I'll Cry Tomorrow

Susan Hayward portrayed Lillian Roth in I'll Cry Tomorrow, and her performance earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Hayward lip-synced to Roth's actual recordings for the musical numbers, while the dramatic scenes depicted Roth's struggles with alcoholism and her recovery through Alcoholics Anonymous. Roth herself was reportedly involved in the production and consulted with Hayward.

Yes, I'll Cry Tomorrow is adapted from Lillian Roth's 1954 autobiography of the same name. The film chronicles Roth's career as a Broadway performer, her struggles with family control and substance abuse following personal tragedy, and her eventual recovery. The MGM production dramatized real events from her life, though some details were compressed or altered for narrative purposes.

I'll Cry Tomorrow was released by MGM in 1955, shortly after the publication of Lillian Roth's autobiography. The film became one of the studio's notable drama releases of that year and was both a critical and commercial success. It helped solidify Susan Hayward's reputation as one of Hollywood's premier dramatic actresses of the 1950s.

The film features several songs associated with Lillian Roth's Broadway and vaudeville career, with Susan Hayward lip-syncing to Roth's own recordings. The musical numbers are woven into the biographical narrative rather than presented as traditional musical set pieces. This approach gave the film a more realistic, dramatic feel than typical MGM musicals of the era.