text: Torch Song (1953 film)
  
  Torch Song is a 1953 American Technicolor musical and drama film distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Joan Crawford and Michael Wilding in a story about a Broadway star and her rehearsal pianist. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes and  was based upon the story "Why Should I Cry?" by I.A.R. Wylie in a 1949 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. The film was directed by Charles Walters and produced by Sidney Franklin, Henry Berman and Charles Schnee. Crawford's singing voice was dubbed by India Adams.
  
  Torch Song has gained note for the musical number "Two-Faced Woman" from The Band Wagon in which Crawford, in blackface, lip-syncs to Adams' voice while writhing with male dancers. The film marked Crawford's return to MGM after a 10-year absence. Her original recordings for the soundtrack, which were not used in the film, have survived and been included in home video releases.
  
  Plot
  Jenny Stewart is a tough Broadway musical star, alienating her colleagues with her neurotic demands for absolute perfection. Jenny takes offense when her new rehearsal pianist Tye Graham criticizes her song stylings and ruthless ways.
  
  Graham was blinded in World War II but fell in love with Jenny when he was a young reporter. Deep down, Jenny yearns for a lasting love but is disenchanted with the men around her, such as Broadway parasite Cliff Willard.
  
  At the home of her mother, Jenny discovers an old newspaper clipping in which Tye reviewed one of her early shows and made it evident he loved her. Jenny realizes she is loved, goes to Tye, and they embrace.
  
  Cast
   Joan Crawford as Jenny Stewart
   India Adams as Jenny's dubbed singing voice
   Michael Wilding as Tye Graham
   Gig Young as Cliff Willard
   Marjorie Rambeau as Mrs. Stewart
   Harry Morgan as Joe Denner (as Henry Morgan)
   Dorothy Patrick as Martha
   James Todd as Philip Norton
   Eugene Loring as Gene, the Dance Director
   Paul Guilfoyle as Monty Rolfe
   Benny Rubin as Charles Maylor
   Peter Chong as Peter
   Maidie Norman as Anne
   Nancy Gates as Celia Stewart
   Chris Warfield as Chuck Peters
   Rudy Render as Singer at Party
   Bill Lee as Singer's dubbed singing voice
  
  Musical numbers
   "You're All the World to Me" - Danced by Crawford and Walters
   "Follow Me" - Sung by Crawford (dubbed by Adams)
   "Two-Faced Woman" (outtake) - Sung by Crawford (dubbed by Adams)
   "You Won't Forget Me" - Sung by Crawford (dubbed by Adams)
   "Follow Me" (reprise) - Sung by Render (dubbed by Lee)
   "Two-Faced Woman" - Sung and danced by Crawford (dubbed by Adams) and chorus
   "Tenderly" - Sung partially by Crawford along to a recording by Adams
  
  Reception
  Otis Guernsey, Jr. in the New York Herald Tribune wrote "Joan Crawford has another of her star-sized roles...she is vivid and irritable, volcanic and feminine...Here is Joan Crawford all over the screen, in command, in love and in color, a real movie star in what amounts to a carefully produced one-woman show."
  
  Torch Song was regarded as a return for Joan Crawford, who, when the picture was released, had received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in Sudden Fear from the previous year.
  
  According to MGM records, the film made $1,135,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $533,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $260,000. The film is regarded as a camp classic and a possible influence on Faye Dunaway's portrayal of Crawford in Mommie Dearest.
  
  Accolades
  Rambeau was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 26th Academy Awards.
  
  References
  
  External links
   
   
   
   
   
  
  Category:1953 films
  Category:American films
  Category:English-language films
  Category:1950s musical films
  Category:1950s romantic drama films
  Category:American musical drama films
  Category:American romantic drama films
  Category:American romantic musical films
  Category:Films scored by Adolph Deutsch
  Category:Films about actors
  Category:Films based on short fiction
  Category:Films directed by Charles Walters
  Category:1950s musical drama films
  Category:1950s romantic musical films
  Category:Films with screenplays by John Michael Hayes
  Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
  Category:Films based on works by I. A. R. Wylie