 i'll cry tomorrow (1955) is a biopic which tells the story of lillian roth, a broadway star who rebels against the pressure of her domineering mother and reacts to the death of her fiancÃ© by becoming an alcoholic. it stars susan hayward, richard conte, eddie albert, margo, and jo van fleet. the screenplay was adapted by helen deutsch and jay richard kennedy from the 1954 autobiography by lillian roth, mike connolly and gerold frank. it was directed by daniel mann. the film won the academy award for costume design for helen rose, and was entered into the 1956 cannes film festival. ==plot== eight-year-old lillian roth (carole ann campbell) is constantly pushed by her domineering stage mom, katie (jo van fleet), to audition and act even though she is merely a child. one day, katie finally secures an opportunity in chicago, which leads to lillian, now older (susan hayward), to having a successful musical career. even though 20 years have passed, katie is still managing lillian as well as running her life and career choices. though her mother does not tell her, lillian finds out that her childhood friend, david (ray danton), tried to get in contact with her. she visits him in the hospital and they soon fall in love. because david is an entertainment company lawyer, he is able to secure lillian shows at some big venues, including at the palace theatre. however, there is latent tension between david and katie, because he feels that katie is projecting her own ambitions onto lillian and overworking her, while katie feels a new man in lillian's life only
1950s_drama_films 1955_films American_biographical_films Biographical_films_about_actors Black-and-white_films English-language_films Films_about_alcoholism Films_directed_by_Daniel_Mann Films_that_won_the_Best_Costume_Design_Academy_Award Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer_films