User reviews

While, by any legitimate standard of criticism, "Sincerely Yours" may be a terrible film, I have to say I had a good time watching it. That may have been for all the wrong reasons, but nevertheless...

Maybe no other performer in the history of show business fit the description of "love him or hate him" as well as Liberace. He had a huge and devoted following from the 1950's till his death, while all the rest of humanity either laughed or groaned at the mere mention of his name. This was the one and only film ever built around him, though he made appearances in others. It is, not surprisingly, a campy schmalzfest which makes plenty of room for Liberace's piano playing. The look and decor of the film is really the epitome of 50's kitsch. I won't go into the plot and all the lines and situations which bring a raised eyebrow because it would turn this review into the length of "War and Peace". I must say a word about the hilarious hospital scene at the end, though, where our hero learns whether or not he can hear again after a delicate operation. While William Demerest (Uncle Charlie from "My Three Sons") smokes a cigar in the hospital room, the doctor, played by Edward Platt, the Chief from "Get Smart" (fitting to have these situation comedy stars in this opus) cuts Liberace's bandages off to test his hearing. The sight of his chubby-cheeked, smooth face against the pillow offset by his famous wavy silver hair in disarray brought to mind nothing less than the Bride of Frankenstein!

In all fairness, this is a professionally made film, with that stylized, glossy, sanitized look that most Hollywood films of the 50's had. The supporting cast does the best they can under the circumstances. You'll either gush tears if you typically fall under Liberace's spell or be laughing and groaning your way all through the film, but one way or the other you'll be entertained!

As a musician I'm nearly always disappointed by films which intend to show musical performances (one exception is the 1947 film CARNEGIE HALL, which is otherwise a poor film). Though I'm certainly not a Liberace fan, I was pleasantly surprised by not just the plentiful musical sequences but that they generally played full excerpts without unusual cuts. Even when there are cuts (as in, obviously, Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto no. 1), the excerpts begin and end at totally appropriate moments. I gather that Liberace or his brother George (credited as a music director) had something to do with this.

Liberace can't really act (his face rarely shows any kind of emotion), but at least the film is not boring. It's fascinating to watch the color - you almost need sunglasses for those 1950s styles.

... that is a retelling of 1932's The Man Who Played God, because of course Liberace is the perfect stand-in for the spry George Arliss(???), who was the star of the original film.

Anthony Warrin (Liberace) is a world-renowned concert pianist who is about to see his life's ambition fulfilled: playing at Carnegie Hall. Tragedy strikes when Anthony suddenly goes deaf due to a rare medical condition that can only be fixed with very risky surgery. Anthony decides to try life as a deaf person, learning to read lips, which allows him to eavesdrop on the lives of people in the park by his apartment. Anthony becomes a sort of guardian angel to some needy people, while also finding himself in an awkward love triangle between his loyal secretary Marion (Joanne Dru) and wealthy socialite Linda (Dorothy Malone).

A notorious flop intended to make master pianist Liberace into a matinee idol, this came recommended as a "so bad it's good" romp. It is silly, corny, schmaltzy, and filled with various unintended laughs. But the music is very good if one enjoys piano music, be it classical, contemporary or folk. The first part of the film is a very unbelievable romance, but when Liberace's character goes deaf, it suddenly morphs into a bizarre feel-good piece with Liberace playing the mysterious good Samaritan.

I enjoyed the awkwardness of it, including Liberace's performance, which ranges from creepily and jovially intense, to nervous amateurism (his hands are visibly shaking in some acting scenes). The supporting cast does what it can, and Dorothy Malone deserves some recognition for being on the receiving end of one of the screen's most uncomfortable looking kisses.

...You never for a moment forget that he's Liberace, self-invented camp icon, and accepting him in another role becomes impossible. (It's like an old New York magazine word competition, where you were supposed to follow a line of actual dialog with a typical viewer's reaction. A winning entry was, "Hello, I'm Dr. Lowenstein..." "Hello, I'm Barbra Streisand.") That odd-looking face tries to emote and a couple of times nearly succeeds, and he also sings a bit (a song of his own composing, based on Chopin, with a soupy Paul Francis Webster lyric) and tap dances. The mid-'50s melodramatics, as penned by no less than Irving Wallace, are fun, as is the plush production design, and it's one of the whitest movies ever made--what, were there no people of color in San Francisco or New York at the time? The sheer otherness of it by today's standards is arresting. But it's slow and self-congratulatory, and you know where all the plot strings are headed long before they get there. Still, it's worth seeing, if only in a seeing-is-believing way.

"Sincerely Yours" was completely savaged in the entertaining book "The Official Razzie Movie Guide" and as a man who actually likes to occasionally see schlocky films, I really looked forward to seeing it. Unfortunately, I think the book oversold how awful the film is. While it sure has problems and ended up ruining Liberaces's planned film career, it isn't like the film is terrible, either. It's just a dull and overlong film with some nice music and occasionally decent plot elements.

In this film, Liberace plays a guy who is pretty much Liberace. He's extremely popular and his concerts are very well attended. However, the guy has two struggles--he would like to see seen as a SERIOUS musician and he is alone and needs the love of a good woman. Believe it or not, back in the 50s a lot of folks bought into this notion--that WHEN Liberace meets the right girl he'll finally settle down and get married. I think the naiveté of this is perhaps why the Razzie folks thought the movie was so silly--along with how unconvincing the film was in making him out to be a great ladies man (in the film TWO women want the pianist). However, before he can achieve his dreams, he's struck down by Hollywood deafness--the sort of thing that MIGHT be curable but you'll never know until the finale! In the interim, instead of just feeling sorry for himself, Liberace spends his time learning to read lips* and eventually uses his money and energy to make the lives of others better. I actually liked this part of the film. What I didn't like were not only the unconvincing romances but the way overabundance of songs. I honestly think Liberace played at least a dozen tunes-- and soon this really caused boredom to set in and I couldn't wait for the film to end. Overall, this is a silly, schmaltzy and inconsequential film that isn't horrible and actually occasionally manages to entertain...a bit.

*One of my daughters is deaf. Learning to read lips (called 'speech reading') is NOT easy and no one can do it nearly as accurately as the folks on TV and in movies--no one. Plus, seeing Liberace watching people in the park to eavesdrop on their conversations just seemed creepy--especially since most of the time, he was staring at little boys. Icky, icky--and a lot more troubling that any of the other rumors folks were murmuring at the time about his sexuality!

The music alone is worth the price of admission in this somewhat corny film, but with Liberace in the romantic lead who in their right mind would have expected anything more. The plot: famous pop/concert pianist, at the peak of his career, suffers a sudden loss of hearing threatening his career and his personal life. The personal life is portrayed in the lovely form of a doting and smitten fan played by Dorothy Malone who captures the heart of our leading man, all this transpiring under the watchful eyes of the musician's administrative assistant/girl Friday, played by Joanne Dru, who has been reluctant to tell him of her hidden love for him. While Liberace is no Barrymore, his performance is a credible one. He is complemented by a fine supporting cast, including trouper William Demerast as his manager, Lurene Tuttle as a sad mother of a snooty daughter, and Richard Eyer as a crippled boy longing to join the other kids on the football field. The latter two flesh out a subplot wherein the star learns to cope with new challenges in his own life by helping others to deal with problems in theirs. Once you get over the fact that Ms. Malone and Ms. Dru would be quite unlikely to give Liberace the amorous attentions in real life that they afford him in the movie, the film is actually quite entertaining. If you enjoy Liberace's musical style, this movie is worth watching--and listening to--for that reason alone. Watch it with an open mind and I am sure you will be entertained by this movie.

Very slight emotions, facial & body expressions as Liberace says his lines; too bad... Sincerely Yours has a great supporting cast too... William Demarest (Uncle Charlie from My Three Sons, appeared in just about every movie ever made), Edward Platt (The Chief on Get Smart), two lovely lady co-stars (Dorothy Malone and Joanne Dru) who each made a million other movies. This is an OK story about a musician who tries to work around physical challenges; it seems to really be a vehicle for Liberace to play his pi-anny. Interesting tidbit.. the back of the VHS cover from 1987 says "Starring Alex Nicol" but in the cast list on IMDb, he is waaaaaay down on the list, far after the first six stars, and doesn't have a large part in the story. Nicol (from Tarzan, various films and TV work) plays Ferguson, a composer. He also makes another interesting comment about how Liberace "respects the classics from a sitting position, not from his knees." Richard Eyer (Alvie) was one of the kids on Ma & Pa Kettle, and did a lot of TV work. Melvin the elevator operator certainly steals his scene, but I don't see him listed in the cast on IMDb. Knowing what we know about Liberace, I had to crack up when Dru, his secretary, says "You're very popular in San Francisco!" Others have pointed out that this is a remake of "The Man Who Played God" (1932) but I also see shades of "Magnificent Obsession" from 1954.

Poor Liberace. Imagine being that talented and that flamboyant at a time when being gay was illegal as well as classified as a mental illness. Liberace fought allegations of homosexuality until his death from pneumonia caused by AIDS in 1987. In 1955, however, he was at the top of his game, arguably the most popular pianist who ever lived. This film offers plenty of insight into his talent and appeal, especially to older women, who saw in him the kind and attentive lover they longed for, made even more sympathetic by the fact that his character copes with losing his hearing by improving the lives of others. The film includes 31 piano pieces-everything from Chopin to "The Beer Barrel Polka," boogie-woogie to "Rhapsody in Blue." It's almost a time capsule, minus the on-stage excesses he ultimately became known (and ridiculed) for. Look for background shots of San Francisco and check out costar Joanne Dru's gorgeous wardrobe. This is the only film in which "Mr. Showmanship" played the lead. At the 1982 Academy Awards ceremony, presenting the award for Best Original Score, Liberace prefaced his performance of selections from each nominee by joking, "I'm very proud of my contribution to motion pictures. I've stopped making them."

Failed movie vehicle for piano-playing Liberace, then a popular fixture on American television. Based on Jules Eckert Goodman's play "The Man Who Played God", story concerns a grinning pianist (guess who?) finding himself caught in a love-triangle between two ladies (Joanne Dru and Dorothy Malone), but real tragedy is about to strike. Beautifully-photographed but hopelessly hokey showcase for Li just doesn't cut it in the melodrama department. For the fans who still mourn his act, there IS an onslaught of piano-playing here, and that may be enough to satisfy those in the requisite moony-eyed spirit. As for Liberace's acting...well, let's just say as an actor he's a terrific piano-player. *1/2 from ****

Surprisingly enjoyable to watch given the average rating. Good engaging story. Honestly I'm surprised the movie was such a bomb commercially and critically when it was released, and my guess is that Liberace simply did not display the expected characteristics of a typical leading man of the time; and probably it was way over-hyped and failed to live up to expectations. Admittedly his acting was a bit flat.. From the perspective of his life and performance career, I found the movie fascinating and enjoyable and would watch it again.

It's hard to believe that I never previously viewed this film since I was raised in Liberace's hometown of West Allis, WI, an abutting suburb of Milwaukee. My sister attended West Milwaukee High School long after Liberace graduated and learned more about him than I will ever know.

The cast is very good and Liberace is a better actor than most pianists', right up there with Hogy Carmichael? ('Best Years of Our Lives' and other films - NOT! Well, let's say Liberace holds his own.

The screenplay is okay but it is certainly inspired by the life of Beethoven, so it wasn't very original.

Liberace may have been under-rated due to his flamboyance and his theme song 'I'll Be Seeing You' (recorded by many artists) was not composed by him. So what! He was an icon who will always be remembered by many, in one way or another.

An infamous dud and it's easy to see why, this gooey mess tried to turn Liberace into a screen star. The fact that he has zero screen presence and the charisma of a lemming should have been obvious from the first days rushes but they plowed ahead anyway. The film does have a few saving graces, high production values, a slick look, the wonderful Lurene Tuttle in a small role which she makes the most of and besides Liberace a talented cast doing what they can with a dumb script. Of course the music is wonderful but Liberace stripped of all his flash is a black sink hole at the center of the film from which it can't recover. A stinkeroo!

Liberace is not an actor - he simply couldn't keep up with the likes of Joanna Dru and William Demarest and Dorothy Malone. The best part of the movie was the end with the sing-a-long... You felt like you might be at one of Liberace concerts.

There is no chemistry- NONE whatsoever - at all between Liberace and the women in the cast.

In fact there is just something kind of creepy about him. His piano playing is his only saving grace and is where he is comfortable.

I can't imagine whose idea it was to star Liberace as a leading man, but what a HUGE mistake.

I'd love to see this movie if someone else would have been given the leading role. The ending kiss was just, well, ugh! You could tell she didn't want to be kissed, at all, and who could blame her.

I imagine that those who went to see Sincerely Yours back in 1955 went to see Liberace play the piano. When he's doing his Liberace thing at the piano he's just fine. But the man's image just prevents him from being taken seriously as any kind of actor.

Warner Brothers used an old film of George Arliss's The Man Who Played God and rewrote it with a romantic angle for Liberace. On stage Otis Skinner played the same role. It was really kind of unfair to give Liberace a role that two of the finest actors going had done before. What could the brothers Warner expect?

Liberace is an acclaimed concert pianist who is having the worst of all things happen to a musician, he's going deaf. It happened to Beethoven, can Liberace carry on the way Ludwig did?

Libby is also in love with promising music student Dorothy Malone, but she likes promising composer Alex Nicol and in the meantime Libby can't see his faithful secretary Joanne Dru is carrying a big old Statue of Liberty size torch for her boss. Liberace's scenes with both actresses are just ludicrous.

Just listen to the music and marvel at the talent there that was once Liberace and forget the rest.

This is a fine film, with lots of entertaining piano playing from Liberace (1919-1987). I think Liberace's acting is more than adequate, and the musical items alone are enough to warrant the purchase or hire of this film. I found the story compelling and extremely moving.

Admittedly, I am a fan of Liberace, but not an apologist, and I do believe this film deserves to be

The first (and last) movie that Liberace ever did. He plays a brilliant concert pianist named Anthony Warren. He also has a gruff but lovable manager (William Demarest), a secretary who secretly loves him (Joanne Dru) and a beautiful woman (Dorothy Malone) who inexplicably also loves him and wants to marry him. The first 45 minutes or so are OK. It sets up the characters and has Liberace playing the piano a lot--and he was good. Then he starts to go deaf...and the film falls to pieces. The music stops and ridiculous dramatics take over. Liberace was known for his piano playing---why give him drama to do? He simply can't act and his attempts at emoting are painful to watch. Malone and Dru are also shamefully wasted. Only Demarest is any good. It's shot in rich beautiful color and has a totally improbable happy ending. This was a disaster at the box office and quickly forgotten. Bad and boring. Skip it.

Would the radio ads of the day announced: '"LIBERACE: inSINCERELY YOURS" thus starting the thin edge of the wedge about his reputation? I wonder.....This film has a howling reputation in Australia. For some reason it is really well known with the over 45s who still today make jokes about it. There must have been one major TV moment in this Nation's history in about 1967 when the entire population - all ages - must have watched it on the same night . I did, all my school friends did, Granny, Mum and Dad all the Aunties and Uncles and even people from other TV stations did. Because the next week or so they made a big deal about showing 'the original' which is 1931 film THE MAN WHO PLAYED GOD with George Arliss and Bette Davis. and if we stayed up late on a Friday night and saw THAT we could compare the two. Somehow SINCERELY YOURS stained the nations psyche...and future film makers...just look at the demented campy musicals Australia has made in the last decade. One friend said once to me: "when I saw the apartment with those big rooms and that patio with the view, I thought this is what life was going to be like when we grew up." And it is true! we all did! It screened about the same time THE JERRY LEWIS SHOW made a debut on Oz TV. and of course weren't we all in for a disappointment when we grew up. I think SINCERELY YOURS should be reissued and made into an audience participation film like ROCKY HORROR or MOMMY DEAREST. Lush, camp and ridiculous. Great viewing. Almost all through as good as the fantastic scene in MIDNIGHT LACE when Doris Day goes mad on the stairs. She lets out some sort of wobbly primeval shudder and howl. Incredible! Well all of SINCERELY YOURS is like that except with Liberace leering and tinkling as well, and on a shag carpet, under a chandelier. Wow!

I watched this film for two reasons. First, I was totally in love with Liberace when I was very small, and I recently "rediscovered" him for the wonderful artist (and person) he was. Second, I am a sucker for any and all 1950's musicals. This film satisfied me on both counts. It's chock full of Lee's wonderful talent. The film finds any excuse possible to sit him in front of a piano and show off his skills and unique style. (My personal favourite was the rendition of Tchaikovsky Concerto No 1) He also sings the title song (which he wrote) beautifully. I didn't even know he could sing. His acting isn't the best in the world, but it's a lot better than I expected. He carries the dramatic parts well, and even manages to cry a couple of times. That's a lot better than most of these "music star trying to be movie star" types can manage. And through all that, he still slips in his well known character traits, like that smile and winking at the camera. The plot has a lot more to it than I expected as well. It's actually a rather moving story, based on couple of films released in the 20's and 30's. It contains a few references to God, which was a pleasant surprise, since one grows used to today's films giving religion a wide berth. Not a whole lot of character development besides Lee, but they're good supporting characters nonetheless and you find yourself excited to see what happens in the end. All in all, it was rather schmaltzy, and it's not about to win any Oscars. But it was one of those films where you just come to have fun, and you walk away feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

What on Earth where Warner Brothers thinking when they made this attempt to establish Liberace as a film star by remaking in colour an old George Arliss vehicle last filmed over twenty years earlier?

No expense was spared and the leading man had not one but two of Hollywood's feistiest broads in support to compensate for a certain - er - virility that he famously lacked.

It wasn't exactly obvious casting to have him play a concert pianist losing his hearing; while the fact that he spends much of the film (SLIGHT SPOILER COMING:) spying on people through binoculars makes the proceedings even more bizarre.

This movie was my first significant introduction to Liberace, beyond jokes and wisecracks. I went into it ready to laugh, but I ended up smiling. Sure, the plot is hokey, but when you throw in the great music, the beautiful Warnercolor photography, and Liberace's showmanship, you have a fun, winning combination. I was quite surprised that Liberace could actually act. He's no Oscar candidate, but he gives a warm, sincere performance that fits the story perfectly. Plus, the man had fantastic talent for playing the piano-I have read a lot of critiques of his musical ability that dismiss his talent as being second rate, however, from what I saw in this movie, he could play and play very well. All I know is that I found this movie entertaining.

Interesting that ptb-8 suggests this movie for late-night audience participation, for that's exactly how I first saw it at the late-lamented Vista Theater in L.A. about 20 years ago. It was featured in a "worst films of all time" festival, and while other contenders such as The Lonely Lady and Hello Everybody! had their piquant charms, nothing beat Sincerely Yours for continuous laughter and riotous audience response.

What makes the film so beautiful and so special is that it takes all the Classical Hollywood conventions (regular-guy hero desired by both nice girl and vamp; illness and disability used for shameless heart-tugging; totally artificial sets and lighting) and unthinkingly dumps Liberace -- grinning, unctuous, goggle-eyed and palpably uneasy -- right into them.

Lee gamely goes through the motions, but scene after scene goes weirdly wrong, with every third line of dialogue becoming a hilarious double entendre comment on the star's deeply closeted yet totally obvious sexuality. He's introduced interrupting his cigar-chewing manager's bubble bath, just thrilled to hear that he's secured tickets to the big prizefight ("I love a good fight" he murmers). He ends the film tap dancing in a pink tuxedo. In between he goes all dramatic as deafness strikes him (I seem to recall a silent scream) and takes to spying on a young boy's daily walks in Central Park via the biggest pair of binoculars you ever saw.

Don't worry that the music might be too highbrow for you: amid the butchered Chopin and Schumann, there's a full concert version of "Chopsticks" and some boogie woogie. Liberace plays a bit of the latter and smirks "that's the boogie..." and I have to say that waiting for him to complete the thought by saying "that's the woogie" was one of the most gloriously happy moments of my life. The Vista programmer informed us that Liberace's brother George assembled this eclectic musical programme; when the film became a huge flop, he ungenerously blamed George and the two brothers were estranged for some time afterwards.

That's the woogie, baby.

The VHS tape of Sincerely Yours is faded and panned-and-scanned; this inadvertent masterpiece deserves a full restoration to its widescreen glory on DVD.