IMDb RATING
6.2/10
1.4K
YOUR RATING
A girl from Kansas arrives in New York City to become a model. Her further success brings her before moral choice.A girl from Kansas arrives in New York City to become a model. Her further success brings her before moral choice.A girl from Kansas arrives in New York City to become a model. Her further success brings her before moral choice.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Dorothy Abbott
- Model
- (uncredited)
John Albright
- Waiter
- (uncredited)
Richard Anderson
- Hosiery Man
- (uncredited)
Harry Barris
- Party Piano Player
- (uncredited)
Tom Bernard
- Adam
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe ending in the original script had washed-up model Lily James, played by Lana Turner, at forty-five years of age working as a hotel maid. The original ending as filmed had Lily James committing suicide, following in the footsteps of Mary Ashton, the older model Lily meets earlier in the film who jumps to her death from a window. After filming finished in late March 1950 the film was shown to test audiences who gave such a negative reaction to this ending that retakes were done in mid-April 1950, to provide the film with the happier ending that's used in the finished film, much to the dismay of director George Cukor.
- GoofsLily James appears as "Top Model" on the cover of a Life magazine being read by Jim Leversoe. The scene immediately dissolves to the cover of the same Life magazine in a plane with Steve Harleigh, but the cover shot of the Life magazine on the plane is an entirely different pose (but the same outfit and hairdo).
- Quotes
Lily Brannel James: I can't live without you... but I'm going to. I'm gonna turn my back on ya Steve, I'm sorry.
Featured review
I'm not sure at what point Lana Turner went from being "The Sweater Girl" to super-sonic Drama Queen, but it certainly could have been around the time George Cukor's "A Life of Her Own" was released in 1950. Lily James (Turner) is a young woman from a small town who comes to New York based on a letter she received from a modeling agency owned by Tom Caraway (Ewell). Upon their first meeting, Caraway hires her, and she quickly gets schooled in the highs and lows of modeling, thanks to a fading fashionista with whom she becomes friends. Unfortunately, the friendship is short-lived when Lily's friend hurls herself out of her apartment window in a drunken fit of loneliness. Lily becomes a top model herself, and along the way becomes acquainted with a businessman from out of town, Steve Harleigh (Milland) that she meets through a mutual friend. Although Harleigh is married, the two cannot deny their connection and end up having a very intense affair. Unfortunately, Harleigh is caught in a rough position since his doting wife back in Montana is handicapped and in a wheelchair. The two must decide whether their love is worth pursuing until the bitter end, or if they should deny their feelings and let each other go.
In "A Life of Her Own", George Cukor, one of film history's most prolific and successful directors (The Philadelphia Story, Gaslight, My Fair Lady just to name three) provides great melodrama without losing the integrity of the story. Unlike a lot of films from this genre, most of which I'd admit to really liking, I didn't find myself rolling my eyes and grinning during some of the most dramatic scenes; rather, I found myself completely drawn in to the plot, due partly to the character development and their portrayers. I really enjoy both Turner and Milland, and have seen where they can both just go out of control with the drama, but I didn't feel that way during this film one bit. To be sure, there are times that you have to suspend your disbelief. Turner was 30 when she made this film, and while she was incredibly beautiful, she was not a "fresh faced" kid who is going to take the modeling world by storm from the second she sets foot in New York. The reasons behind the attraction between Milland and Turner are a bit nebulous as well, but I felt they pulled off their chemistry convincingly.
Personally, I love the lush Technicolor melodramas of the 1950's, and short of the great Douglas Sirk, this is almost as good as it gets. 7/10 --Shelly
In "A Life of Her Own", George Cukor, one of film history's most prolific and successful directors (The Philadelphia Story, Gaslight, My Fair Lady just to name three) provides great melodrama without losing the integrity of the story. Unlike a lot of films from this genre, most of which I'd admit to really liking, I didn't find myself rolling my eyes and grinning during some of the most dramatic scenes; rather, I found myself completely drawn in to the plot, due partly to the character development and their portrayers. I really enjoy both Turner and Milland, and have seen where they can both just go out of control with the drama, but I didn't feel that way during this film one bit. To be sure, there are times that you have to suspend your disbelief. Turner was 30 when she made this film, and while she was incredibly beautiful, she was not a "fresh faced" kid who is going to take the modeling world by storm from the second she sets foot in New York. The reasons behind the attraction between Milland and Turner are a bit nebulous as well, but I felt they pulled off their chemistry convincingly.
Personally, I love the lush Technicolor melodramas of the 1950's, and short of the great Douglas Sirk, this is almost as good as it gets. 7/10 --Shelly
- How long is A Life of Her Own?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- The Abiding Vision
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,818,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 48 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content