Genre: Musical
Release Date: 02/20/2007
SubTitles: English/French/Espanol
Dubbed: English
Sound: DD1/DD2
Run Time: 127 Minutes
Distributor/Studio: 20th Century Fox

Lillian Russell is the sanitized musical biopic of the legendary (and much-married) 19th century musical comedy star. Discovered in 1880 by bandleader Tony Pastor (Leo Carrillo), Lillian Russell (Alice Faye) wastes no time rising to fame and fortune on the Broadway stage. Along the way, she curries the favor of such eligible bachelors as newspaperman Alexander Moore (Henry Fonda), composer Edward Solomon (Don Ameche), and railroad tycoon Diamond Jim Brady (Edward Arnold). She marries the first two, and has a high old time (albeit chastely) with the third. The story ends with Russell's retirement in 1912, and her reunion with the one true love of her life. The film's hands-down highlight is a timeworn but classic routine involving those two Broadway comedy giants Joe Weber and Lew Fields, both of whom had appeared on-stage with the real Lillian Russell.

~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Cast:
Alice Faye - Lillian Russell
Don Ameche - Edward Solomon
Henry Fonda - Alexander Moore
Edward Arnold - Diamond Jim Brady
Warren William - Jesse Lewisohn
Leo Carrillo - Tony Pastor
Helen Westley - Grandma Leonard
Dorothy Peterson - Cynthia Leonard
Ernest Truex - Charles Leonard
Nigel Bruce - William Gilbert
Claud Allister - Arthur Sullivan
Lynn Bari - Edna McCauley
Una O'Connor - Marie
Diane Fisher - Dorothy
Elyse Knox - Lillian Russell's Sister
Joan Valerie - Lillian Russell's Sister
Hal K. Dawson - Chauffeur
Charles Halton - Dr. Dobbins
Robert Emmett Keane - Jeweler
Harry Hayden - Mr. Sloane, Newspaper Editor

Production:
Irving Cummings - Director
Darryl F. Zanuck - Producer
Alfred Newman - Composer
Walter Thompson - Editor
William Anthony McGuire - Screen Writer
Thomas K. Little - Set Designer
Gene Markey - Associate Producer
Seymour Felix - Choreography
Leon Shamroy - Cinematographer
Travis Banton - Costume Designer
Alfred Newman - Musical Direction/Supervision
Joseph C. Wright - Production Designer
Richard Day - Production Designer
Roger Heman - Sound/Sound Designer
Arthur VonKirbach - Sound/Sound Designer

1940 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie