Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman (1947)
Directed by Stuart Heisler, with a story by Dorothy Parker (A Star is Born (1937)) & Frank Cavett (Going My Way (1944)), and a screenplay by John Howard Lawson (Blockade (1938)), this often copied, slightly above average (melo)drama earned Susan Hayward (I Want to Live! (1958)) her first Best Actress Oscar nomination. Sometimes referred to as a woman's version of The Lost Weekend (1945), but more appropriately "A Woman's Lost Life", Parker & Cavett’s Oscar nominated story is rumored to be based on the life of Dixie Lee, Bing Crosby's first wife, telling the story of a female singer whose life changes once she retires to help her singer husband launch his highly successful career. Hayward's husband is played by Lee Bowman.
After this previously financially struggling couple experiences instant wealth, and the trappings of his fame take him away from home the majority of the time, her life becomes a monotonous bore such that she turns to drink. Whereas alcohol used to provide Hayward's character with the courage she needed to perform, it becomes the salve for her loneliness and jealousy of her husband's "too perfect" & doting assistant (Marsha Hunt). Eddie Albert plays Bowman's piano playing friend, with him from the beginning, who recognizes what's going on and tries to help, as does Hayward's original agent (Charles D. Brown) and, eventually, Dr. Lorenz (Carl Esmond). Carleton Young plays Bowman's demanding boss. The reality of the couple's child, and what she might do (or fail to do) in a drunken stupor, forces their marriage to the breaking point.
FYI, the print quality of this B&W film when I saw it on TCM appeared grainy (vs. sharp), perhaps due to the production's budget vs. any deterioration. The use of B actor Bowman in the other leading role only serves to confirm my suspicion.
Purchase this DVD now at
or purchase the VHS (video tape) here:
Most Recent Additions:
Casanova Brown (1944) - full review!
I Want You (1951) - full review!
A Bill of Divorcement (1932) - full review!
Patterns (1956) - full review!
Last Train from Gun Hill (1959) - full review!
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) - full review!
Hour of the Gun (1967) - full review!
To Sir, with Love (1967) - full review!
You'll Never Get Rich (1941) - full review!
The Actress (1953) - full review!
Mannequin (1937) - full review!
All My Sons (1948) - full review!
Mourning Becomes Electra (1947) - full review!
State Fair (1945) - full review!
Billy Budd (1962) - full review!
Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951) - full review!
The Bachelor Party (1957) - full review!
The Glenn Miller Story (1954) - full review!
The Southerner (1945) - full review!
The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming (1966)
Never on Sunday (1960) - full review!
The Arrangement (1969) - full review!
A Summer Place (1959) - full review!
Miracle in the Rain (1956) - full review!
Love Letters (1945) - full review!
The Story of Dr. Wassell (1944) - full review!
The Absent Minded Professor (1961)
20000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
Come and Get It (1936) - full review!
The Prize (1963) - full review!
This Is the Army (1943) - full review!
Home from the Hill (1960) - full review!
Hangmen Also Die (1943) - full review!
The Shop on Main Street (1965) - full review!
The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969) - full review!
A Gathering of Eagles (1963) - full review!
This Happy Breed (1944) - full review!
Red-Headed Woman (1932) - full review!
Waterloo Bridge (1931) - full review!
Baby Face (1933) - full review!
Titanic (1943) - full review!
Cover Girl (1944) - full review!
Saratoga Trunk (1945) - full review!
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
The Young Philadelphians (1959) - full review!
Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967)
Pocket Money (1972) - full review!
[Home] [Hitchcock] [Oscar's Best] [Essays] [Essential Films] [TCM Picks] [Obscure Films] [Links] [Other Reviews] [Academy Awards] [Silent Films] [Movie Index]
