Lillian Russell

The real Lillian Russell was far more interesting than the woman presented in this padded film (at more than two hours, it's a good deal longer than most Fox musicals). Young Helen Leonard (Alice Faye) moves with her family to New York City after the Civil War. There she takes singing lessons, and is overheard one day by Tony Pastor (Leo Carrillo), a well-known impresario, who hires her to sing in his theater. He changes her name to Lillian Russell, and she is soon the toast of New York, although the distractions of success aren't enough to make her forget Alexander Moore (Henry Fonda), a young man who once saved her life. Time passes and she has shows written for ...