(VOD) Admittedly, I’LL CRY TOMORROW is not a great film; it’s high camp masquerading as a cautionary tale about addiction with the sizzle of a true life autobiography. Lead actor Susan Hayward chews up the scenery with her drinking and her D.T.s, and the film vastly overstays its welcome. (It’s worth noting that Hayward would be knowingly cast in another camp/addiction adaptation: THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS.) However, I’LL CRY TOMORROW does pre-date the fictitious but similarly overwrought DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES, and it’s a damn good looking film; its Oscar nomination for cinematography was well-deserved. Additionally, it certainly helped to educate folks about Alcoholics Anonymous so it’s not totally without merit.
None of that’s why I’m mentioning I’LL CRY TOMORROW, though. MY LIFE WITH THE THRILL KILL KULT are an electro-industrial band that specialize in sampling camp films and performances, one I grew up listening to and, while there are sample databases out there, I always glean so much more pleasure from accidentally stumbling over a sample source rather than actively seeking them out. That’s exactly what occurred while lounging on the couch, half-listening to TCM play I’LL CRY TOMORROW a few days ago.
The moment I heard and recognized someone say “Honey, sing us a song,” I knew it’d be a rich vein for MY LIFE WITH THE THRILL KILL KULT to mine, and they drilled deep for -The Devil Does Drugs- and the reworked version -…And This Is What The Devil Does-, as well as -A Girl Doesn’t Get Killed by a Make-Believe Killer… ‘Cuz It’s Hot- and -Kooler Than Jesus-. There’s one scene about two-thirds through the film between Lillian Roth (Susan Hayward) and her mother (Jo Van Fleet) that they practically sampled in its entirety, including the following bits of dialogue:
“Oh, look what you did! And you did it on purpose!”
“You’re still trying to make me do what you want, to be what you want! I can’t be anything except what I am!”
“What are you trying to do, drive me crazy?!”
“GET IT NOW!”
“All right. All right! EVERYTHING!”
“Look at me. I said look at me! Don’t turn your face away! I’m the looking glass you created to see yourself in.”
They sampled those lines over thirty years ago, and now one more sample source mystery from my youth has been solved.
-…And This Is What The Devil Does- video:
-Kooler Than Jesus- video:
-A Girl Doesn’t Get Killed by a Make-Believe Killer… ‘Cuz It’s Hot-:
-The Devil Does Drugs-:
I’LL CRY TOMORROW trailer: