"Lillian Russell" is a disappointing biopic about a famous American performer and celebrated singer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As others have noted, this is a very sanitized and fictional story. It has three strikes against it. The first is its historical inaccuracies, deletions and fabrications (a polite way of saying something is a lie). The second is its failure to develop the character and persona of Lillian Russell. It doesn't let the audience see what it was about her that made her so all around liked and loved. She was known for her beauty, voice, and stage presence. There is a little bit of it in Allice Fay's portrayal, but it just plops onto the screen. The third is the singing - specifically, a lack of much music and especially of knowing what Russell sounded like. What was her voice like and what were the songs that so endeared her to the public?
Now, I enjoy Alice Faye and her singing. She was a very good singer. But her low, sultry voice was far different from the voice of Lillian Russell's. Perhaps that's why there is so very little singling by Faye in this film. And, that 's a waiving sign that this would not be a film very much about the talents and the person.
Lillian was born Helen Louise Leonard on December 4, 1861, and raised in Iowa. In real life, her mother left her father and moved to New York with Helen, in the hopes of her becoming an opera singer. It wasn't her father or grandmother who supported her singing, as the film shows. She did get training, as shown, from Leopold Damrosch. And, her voice was near operatic soprano. Alice Faye's voice, on the other hand, was a low or husky contralto. One can hear a recording of Lillian Russell on You Tube. It's from 1912, after her return to performing, and she sings "Come Down Ma Evenin' Star."
One can't fault Alice Faye for her excellent voice, because it's different than Russell's. But one can wonder why someone closer to Russell's character and voice wasn't cast in the part for this film. For instance, Jeanette MacDonald. There are pictures of Russell and MacDonald in which they even look somewhat alike. A person's size and physical shape otherwise isn't very important in making biopics, with the possible exceptions of portrayals of prize-fighters and Olympic weight-lifters. Except for Russell's buxom and full shape, at five and half feet, she was just one inch taller than Faye and two inches taller than MacDonald
And, Jeanette MacDonald had more going for her. She had made many musicals and had the persona and character of someone with a great stage presence. Indeed, with her soprano voice, the film could easily have had some more songs that Russell sang.
This film has one huge plus that enables me to rate it five stars. And that is the very good and considerable portrayal of Russell's relationship with Diamond Jim Brady. Edward Arnold was the right choice to play Brady, since he had played the lead role in the 1935 biopic about him, "Diamond Jim." That was a very good biopic, and while it showed some of Brady's relationship with Lillian Russell, it begged for more on that. Binnie Barnes played the role of Lillian Russell in that film and sang one number that very closely resembled Russell's voice. Early in her career, Barnes had worked as a chorus girl.
Hollywood has made many movies about the lives of historical figures and famous people of the past. Most of the good biopics have been based on biographies or autobiographies. While some have included a number of scenes at different times in a persons life, most of these concentrate on special adult years of achievements, discoveries, or works. Naturally, condensing a life's story or even a period of a few years into a movie of less than two hours requires many short cuts. But most movies about historical figures have tried to include the key aspects of the person's life and relationships that were of prominence during their lives. And, while some things are touched up, softened or glazed over, the films seldom tried to completely cover up some aspects of the life of the person.
Many musical biopics also have tried to closely follow the lives of their subjects, including controversies, conflicts and personal problems and trials. So, there are many very good and great musical biopics, such as: "The Fabulous Dorseys" of 1947, "With a Song in My Heart" (Jane Froman) of 1952, "The Glenn Miller Story" of 1954, "The Benny Goodman Story" of 1956, "The Five Pennies" (Red Nichols) of 1959, "Amadeus" of 1984, "Ray" (Ray Charles) of 2004, "Walk the Line" (Johnny Cash) of 2005, "La Vie en Rose" of 2007 (Edith Piaf).
Perhaps one day there will be a very good biopic done about Lillian Russell. One with a truer portrayal of her life. And, with an actress with a similar voice, beauty and presence. And with some good songs and scenes from operettas and shows that Russell performed in.
