Voice in the Mirror

1958
Approved
1h 43m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Richard Egan and Julie London in Voice in the Mirror (1958)

Jim Burton has become a chronic alcoholic since the death of his young daughter, and is cared for by his hard-working wife. A doctor's warning that Jim could become mentally ill strikes enou... Read allJim Burton has become a chronic alcoholic since the death of his young daughter, and is cared for by his hard-working wife. A doctor's warning that Jim could become mentally ill strikes enough fear into him that he really wants to cure himself, but he can't. One night, he meets f... Read allJim Burton has become a chronic alcoholic since the death of his young daughter, and is cared for by his hard-working wife. A doctor's warning that Jim could become mentally ill strikes enough fear into him that he really wants to cure himself, but he can't. One night, he meets fellow alcoholic William Tobin and discovers that he helps himself by trying to help Tobin.... Read all

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IMDb RATING

6.7/10

199

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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6.7199

Featured reviews

9richardchatten

Hope for drunken humanity 🍷

Richard Egan gives a remarkable performance in this absorbing drama cum filmed on location in Los Angeles, that bridges the gap between 'I'll Cry Tomorrow' and 'Days of Wine and Roses', playing a commercial artist who originally started drinking due to the trauma caused the death of his daughter.

As the film continues Egan keeps telling his long-suffering wife - played by Julie London, who also sings the title song - that he can change while he squanders the housekeeping money on liquor.

Eventually it turns into a temperance lecture with the stress increasingly upon spiritual values. Henry Mancini's jazz score works hard to generate atmosphere; while a committed supporting cast includes memorable contributions from Walter Matthau as the doctor and Arthur O'Connell as a fellow sufferer.

4macataque

Alcoholics Anonymous, the Hollywood treatment

i saw this film before i got sober, remembered it & got another chance to see it after i got sober; i recall distinctly Richard Egan, after slipping into alcoholic despair again miraculously sobering up, seemingly instantly cured of drink & sober -- even after having drank! The director, Harry Keller, is the hack Universal's producers gave "Touch of Evil" to after they threw Orson Welles off the project; anyway, "Voice in the Mirror" just doesn't smack of real, coming across as if Nancy Davis Reagan had directed -- "Just say 'No'"; it is NOT how AA began, only a gussied-up version, the way Hollywood does things; i don't think it was made to help people, for drunks to get sober; it was made to make money in 1958, and must have given people odd ideas about AA & alcoholism; today, it is rarely screened & rightly so being a very mediocre oddity, solely for the curious -- i'd like to waste another coupla hours seeing it again.

9rollo_tomaso

An overlooked slice-of-life movie about alcoholism

Richard Egan and Julie London are so realistic together, and Arthur O'Connell merely devastating in this excellent depiction of the struggles of an American alcoholic. The pressures are realistically depicted, and the struggles vividly felt. The excellent performances never hit a false note. I give it 9 out of 10.

whpratt1

Age Old Problem

This is a look back at a big problem for the past generation and future generations. This particular story takes place in 1958, with Richard Egan,(Jim Burton) who gradually started drinking and over the years his metabolism went nuts and he hit rock bottom. However, his wife Julie London,(Ellen Burton), loved Jim very much and was patient with him up until a point in their marriage. Unfortunately, everyone suffers when there is a boozer in the family and the only solution is that the victim seeks help on his own and then goes to a Higher Power and gets into a 12 step program. This is basically what this film is about, except the fact that anyone can play the role that Richard Egan played in this picture by just trying to drink himself to death and hurting everyone else around him or her and especially the children growing up, Please stop.

7planktonrules

Occasionally overacted but overall a very nice look at AA....though they NEVER call it AA.

Music a bit heavy handed.

Occasionally the music and the acting can be a bit over the top in "Voice in the Mirror". However, despite this, it's a nice look at alcoholism and Alcoholics Anonymous. Oddly, however, the terms 'AA' and 'Alcoholics Anonymous' are never mentioned and the film is a mixture of both truth and fiction. At the end, they even recite the Serenity Prayer....but again, not mention of AA itself.

Jim (Richard Egan) crawled into the bottle after the death of his daughter. His life is out of control and despite how low he's fallen, his wife (Julie London) has somehow stuck with him. But now his heath is failing and something must happen or he'll soon be dead. That is when he stumbles upon the concepts that made AA work for many addicts.

I still am not sure why the studio didn't just make a film about Bill W or the other co-founder of AA...and why they never call Jim's program AA. It's odd. But it also is a very effective film that honestly shows what life as an addict was like in the 'good old days'. Well made and well worth seeing.

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
At about the 36-to-38-minute mark Harry Dean Stanton has a bit part as a hysterical mental patient.

Quotes
Dr. Leon Karnes: Why does Ellen keep bringing you around here? What does she expect a few cc's of vitamins to do?
Jim Burton: Ellen's a girl that lives by faith.
Dr. Leon Karnes: And you?
[he scoffs]
Jim Burton: I miss your bedside manner, Leon.
Dr. Leon Karnes: Well make a payment on the bill and I'll see what I can do.
Dr. Leon Karnes: I didn't mean that. Boy, what you do to me. You know I'm really a very nice fella. You should hear me on the phone at three o'clock in the morning soothing some poor old hypochondriac; gentle, kindly, understanding. But you?
Dr. Leon Karnes: The Case history of the two Jim Burtons. Hey, do you know you've been coming to see me for over six years now? Your first visit was with Ellen. The two of you were wondering if she might be pregnant.
[-?-]
Dr. Leon Karnes: was quite sure. After that the usual things; a little sinus trouble, head colds, in-grown toenail. Then a few years ago, the first Jim Burton went away. And the other one - brother; hospitals, sanitariums, rest homes, all down the drain. Chronic Alcoholism.
Dr. Leon Karnes: Prognosis? There's an old Spanish proverb; the only cure for the drunkard is death.
Jim Burton: Those Spaniards have a way with words.
Dr. Leon Karnes: The proverb is true. Alright, why even bother trying to figure you out?
Jim Burton: And do you still have that other chart? Isn't there a page or two somewhere on someone called Laura Burton? Just a few modest entries. Born, lived and died, all in three years - with a fancy Latin phrase explaining why.
Dr. Leon Karnes: Ellen lost a child too but she didn't become a drunk.
Jim Burton: She didn't have to; I gave her a new child to look after. A little boy. Me.
Dr. Leon Karnes: If it hadn't been Laura's death, you'd have found another excuse.
Jim Burton: Oh, can the lecture.
Dr. Leon Karnes: One day, you would have broken a shoelace and that would have been your excuse. You were drinking before the child died.
Jim Burton: I earned my own living. I didn't steal from my wife's purse and could have stopped drinking any time I wanted to.

Crazy credits
FOREWORD: This is the true account of an overwhelming terror and one man's struggle to survive it. Real names cannot be used for reasons that will become obvious.