Susan Hayward Movies
Energetic red-haired leading lady Susan Hayward (born Edythe Marrener) specialized in portraying gutsy women who rebound from adversity. She began working as a photographer's model while still in high school, and when open auditions were held in 1937 for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind, she arrived in Hollywood with scores of other actresses. Unlike most of the others, however, she managed to become a contract player. Her roles were initially discouragingly small, although she gradually work her way up to stardom. For her role in Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman (1947) -- the first in which she played a strong-willed, courageous woman -- Hayward received the first of her five Oscar nominations; the others were for performances in My Foolish Heart (1950), With a Song in My Heart (1952), I'll Cry Tomorrow (1956), and I Want to Live (1958), winning for the latter. Although the actress maintained her star status through the late '50s, the early '60s saw her in several unmemorable tearjerkers, and although she formally retired from films in 1964, that retirement was not a permanent one - as she later returned to the screen for a few more roles including parts in a couple of telemovies and one theatrical feature during the early 1970s. Her ten-year marriage to actor Jess Barker ended in 1954 with a bitter child-custody battle, and she died in 1975 after a two-year struggle with a brain tumor, one of several cast and crew members from 1956's The Conqueror to be stricken with cancer later in life. ~ All Movie Guide- 1972
In her final acting appearance, Susan Hayward is ironically cast as a research doctor who can no longer face up to the notion of dealing with death on a daily basis. Recently widowed, Dr. Maggie Cole is on the verge of giving up her job and going into seclusion. She is shaken back to reality by crusty but lovable "street doctor" Lou Grazzo (Darren McGavin), who coerces Maggie into accepting a job at a Chicago slum clinic. At first adjusting admirably to her new surroundings, Maggie undergoes a devastating assault to her emotions when she befriends a teenaged leukemia patient. Written by real-life M.D. Sandor Stern and originally telecast by ABC on September 27, 1972, Say Goodbye, Maggie Cole was supposed to have been the pilot for a weekly series, but plans for this project were abandoned after the death of star Susan Hayward. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- PG
Despite the fact that most of the westerns made at this time (early '70s) were "deconstructionist" westerns, which either spoofed or subverted the themes of this genre, occasionally a traditional western got filmed. The Revengers is a traditional western. John Benedict (William Holden) returns to his ranch, only to find all his cattle stolen and his family murdered. He vows to exact revenge on Tarp (Warren Vanders), the varmint who did this to him. He recruits a treacherous gang of convicts, bribing the warden for their release, and makes his move. When the attack fails, the convicts aren't interested in making another try. Instead, they shoot him and, leaving him for dead, head off to follow their own concerns. On her way to a new landholding, Elizabeth (Susan Hayward) stumbles upon the injured man, and nurses him back to some semblance of health. She begs him to drop his revenge plan, but he resumes his quest, receiving unexpected help along the way from Hoop (Ernest Borgnine), one of the renegade ex-convicts. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Heat of Anger is about a sharp female lawyer who defends a businessman charged with the murder of a blue-collar construction worker. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
A cinematic take on a 1960s best-seller, Valley of the Dolls traces the ups and downs of three young women as fame, booze, pills, and men consume their lives. Well-bred, small-town Anne Welles (Peyton Place star Barbara Parkins) arrives in New York eager for fame but settles for a job assisting theatrical attorney Henry Bellamy (Robert H. Harris). The job leads her to cross paths with Helen Lawson (Hollywood veteran Susan Hayward), the grand dame of Broadway musicals, and Neely O'Hara (sitcom star Patty Duke), an up-and-coming performer whom Lawson unceremoniously boots from her latest show. Neely lands on her feet thanks to a series of nightclub gigs, and soon she and Anne befriend Jennifer North (Sharon Tate), a buxom starlet. As Neely becomes a huge star of stage and screen and Jennifer appears topless in a string of European "art" films, Anne becomes a wealthy cosmetics spokeswoman and suffers though a passionate but failed affair with aspiring writer Lyon Burke (Paul Burke). As the pressures of fame and failed romance take their toll on all three women, they take refuge in food, sex, liquor, and pills -- especially Neely, who becomes downright monstrous (the titular "dolls" are the uppers and downers to which she becomes hopelessly addicted). Although the film's characters are fictitious composites, Neely most closely resembles Judy Garland; Garland herself was originally cast as Lawson, but she was replaced after only a few days by Hayward. Although the film's trailer played up the story's titillating subject matter, the script for Valley of the Dolls actually toned down Jacqueline Susann's novel. And despite the fact that Dionne Warwick can be heard singing "(Theme From) The Valley of the Dolls" twice during the film, contractual snags kept her from releasing the soundtrack version; a different arrangement later became a number two pop hit in 1968. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Parkins, Patty Duke, (more)
- 1967
Cecil Fox (Rex Harrison) summons his three former mistresses to his deathbed for a final visit in this engaging crime comedy. Princess Dominique (Capucine), fading movie star Merle McGill (Edie Adams), and Texas millionairess Mrs. Sheridan (Susan Hayward) all travel to pay their respects to the supposedly dying Fox. William McFly (Cliff Robertson) is the personal secretary and gigolo employed by Fox to lure the women to his estate. When Mrs. Sheridan is found murdered, Inspector Rizzi (Adolfo Celi) investigates her mysterious death in this feature highlighted by several twists and turns. Alternate titles are Mr. Fox Of Venice and Anyone For Venice?. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rex Harrison, Susan Hayward, (more)
- 1964
Based on the novel by Harold Robbins, comes this family drama from director Edward Dmytryk. Adapted for the the screen by John Michael Hayes, the film follows the events that befall Luke Miller (Michael Connors) when he discovers that his daughter, Danielle (Joey Heatherton), has been arrested for murdering his ex-wife Valerie's (Susan Hayward) new lover. As Danielle's trial unfurls, and the sordid events of the family's past are brought into the open, Luke is forced to address and relive several of the painful events that led to the family's present state. Also starring Bette Davis as Valerie's mother and a pre-Star Trek DeForest Kelley, Where Love Has Gone netted Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn, the songwriters behind the film's title song. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Bette Davis, (more)
- 1963
Stolen Hours is the overlong, overglamorized 1963 remake of the 1939 Bette Davis vehicle Dark Victory. Susan Hayward plays a rich, neurotic socialite who discovers that she only has a year to live. Acting resentfully at first--especially towards handsome doctor Michael Craig, who withheld this information from her "for her own good"--Hayward eventually adopts a philosophical attitude towards her fate. By the time she begins slipping into "that undiscovered uncountry," Hayward is practically a candidate for sainthood. A plot device not utilized in the original involves Hayward's virtual adoption of a young boy (Robert Bacon), who is neglected by his own mother. Novelist Jessamyn West and playwright Joseph Hayes did their best to "contemporize" the outdated elements of the original Dark Victory, even unto having Susan Hayward learn to dance the Twist! Stolen Hours was filmed in England, affording us lovely Technicolor glimpses of the Cornish coast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Michael Craig, (more)
- 1962
Dr. Susan Hayward makes a tragic mistake when she leaves her Canadian practice to follow her ailing, married lover to England. Dying slowly and in great pain, her love begs her to help him die quickly. With great compassion, she does so with a large morphine injection. Unfortunately, her mercy lands her in court where she must face the ruthless and ambitious prosecuting attorney Peter Finch. Hayward ends up serving two years in prison. Afterward, her medical practitioner's license is revoked and she is left destitute and desperately alone until an anonymous party contacts her and invites her to take a job caring for the man's mentally ill wife. She goes to check out the situation and discovers the man to be Finch. Apparently his wife, Diane Cliento went mad after her father accidentally died. She accepts the position and soon finds herself deeply involved in a complicated situation where nothing is quite as it seems and where a death again leads her to stand trial in court for a crime she did not commit. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Peter Finch, (more)
- 1961
This third film version of the lachrymose Fannie Hurst novel Back Street stars Susan Hayward as Rae Smith the role previously essayed by Irene Dunne (in 1932) and Margaret Sullavan (in 1941). In both earlier films, Rae Smith sacrifices 28 years of her life to her married lover, who can never get a divorce and who compels Rae to squirrel herself away in a shabby back-street apartment. In contrast, Susan Hayward's Rae Smith is a fiercely independent fashion designer, whose fidelity to the very married John Gavin doesn't retard her livelihood in the least. Vera Miles makes a meal of her supporting role as Gavin's shrewish, alcoholic wife. Though cinematographer Stanley Cortez does his utmost, he can't completely hide the fact that Hayward is at least ten years older than her costars, making her seem more of a doting aunt than the "other woman" (the film might have been more effective had Hayward and Miles switched roles). Its plot inconsistencies and logic lapses notwithstanding, Back Street proved to be another hit for producer Ross Hunter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, John Gavin, (more)
- 1961
Dean Martin plays an easygoing Southern politician, long on charm but short on brains. Susan Hayward, a poor girl with rich ideas, marries Martin and endeavors to engineer him into the governor's chair. Though no saint herself, Hayward is determined to overcome the good-old-boy corruption infesting the state government. She emerges triumphant after a public showdown with crafty politico Wilfred Hyde-White. Based on a novel by Wirt Williams,Ada was produced by the same team that had guided Susan Hayward to an Oscar nomination for I'll Cry Tomorrow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Dean Martin, (more)
- 1960
Leslie Stevens adapted his own stage comedy Marriage-Go-Round for the movies, watering down the more explicit sex talk but keeping its sly innuendo intact. The stunning Julie Newmar plays a Swedish gymnast who wishes to mate with a genius and produce the "perfect child." She chooses professor James Mason for this honor, which wouldn't have been such a problem had not Mason already been married to Susan Hayward. Mason is tempted, but ultimately the head wins out over the libido and the professor returns to his wife, while the decidedly unpregnant Newmar returns to Sweden. Marriage-Go-Round is inclined towards staginess, but this can be forgiven whenever Julie Newmar, recreating her Broadway role, sashays into view. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, James Mason, (more)
- 1959
A somewhat wooden rendition of an improbable western, this tale of Basques crossing the U.S. in 1847 with a load of grapevines has stock characters in slightly different guises. Susan Hayward is Gabrielle, a member of the Basque party who inexplicably speaks with a French accent (Basques speak their own unique language, and secondarily either Spanish or French.) She and her husband Andres (Carl Esmond), along with the others, are hoping to start a wine-growing industry on the West coast. Jeff Chandler is Lon Bennett, the lascivious-minded guide of the wagon train who openly chases after Gabrielle. Even after Gabrielle's husband is accidentally killed and she is married off, by custom, to his younger brother, Bennett does not relinquish his ardor. Their problematical relationship continues as several adventures befall the group, including the requisite battle with Native Americans. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Jeff Chandler, (more)
- 1959
The hardships faced by a widow and her eight-year-old son on a rugged Canadian ranch provide the basis of this gripping outdoor adventure. She lost her husband to a forest fire. To help her run the ranch, she hires a handy man. A handsome, but taciturn fellow who has known much tragedy, he works hard for her. The woman's son though resents him, and when he learns that his mother is planning to marry him to quell ugly rumors in town, the youth is most unhappy. After the wedding, the step-father treats the boy harshly, not out of cruelty, but because he wants to prepare the boy to survive the tough life ahead. This creates friction and frustration. Sometimes the handyman beats both the wife and the child. On the day the wife learns she is pregnant, the boy and his step-father get into a violent fight. Afterward the husband goes to the local saloon and ends up jailed for brawling. A month later he is released. When he gets home he finds his wife has moved his things to the barn. A natural disaster changes the family's lives and relationships and after much turmoil, honesty and pain gives them a chance to heal and start afresh. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Stephen Boyd, (more)
Grim, almost unbearably intense, I Want To Live is the story of the life and execution of Barbara Graham (Susan Hayward) a perjurer, prostitute, liar and drug addict. The product of a broken home, Graham works as a shill, luring gullible men into crooked card games. She attempts to go straight, marries the wrong man, and has a baby. When her life falls apart, she returns to her former profession and is involved in a murder. Despite her claims of innocence, she is convicted and executed. Robert Wise directs the uniformly fine cast with grim efficiency, telling Graham's story in a series of adroitly crafted scenes that won him a well-deserved Academy Award nomination. However, the film belongs to Susan Hayward who gives a intense, shattering performance without one false note. Her performance is so grimly focused that she is, at times, almost unbearable to watch. The final scenes, which lead up to Graham's execution, are exhausting in their emotional intensity as the audience is spared nothing of Graham's agony, despair and desperation when she finally loses the long battle to save her life. Whether one sees Graham as a murderer or a hapless victim of society, the power and relentless, sordid reality of her story leaves an indelible memory in the mind of the viewer. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Simon Oakland, (more)
- 1957
When an Army general is appointed to the sensitive diplomatic post that the powerful publisher of a prominent news magazine had hoped would go to a particularly qualified civilian, she launches a vitriolic campaign to discredit the general. First the publisher orders one of her cameraman to snap a few incriminating photographs of the general. In order to get them, she invites the general out for a night on the town. No matter how hard she tries to get him drunk, the general remains sober. Unfortunately, she ends up quiet tipsy and falls in a pool where she nearly drowns until the general rescues her. The sodden but grateful publisher kisses him and it is at that point that they realize that animosity is rapidly turning to love, at least for her. When she discovers that her newborn love is fated to remain unrequited because of things from the general's past, the jealous publisher pens a poisonous article about him. This creates all kinds comical obstacles and further misunderstandings. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Kirk Douglas, (more)
- 1956
- G
In the historical epic The Conqueror, John Wayne stars as Temujin, better known as Genghis Khan. Red-haired Susan Hayward costars as Bortai, the Tartar princess whom Temujin claims as the spoils of battle. Eventually, Bortai's hatred for her captor metamorphoses into love, while Temujin's hordes lay claim to the entire Gobi Desert. Director Dick Powell, many of the actors (John Wayne, Susan Hayward, Pedro Armendariz, Thomas Gomez, Agnes Moorehead), and several of the crew members later fell victim to cancer, allegedly the result of producer Howard Hughes' decision to lens the film on location near the atomic testing grounds in the Utah desert. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Susan Hayward, (more)
- 1955
Tyrone Power is a Dutchman, and Susan Hayward is an Irish lass. If you believe that, then the rest of Untamed will go down a lot easier. Power is a Boer calvary commander attempting to bring peace to his South African homeland. He has an affair with Hayward, a married woman whose husband is killed during a Zulu attack. While rescuing the survivors, Power runs afoul of Dutch farmer Richard Egan, who insists that Hayward is his property. Egan turns bandit, targeting the diamond mines. Power is bound and determined to stop Egan--and, it is hoped, to clear the path towards lasting happiness with Hayward. The Untamed is a CinemaScope adaptation of a novel by Helga Moray. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Susan Hayward, (more)
- 1955
The first of two Clark Gable films produced by 20th Century-Fox, Soldier of Fortune casts Gable as an American mercenary, running a successful smuggling operation in and out of Hong Kong. Gable is hired by Susan Hayward, who hopes to locate her missing husband, photographer Gene Barry. Upon discovering that Barry is being held by the Communists somewhere on the Chinese mainland, Gable risks his neck to rescue the man. Along the way, he falls in love with Hayward, which may or may not compromise his dedication to saving Barry's neck. Filmed largely on location, Soldier of Fortune deserves to be seen in its original CinemaScope form--or, at the very least, in the "letterboxed" version recently made available to cable television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clark Gable, Susan Hayward, (more)
Susan Hayward pulls out all the stops, and then some, in this cinemadaptation of singer Lillian Roth's autobiography I'll Cry Tomorrow. In as harshly realistic a manner as possible in the still censor-dominated Hollywood of 1955, the film recounts Roth's rise to fame, her precipitous fall and her tearful comeback. The fact that Roth loves not wisely but too well is only part of the problem (only two of her eight husbands are portrayed in the film); contributing factors to her self-destruction also included her witchlike "stage mother" (Jo Van Fleet) and the pressures of fame and fortune. The principal reason for Roth's fall from the height of fame to the depths of squalor and despair is booze -- at least until she begins to pull herself together with the help of Alcoholics-Anonymous representative Burt McGuire (Eddie Albert). The story concludes with a testimonial staged in Roth's honor on the TV series This is Your Life (the original of which still exists in kinescope form). Having been personally coached by the real Lillian Roth, Susan Hayward does an excellent job of copying the singer's unique style. Though Hayward did not win an Oscar for her performance, she did cop the "Best Actress" prize at the Cannes Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Richard Conte, (more)
Demetrius and the Gladiators was the sequel to The Robe, and though they were released several months apart, the films were shot at the same time. Based on characters originally conceived by Lloyd C. Douglas, the film stars Victor Mature as the title character, an ex-slave who embraced Christianity after being present at the Crucifixion. Thrown in jail for defending an elderly merchant from a sadistic Roman legionnaire, Demetrius is forced to attend gladiator school and fight in the arena for the amusement of the mad, debauched emperor Caligula (Jay Robinson, likewise repeating his performance in The Robe). The well-proportioned Demetrius attracts the attention of Messalina (Susan Hayward), the nymphomaniac wife of Caligula's would-be successor Claudius (Barry Jones). Briefly losing faith in Christ, Demetrius is saved from himself by the apostle Peter (Michael Rennie). Because of contractual complications, Demetrius and the Gladiators was released to television seven years before The Robe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Mature, Susan Hayward, (more)
- 1954
Gary Cooper, Richard Widmark and Cameron Mitchell portray three somewhat disreputable 19th-century soldiers of fortune, en route to California to prospect for gold. Stopping over in a tiny Mexican village, the three men are hired by Susan Hayward to rescue her husband, who is trapped in a gold mine in hostile Indian territory. The threesome agree to the expedition, their interest piqued by the possibility of picking up some gold themselves. During the harrowing journey, the party's already frayed nerves are aggravated when the men become attracted to Hayward. The group arrives at the mine's location--the Garden of Evil, so named because the Indians regard it as the domain of evil spirits. During the escape, Hayward's husband (Hugh Marlowe) is killed by the Indians, as is Mitchell. Cooper and Widmark play cards to decide who will take Hayward to safety and who will cover them while they flee. Cooper wins--but later discovers that Widmark had cheated in order to sacrifice himself. Garden of Evil takes too long to get to its climax, but the Cinemascope photography and Bernard Herrmann's rich musical score make the wait worthwhile. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward, (more)
- 1953
The President's Lady is an historical drama starring Charlton Heston as Andrew Jackson and Susan Hayward as his wife Rachel, Jackson marries Rachel after she divorces her unfaithful first husband (Whitfield Connor), with scandal resulting when the ex-husband refuses to finalize the divorce. Jackson climbs up the military and political ladder, but Rachel is never socially acceptable due to her "tainted" past. Nonetheless, Jackson stands staunchly beside his wife, even fighting a duel for her honor. On the eve of Jackson's presidential election, Rachel dies, but "Ol' Hickory" takes comfort in recalling a marriage that remained happy against all odds. The best sequence in The President's Lady is a comic vignette which explodes the legend of the "pipe-smoking" Rachel Jackson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Charlton Heston, (more)
- 1953
Filmed on location, White Witch Doctor is set in the Belgian Congo, circa 1907. Professional hunter Lonni Douglas (Robert Mitchum) is hired by nurse Ellen Burton (Susan Hayward) to escort her into the African interior, in hopes of finding her former mentor. Eventually they discover that the man Burton seeks has died, but Burton decides to stay around for awhile and tend to the wounds of the local witch doctor's injured son -- and, incidentally, to convince the tribesmen that "white man's medicine" is a good thing. Unfortunately, Douglas' avaricious partner Huysman (Walter Slezak) endangers the lives of himself, Douglas and Burton by going on a forbidden hunt for gold. Based on a novel by Louise A. Steindorf, White Witch Doctor is distinguished by Bernard Herrmann's evocative musical score, wherein genuine African musical instruments are utilized. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Robert Mitchum, (more)
- 1952
- NR
The titular Lusty Men are rodeo riders in this modern-day western, assembled with a touch of the offbeat by director Nicholas Ray. Former rodeo star Robert Mitchum, disabled by a series of accidents, hobbles back to his Oklahoma hometown in hopes of replenishing his bank account. Aspiring bronco-buster Arthur Kennedy hires Mitchum to train him for an upcoming rodeo, promising that they'll split the winnings. It doesn't take a crystal ball to predict that Mitchum will soon fall hard for Kennedy's wife Susan Hayward; she can take Mitchum or leave him, but decides to take him so that he'll continue to train Kennedy. After a falling out, Mitchum quits his job and enters the rodeo himself, hoping to win the prize from the arrogant Kennedy. He proves he still has what it takes, but does so at the price of his life. The Lusty Men was co-adapted by one-time cowboy David Dotort from a Life magazine story by Claude Stannish. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Robert Mitchum, (more)
Ernest Hemingway could never come to terms with Hollywood's preoccupation with The Happy Ending: he accepted the money for the screen rights to his short story The Snows of Kilimanjaro, but he could never bring himself to watch it. Gregory Peck plays a character based, in decidedly unflattering fashion, on Hemingway crony F. Scott Fitzgerald. While hunting in the African mountains in the company of his faithful lady friend Susan Hayward, Peck is seriously wounded; in fact, it doesn't look as though he'll survive the night. In the few hours he has left, Peck reflects upon what he considers a wasted life. Having aspired to be the Great American Novelist, Peck has only turned out money-making drivel. The only time that he truly felt as though he'd made a contribution to the world was when he fought on the Loyalist side in Spain (this element isn't in the short story, but is drawn from Hemingway's own experiences). As for his lost romance with his late wife Ava Gardner, Peck still cannot figure out what went wrong. The Hemingway original ended with the Peck character dying from his wounds; producer Darryl F. Zanuck wouldn't hear of this, preferring that Peck survive with the resolve to write something of lasting value. The Technicolor location photography of Leon Shamroy and the rumbling musical score of Bernard Herrmann are the main attractions of The Snows of Kilimanjaro. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward, (more)
