Although this biopic of 19th and early 20th Century stage star Lillian Russell played around quite a bit with historical fact, this is still a highly entertaining and watchable film. Alice Faye gives one of the best performances of her career as the title character.
shareYou are right, this is Faye's best performance. A few years later she would be replaced at Fox by Betty Grable, too. This script may not be very good, and Faye is not a soprano, but the ensemble is terrific and the performances are very good, bring a lot of life to this melodramatic material. Don Ameche in a scene about the telephone, Edward Arnold as Diamond Jim Brady and Henry Fonda in a role he hated, it's all for the best!
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