Review of Torch Song (1953) by Amy W — 22 Nov 2010

Torch Song is not really a musical... it certainly isn't your Happy Musical, because - Well, by the 50s... Joan Crawford's transformation doesn't allow us to believe she can be soft. In it, Crawford plays Jenny Stewart a Broadway -hint: Hollywood- diva who takes nothing from no one. She's tough, she's loud... she's a piece of work, but she's good at what she does and she knows it.

Then comes the blind pianist, and we know he's set his eyes - so to speak - on her.

The musical aspect is kind of a joke, and it goes to hilariously offensive levels with a whole number for Two-Faced Woman with Crawford and the whole cast in blackface, so out of place that it makes for memorable scenes. However, there's also a sad introspective view in Stewart as a Crawford mirror. If you've read about her whole life, and are a fan - you can't miss it.

I'll take my Crawford in Black & White, thank you.