doctor tom king (glenn ford) in europe, they say goodbye. At first. They meet again, and get married. Things go well... until marj develops serious medical issues. Good thing she's married to a doctor! If anyone can help marj, her own husband can. Keep an eye out for cecil kellaway; he was probably best known for "postman always rings twice". And leopold sachse actually plays himself, as the director of the hamburg opera house! His one and only appearance in film. Directed by curtis bernhardt. This won the oscar for best story. Many, many people had polio, over the years, but this was a case where it affected the life and career of a world famous singer. Even in a wheelchair, she could still share her skill. It's okay. I'm sure it was much more poignant to contemporary audiences at the time, but it's still an inspirational story.

I just want to respond to the ludicrous question in another review as to why MGM didn't just cast Jeanette MacDonald or Kathryn Grayson. This part called for real dramatic acting, which neither of these two were much chop at frankly: and Grayson would have certainly blown a gasket trying to sing most of this repertoire; probably MacDonald as well, who was not in great health by this time. The thought of either of them as Carmen makes me feel quite ill.

And the end result would have been just another musical ...

I also want to point out that Lawrence was far from the second Australian opera star after Melba. There were Florence Austral, John Brownlee, many others.

Australian opera singing Marjorie Lawrence (Eleanor Parker) leaves her family's farm to try to make it in the music world. She falls in love with Dr. Thomas King (Glenn Ford). She becomes a star and falls ill.

This is a biopic and a generally well-made one. It is all about Eleanor Parker's performance and she's good. She is very overdramatic in one scene, but that's old style acting. She did get an Oscar nomination. I am perfectly happy that she was dubbed for the singing. Nobody actually expects her to hit those notes. There is a bit of drama with the illness. It could come sooner in the movie and her return can do more. This is mostly a good inspirational musical biopic in the standard way.

When I saw this picture in 1986 I don't pay much attention in the meaning, today revisiting this compelling picture about the true story of the Opera soprano singer Marjorie Lawrence (Eleanor Parker) perhaps the early scenes when she arrives at Paris and her first meeting with Dr. Thomas King (Ford) and their little hot affair was most exciting, for whom love opera it's really great picture, true gem, however for my generation this kind of music sounds a bit outdated, great to hear and easy to forget it, when Marjorie reach the higher ground on Europe she has an alluring opportunity to sing at New York, there she invites Dr. King for a medical check, otherwise she wants apologize for didn't recognized him at first sight on New York, even both in love each other, the modest Doctor didn't want living under the shadows of her famous love, they get marriage under one condition, no touring, nevertheless she needs and suffer a sudden decease of poliomyelitis, Dr. King does everything to recover her, fine piece of biography picture, Marjorie struggles and overcame in high style!!!

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First watch: 1986 / How many: 3 / Source: TV-DVD/ Rating: 7.25

Eleanor Parker, a much underrated actress of the 1950s, probably hit the high point of her career when she essayed the role of Marjorie Lawrence in this biographical portrait.

Marjorie Lawrence was an Australian opera star whose career was cruelly interrupted by polio in the 1930s. The film follows Lawrence from her winning a singing contest in her native Winchelsea, Australia through her career with the Metropolitan Opera and her struggle with regaining her health. Lawrence is supported every step of the way by husband Dr. Thomas King,ably played by Glenn Ford. But it's Eleanor Parker's movie all the way.

Funny for a movie about an Australian, Parker doesn't even attempt an Australian accent. This is in the MGM tradition of Clark Gable who did not attempt any British accent in Mutiny on the Bounty. It worked just as well for Parker, though I'd be curious what a native Australian might think. Lawrence was the second female opera star who became a national treasure for Australia, the first being Nellie Melba. Parker shouldered a lot of tradition in this film and did it well.

The voice used by Parker for the operatic sequences is that of Eileen Farrell of the Metropolitan Opera. The sequences are well done, but the real drama in the scenes of Lawrence battling polio.

This film coincidentally enough came out at the same time that Dr. Jonas Salk discovered his vaccine preventive for polio. I still remember as a lad getting those polio shots at my public school. No movie studio could have planned that coincidence, but MGM reaped enormous profit because of it. As for Jonas Salk, no man of medicine has ever been admired in the same way in my lifetime.

Eleanor Parker was nominated for best actress, but lost that year to Anna Magnani in The Rose Tattoo. Look for a young Roger Moore in the role of Parker's brother and business manager.

My favorite scene in the whole film is Parker as Lawrence entertaining the troops overseas in World War II. Especially when she sings Waltzing Matilda to her native Australian diggers. It was like the whole beating heart of the Australian continent coming alive for an instant. Absolutely inspired.

This film gets the highest possible recommendation from me.

This nonsense about Parker not lip-syncing is very apparently false. Maybe there are some spots where she sang live but there are times when you can see that it is lip-syncing, particularly on the long shots. MGM was so adamant about lip-syncing in pretty much all of their movies whether it was to the actor's voice or someone else. Not so with the other studios. All in all though, the film is very entertaining and at times, moving. The story was nominated for an Oscar and you can see why. Not a big fan of Glenn Ford but he is OK in this film. It's Parker's show and she comes through with a great performance.

20 minutes in to "Interrupted Melody" and I realized I'd already seen it. It was called "With a Song in My Heart," and it starred Susan Hayward. Seriously, this movie is almost a virtual retread of the 1952 film. The only thing it's missing is a feisty nurse played by Thelma Ritter.

"Interrupted Melody" is about 10% biopic and 90% opera. There is a lot of opera in this movie. Like, a lot a lot. I mean I've seen operas that didn't have this much opera in them. The polio that threatens to derail Marjorie Lawrence's career is treated as a minor annoyance. There's one scene of her being sad that she's paralyzed, and then, problem solved!!, she just decides that she's better. And the last scene is so melodramatically shameless it makes even "Downton Abbey" blush.

Eleanor Parker won her third and final Best Actress Oscar nomination for this movie, but she's strangely hyper and overwrought, and spends most of her time on screen lip syncing. She always looks like she's trying too hard. Mysteriously, the screenplay, that seems like it could have been written by an auto-field computer program, won an Oscar for writers William Ludwig and Sonya Levien. And Helen Rose completed the film's trio of Oscar nominations by being recognized for her color costume design. She won the black and white award that year, for a different biopic starring none other than who?.......Susan Hayward!!

Grade: C+

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.

Interrupted Melody is a movie best enjoyed by older teens and up and those who are romantics at heart, who know a friend or loved one that is handicapped, or by those who love music. Eleanor Parker and Glenn Ford make the movie. They are very good. The musical numbers are ear candy. Just watch the movie for the ear candy alone. The movie moves along at a good clip. The movie's premise is that through love and support anyone can achieve their dream is brought to life by Eleanor Parker and Glenn Ford. However, in real life, it is not always the case. It is a movie for prime time or s weekend afternoon. Grab your popcorn and a soda. Relax. Enjoy!

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.

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.

Eleanor Parker's third Oscar nomination came in 1955 for a musical, an opera, "Interrupted Melody." The film is based on the life of opera singer Marjorie Lawrence who, at the height of her career, was stricken with infantile paralysis while in Mexico to perform.

The lovely film begins in Australia, birthplace of Lawrence. Against the wishes of her father, she auditions in a contest and wins.

We see a variety of operas. Though she did not sing, Parker is excellent in emulating the voice of an outstanding Eileen Farrell, who sang for her. Ms. Farrell, who died several years ago, performed at the Met as did Marjorie Lawrence. Her beautiful voice is a further tribute to this excellent biography.

The film chronicles the successes of Lawrence, her tours, her father's sudden death(Cecil Kellaway in an interesting but all too brief performance.)

The film introduced a young Roger Moore as Cecil, her brother, who feels deep guilt for having his sister go to Mexico.

Along the way, she meets her husband-to-be, a doctor, played very well by Glenn Ford.

The second part of the film depicts Lawrence's struggle against the disease. Her despair, her attempted suicide and her rejuvenation are shown. Lawrence comes back to the Met to sing and amazes all by standing up after her performance.

The film will leave us with those beautiful operas and a positive outlook on life despite such adversity. ****.

I was fortunate enough to be chosen as the stunt double for Eleanor Parker in this extraordinary film. I was in awe of her performance and cannot say how much I enjoyed working with her for several of her films. I thought the script was marvelous and did win an award I believe. Eleanor Parker is the true lady she portrayed in this once in a lifetime film. I never tire of seeing it - over and over again.

Anybody who loves great acting, even better singing, beautiful visuals, great scripting, an inspiring and moving story and some of the best music ever written will simply love Interrupted Melody, as it has every single one of those things. It is a beautifully produced film, lavishly shot with equally glamorous costumes and sets and bursting with colour. The music, with Carmen, Verdi, Puccini, Wagner(the roles of whom Marjorie Lawrence was most famous for) as well as renditions of Waltzing Matilda and Over the Rainbow cannot be faulted, not everybody I'm aware likes opera music, I adore it myself and the music presented here is some of the best of the medium. The scenes in which they appear are very well-staged, Gotterdammerung's Immolation Scene in relation to Lawrence is interesting for Lawrence being the first in the role to ride the horse into the flames. The story is inspiring, with the drama with the polio handled most sensitively and movingly, while the script sparkles, it won an Oscar and deserved it. The direction is deft, allowing the drama to resonate and doesn't let things get overblown. Eleanor Parker gives one of her best performances, she is very beautiful, determined and very poignant being overwrought, and Glenn Ford is superb also, some of the best work he ever did. The two work affectingly together, and the supporting cast are solid especially Roger Moore. Special mention should also go to Eileen Farrell(35 at this point) who provided singing voice for Parker, and she is nothing short of sensational, her voice was powerful, thrilling and of quite beautiful tone complete with a big range which she always used with great artistry. What's also remarkable is that even when you don't see her on screen, she still brings out the character through her vocal expression. All in all, beautiful, not just as a biographical drama but as a film full-stop. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Last night, I was surfing channels on foxtel (cable provider), where I came across a movie that was set in the Australian outback. AS this was not common for 1950's movies, I stayed to have a look for a while. This was at 10pm. I went to bed at 12am - due to how good this movie is! I recently was in a car accident that left me with spinal damage, and a friend of mine still in hospital. I want to tape it for her, as it taught me that no matter how hard it is, you can do it...so there, I am now empowered!

Thanks

Eleanor Parker is one of my favorite actresses from the '40s and '50s and does a marvelous job here, lip-synching to perfection various Wagnerian opera arias (as well as Puccini and Verdi). The storyline is somewhat similar to that of Jane Froman's career in that both were singers who, although paralyzed, continued with their singing careers and entertained servicemen as well. Glenn Ford lends solid support as the understanding, long-suffering husband who is always there when she needs his moral support. Roger Moore has a small role as her brother.

Everything moves smoothly under Curtis Bernhardt's direction. The opera segments are beautifully staged and filmed (in gorgeous technicolor, of course). Parker demonstrates her acting skills to the fullest and Eileen Farrell does a superb job on the vocal dubbing.

Well worth your time--inspirational and enjoyable even if you're not an opera lover. Filmed in wide screen technique, it loses something on video showings.

I was lucky enough to be channel surfing about 15 years ago when I saw a beautifully staged aria from Madama Butterfly on TV. Being an opera lover I stayed tuned to see what it was. It was the amazing story of Marjorie Lawerence- an opera singer who's career was "interrupted" by polio. The movie does follow her book very closely and the opera arias are just beautifully staged! They don't make movies like this anymore. Eleanor Parker does a masterful job on lipsynching to Eileen Farrell's tremendous singing! Parker does weird histronics occasionally like leaning backward on a high note, but it is still a remarkable job of lipsynching in 3 different languages. Eileen Farrell who plays a voice student in the beginning of the film actually does all the singing for the movie, uncredited as usual during that time. She does soprano roles, mezzo and sings in French, German and Italian and every aria is superb! Glenn Ford lends nice support as the husband who believes in his wife despite his idea of having her at home with children as opposed to a life of touring and singing in the kind of international career she has dreamed of and accomplished. Look for a very early appearance by Roger Moore as Marjorie's brother. This is a movie that can be enjoyed by anyone- the opera scenes are never too long and the major theme of the movie is the triumph of the human spirit.

I saw "Interrupted Melody" in 1995 or 1996 in Salzburg when I was 15 or 16 years old. It impressed me so much, that music was my great and only love for many years. I never forgot Eleanor Parker as Marjorie Lawrence. Now the youngest of my 4 children lives in Vienna and she is a very great opera-fan, nearly every day she visits the standing-place of the Vienna Staatsoper... I hope so much to get a video of "Interrupted Melody", that we can see this great and lovely film together.

From the mid 1940s through much of the 1950s, a familiar but strange genre were the films about mega-successful women who ultimately seem to pay the price for fame. In films like "Incendiary Blonde" and "So This is Love", the heroines die and in others, such as "Love Me or Leave Me" or "Interrupted Melody", events conspire to destroy the careers of these women...and they work hard to somehow overcome. The movies are, by and large, very inspiring and well made...but what a strange trend, indeed!

"Interrupted Melody" is about the rather tragic illness that opera diva Marjorie Lawrence experienced at the height of her career. She contracts polio and, at least for a time, gives up her career. Can she manage to sing even though she'll likely never walk again?

Eleanor Parker was a great and stupid choice at the same time. It was great because she was a fine actress, looks just lovely and really did well in singing some of the movie's tunes (how many, isn't very clear). But, you have to shake your head in that this Oscar-nominated performance was of an AUSTRALIAN lady...and Parker sounds about as Australian as Charlie Chan! She doesn't even attempt to do the right accent and you wonder why the studio didn't use coaches to elicit the correct voice....especially since they did such a great job in having her sing credibly.

So is it any good? Well, some may depend on your love of opera. I have recently begun attending operas and enjoy it....and could hear that the voice work was incredible. I especially loved who ever sang the aria from "La Boheme" near the beginning. Additionally, the acting, sets and film look great. Quite entertaining and my only regreta are Ms. Parker's accent...or, should I say, lack of accent as well as the film looking very 1950s despite being set in the 1930s and 40s.