The Story of Esther Costello (1957) User Reviews (26)

Esther The Cash Cow

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 18 May 2010]

Shot in the United Kingdom and the continent, The Story Of Esther Costello seems to be a hybrid production of The Miracle Worker and Johnny Belinda. Heather Sears's performance in the title role might have been worthy of Oscar consideration had not Jane Wyman already won an award playing a deaf mute.

Joan Crawford plays a wealthy American who is separated from her husband Rossano Brazzi and touring Ireland, specifically the village of her birth. While there the village priest Denis O'Dea introduces Joan to Sears who is deaf, blind, and mute. In a prologue we see why she is that way, as a child she found a cache of gunpowder and grenades left over from the Rebellion which explodes killing her mother and leaving her as she is.

Eventually Joan takes Heather from the squalid conditions she's living in courtesy of her aunt Maureen Delaney and gives her the Helen Keller treatment. When Sears becomes a celebrity of sorts, Brazzi reenters the picture see the cash cow Sears has become what with the charities organized in her name.

A rather unbelievable 'cure' for Sears mars what could have been a much better drama. The players all perform well, particularly Crawford who is in her best Mildred Pierce mode as an adoptive mother to a much more appreciative child than Ann Blyth.

Definitely one for Joan Crawford fans.

Fine performances distinguish

[sdave7596 · 7/10 · 12 June 2010]

"The Story of Esther Costello" released in 1957, offers Joan Crawford one of her more interesting roles. Joan plays a wealthy woman, Margaret, who becomes both a mother and benefactor to a young girl, Esther (Heather Sears) who is deaf, blind, and mute. The first part of the film is first rate, with Joan helping the young girl (who has been raised rather savagely) to communicate. With much perseverance and dedication, Esther learns to understand spoken words by putting her hand on an individual's face and interpreting the vibration of their voice. She also learns to read Braille. Together, Margaret and Esther go on a tour, raising money for children with disabilities. Enter Margaret's ex-husband, handsome and suave Carlo (Rossano Brazzi) who is more interested in money than rekindling his romance with Margaret. However, he does so, and convinces the two women to embark on a grueling European tour to raise a lot of money, as he realizes Esther is a serious moneymaker. The film, in the second half, descends somewhat into sleaze, with Carlo bilking money from the fund raisiers, and he also becomes attracted to Esther, who is quite a lovely young woman. Needless to say, Margaret finds out about the attraction, especially after Carlo rapes Esther. The ending is a bit odd. This is not a perfect film, but has great importance in that it humanizes individuals like Esther at a time when people often locked them away in institutions. Joan Crawford is her usual dramatic self here; and she is quite believable as a woman who cares deeply about Esther and wants all the best for her. Heather Sears is excellent as the young Esther; her facial expressions and gestures are very realistic; it can't be easy to play a part without dialogue. Rossano Brazzi, who was something of an international sex symbol at the time of this film, plays his part with all the money-grubbing sleaze required. Check the film out -- it is unfortunately somewhat forgotten.

A story that hits hard

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 23 August 2020]

The subject for the time was a brave, difficult and daring one to tackle and the title role is one that would pose many challenges in terms of how to act it and in the context of the subject. To me, at her best Joan Crawford was a fine actress, especially in melodrama where she was one of the best, although with hit and miss film choices throughout her career and a tendency to overact in comedy. Rossano Brazzi has not really done a lot for me in the past, tend to find him wooden.

Just like the subject, 'The Story of Esther Costello' is a brave and daring film that is appropriately hard to watch (it would have been insulting to sugarcoat or trivialise a subject like this, one that is hard hitting as they come). Am another person that doesn't agree with 'The Story of Esther Costello' being called unintentionally funny and considering the subject and what happens saying that sounds somewhat disrespectful, but maybe that's just me.

By all means 'The Story of Esther Costello' isn't perfect. It does get too heavy on the melodrama at times and has campy parts, namely in the latter stages.

Also felt that the aftermath and consequences of the traumatic event that happens later on (don't want to spoil it) were rather contrived and were not remotely realistic.

Crawford's performance is an emotional powerhouse at its best and to me she didn't overact. Brazzi was a big surprise, he never had a character that was this despicable and he manages to be both charming and genuinely creepy. Not wooden at all. The acting honours, in the most challenging role (playing deaf, or blind, or mute individually is a tough task, it is even tougher when one has to play all three simultaneously like here), is a very intensely moving Heather Sears. The direction is accomplished enough.

Furthermore, 'The Story of Esther Costello' is very handsomely mounted visually and Georges Auric's unsettling score has so much atmosphere. The script is sincere and didn't seem too overwrought or talk-heavy on the most part. The story pulls no punches and it really hit me hard, both in giving me the chills and in tugging at my heart-strings.

On the whole, found a lot to admire even if it didn't completely succeed. 7/10

Another Terrific Performance by Joan Crawford

[drednm · 24 August 2005]

Very strange and violent tale of a lonely wife (Joan Crawford) who travels the world seeking some meaning because her estranged husband (Rossano Brazzi) has abandoned her. In the Irish village of her birth, a local priest steers her toward a girl who was traumatized in an explosion. The girl is blind and deaf and lives like an animal with a local hag. Crawford decides to try to help the girl but becomes attached and takes her to America.

Part "Miracle Worker" and part "Elmer Gantry" (this film predates both), "The Story of Esther Costello" wavers between instructional (how to teach the blind- deaf) and exploitive (how to bilk the public). An odd film for 1957 and Crawford's last starring film of the 50s. She wouldn't return to the screen until "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?"

Well 53-year-old Crawford looks great and turns in a solid performance. Brazzi plays the snaky husband who turns out to be much more rotten than you'd guess. Heather Sears plays Esther as though she is a disciple of Jennifer Jones as Bernadette. Ron Randell is good as the crabby press agent; Lee Patterson is good as the boy friend; Bessie Love (one of Crawford's silent-film pals from 1920s MGM) is funny as a gallery patron; Fay Compton plays the head nun; Dennis O'Dea is the priest; Estelle Brody plays Tammy; John Loder is a friend. Good cast in a solid but too-long film.

The violent ending is quite jarring and unexpected.

Unusual late-Crawford melodrama compelling but heavy-handed

[bmacv · 7/10 · 2 June 2002]

Joan Crawford looked back on The Story of Esther Costello as her last "really top" movie and remarked that if she had earned her Oscar for Mildred Pierce, she should have gotten "two" for Esther Costello. Perhaps one each for the dramatic arches of her eyebrows, which by this stage of her career were pencilled in with such savage abandon that they could have spanned the wide Missouri.

The grim determination she brought to every role at this late stage in her career remains tauter than ever. As a wealthy American visiting her birthplace in Ireland, she is nudged by the local Padre to look in on poor Esther (Heather Sears), a girl rendered blind and deaf by the explosion of a grenade left over from the "troubles." and living in squalid poverty. Of course Crawford takes Esther back to America, where she finds her the best schools for those similarly afflicted. Soon, the heart-wrenching tale reaches the press, at the same time luring Crawford's long-lost husband (Rossano Brazzi) out of the hole he's been hiding in.

Implausibly, Crawford falls for him all over again, and succumbs to his grandiose schemes for national and European fund-raising rallies for the "Esther Costello Fund," a racket for his self-aggrandizement. He also drinks a lot and starts stealing peeks at the blind Esther slipping in and out of her clothes. (She's busting out of the schoolgirlish frocks and ribbons she's given to dress in.)

Along happens a young reporter who's also smitten with Esther but who starts suspecting that the racket is not on the up and up. From then on it's a race to see whether Brazzi's financial chicanery or his unhealthy interest catches up with him. Crawford does, however, and ends the melodrama a la Thelma Jordon.

The distinctive and responsive score is by Georges Auric, and Jack Clayton gets an odd credit that suggests he had more to do with the movie than its nominal director. The story is certain offbeat and interesting enough, but its social comment invariably defers to the lures of heavy melodrama. The film reaches a crescendo when Brazzi learns that Esther has been left alone; he slithers to her bedside while thunder crashes and the French doors blow open to let a torrent of rain into the room...You get the picture. It's the kind of touch that's effective to watch but which undermines any claim to a serious exploration of the unusual subject matter. It's that kind of literal heavy-handedness that led Lenny Bruce to devise an irreverent (and very funny) routine on this movie's story line.

An underrated drama with a serious message.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 15 November 2001]

I don't think Joan Crawford ever did a "message" movie, but this is the closest to one that I could think of. She is an American do-gooder who comes across the title character, a deaf/blind/mute Italian girl, traumatized by the death of her parents in an explosion. Rather than leave her in an institution, Joan takes her in. She teaches her how to communicate, then at the advice of friends, she begins a fundraiser for schools for similarly handicapped children. Troublesome ex-husband Rossanno Brazzi comes back, and at first, seems eager to help. However, his greed takes over, and before you know it, he is skimming from the funds.

When you think of Crawford films of the 1950's, melodramatic classics like "Harriett Craig", "Sudden Fear", "Johnny Guitar", and "Queen Bee" come to mind. This is probably the best script of this era for Joan, and she wisely chooses to let the script do the talking, not her shoulder pads. The film takes a sympathetic look at those not able to speak for themselves, and one good person who goes out of her way to make a difference until greed enters her life once again.

Brazzi, suave and dashing, makes a convincing transition from seemingly noble to selfish and greedy snake who takes advantage of the girl in a very horrible and disgusting way. With no dialogue, only a frown, tears, or smiles to express her emotions, Heather Sears is quite good. There are some sequences which reak of Capra's "Miracle Woman" or the real-life Aimee Semple McPherson, but it is a storyline which stands up on its own. The tragic twist towards the end is heartbreaking; Crawford's sacrifice is perhaps her most noble in films.

There is one memorable scene where Crawford's secretary, fired by Brazzi, tells Crawford she can't come back. Few words are used in her explanation of why, but what she says is moving and honest. It was a very touching scene, and it made me think about the abuse of funds in charitable causes. Another thing-Leonard Maltin described this film as "unintentionally funny in spots". I just have to say that is so not true in this film. There may be light-hearted sequences, but there is nothing "unintentionally funny" here at all.

Oddly engrossing, and may have influenced the rock opera TOMMY

[bookreaders2004 · 7/10 · 8 October 2013]

This strange film has a wildly melodramatic plot that is treated in a surprisingly subtle way, but it also bears a strange resemblance to the Who's TOMMY (it's probably the other way around as this film came first.) SPOILERS ABOUND-1. Irish Esther's (Heather Sears) parents die in WWII; she loses her senses of sight, hearing and speech psychosomatically in a violent incident. She is mistreated and tied up by her aunt; English Tommy's (Roger Daltrey) father dies in World War II (in the film, not the album). He loses his senses psychosomatically and is beaten by his cousin. 2. Esther's guilt-ridden adoptive mother (Joan Crawford) and sleazy stepfather (Rosanno Brazzi) exploit the girl to raise money for a quasi-religious charity and make tons of money. Esther spawns a tasteless merchandising boom and commands huge rallies; Tommy has roughly the same experience with his guilt-ridden mother (Ann-Margret) and sleazy stepfather (Oliver Reed). 3. Esther is raped by her stepfather; the shock brings her senses back; Tommy is sexually abused by his uncle (Keith Moon). Later, he regains his senses in a violent incident. 4. Esther's adoptive parents die violently; Tommy's parents die violently (again, in the film, not the album). 5. Both films were made in the U.K. Did Pete Townshend see "Esther" as a child and unconsciously incorporate parts of it into Tommy, which is a brilliant album? Maybe.

Had he learned the Braille......

[ulicknormanowen · 6/10 · 6 August 2020]

The first part is the most interesting : it may reminds you of Montgomery Clift , as a private taking in a young child and teaching him English to communicate with him at the end of WW2 ("the search");most likely Anne Bancroft (Annie Sullivan) and her pupil Patty Duke (Helen Keller )in Arthur Penn's masterpiece "the miracle worker"(which had not been yet made) .

They hint at Helen Keller and this fictitious story may have been partly inspired by her real story ;Helen Keller spent her whole life helping her fellow men,collecting funds to create schools ,a true heroine of the last century.

But ,as soon as Mrs Landi's '(Crawford) husband (Rossano Brazzi ) appears , it's downhill all the way ;acting becomes pure camp and the story is guaranteed to net nothing but horse laughs .Only Heather Sears ,the ugly duckling turned into a swan , preserves her dignity ;an extra star fo her.

Melodramatic Take on "The Miracle Worker"

[nycritic · 8/10 · 23 August 2005]

Joan Crawford never said no to a melodrama she didn't like, and this movie is no exception to the rule, but this time, the production values are first-rate and the writing is uniformly excellent.

Touching such themes as the rape upon a minor who to top it all is disabled by blindness and muteness, THE STORY OF ESTHER COSTELLO predates THE MIRACLE WORKER by several years. This time, it doesn't deal with the title character's disability exclusively (and as intensely as the 1962 film) as much as skirt around it while also relating the story of the people around the girl, notably the failed marriage of Margaret and Carlo Landi, here played by Joan Crawford and Rossano Brazzi.

And it's this failed marriage that provides the fulcrum for the darker events of the story to unfold. Carlo Landi, only interested in reuniting with his wife for the money he can get out of her, subtly goes after the impaired Esther and in one disturbing scene rapes her while she is in bed, alone in Margaret's house, as a storm rages on. Esther, horrified at what has happened to her, tries to commit suicide, but is stopped by an equally horrified Margaret who makes a terrible decision about herself and Carlo.

While I think Margaret's character could have gone the other way around in regards of the way her character meets fate, this was the late fifties, and usually heroines in psychodramas had the tendency to choose ending their own lives rather than face the consequences head-on (see THE CHILDREN'S HOUR for a similar, off-screen death scene of the main female character). Even so, Crawford does not overplay it and her introspective approach makes her character believable, less soap-opera like. Heather Sears, though, is all revelation and steals the movie from Crawford, more so since she has no lines (until the end of the movie when she has recovered her voice) and has to emote all of her feelings from the inside. This is one of the few movies in which Crawford was equally, if not more so, matched by a younger female star and did not try to snatch scenes away from her with her need of a last shot (her character's death is off-screen), and I think that she respected this material too much to sabotage it. Her pairing with Rossano Brazzi could have been more to cash in on his appearance with Katharine Hepburn in SUMMERTIME, and he plays his character with the veiled repulsiveness that is needed, especially for the difficult rape scene. A big winner, an intelligent melodrama, one which should have been Joan Crawford's last film instead of the pause before her entrance her horror movie exploitation period of which she would never re-surface again.

A mixed bag of soap opera and legitimate education

[moosish · 7/10 · 2 January 2015]

I saw this for the first time yesterday. I started watching it only because Joan Crawford is in it, but I became involved with it when I saw the authentic methods being used to educate Esther at the special school she attended. (I am a retired speech-language pathologist, so I'm familiar with many of the methods shown.)

Where the film started to disgust me was when it became obvious that Rossano Brazzi's character was sexually interested in Esther, yet Joan Crawford's character remained oblivious to it. Wait - let me put this another way -- Joan is aware that Rossano had cheated on her in the past. She is aware that there is an attractive (non-related) teenager in the house. She has begun to have suspicions about Rossano's manipulations of the whole charity/money- skimming situation (which should have been a red flag, all by itself, about the man's moral deficiencies.) Most especially, Joan has apparently never explained to her the need to make sure that when she undresses, she needs to be behind closed doors/curtains. (Just because Esther can't see, doesn't mean that she can't BE seen.)

To me, the worst betrayal of all is that when Joan realizes that Esther has been raped, and she doesn't IMMEDIATELY call the police!

Okay - I realize that I might be laying 21st-century sensibilities onto mid-20th century ones, when the film was made, an age when NO ONE publicly discussed issues of sexual abuse, incest, or abuse. But it still bothers me that Joan not only failed to protect Esther (since she was, in effect, her adoptive mother), but failed to get justice for what happened to her. (Unless you think it's justice for both her and her husband to have been killed.)

As to the very end of the story, I think it's fine that the details are slightly ambiguous. The important thing for us to know is that Esther is going to try to make things right, as best she can, by telling the truth as she knows it. We can only hope that the audience doesn't throw rotten food at her, or rip her apart...

"Remember...pity isn't love!"

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 8 March 2013]

Crackpot script from Charles Kaufman, based on Nicholas Monsarrat's novel, involves a middle-aged socialite (Joan Crawford) who is introduced to an unfortunate Irish girl rendered blind, deaf and mute by an explosion five years prior. Taking the tremulous child under her wing, the wealthy matron helps educate and makeover young Esther, resulting in a flurry of publicity and an international Good Will tour. Interesting, if unexciting, mix of bleeding-heart sympathies and the sort of emotional fireworks which skirt "Mildred Pierce" territory, the film nevertheless brings up some involving issues (such as young Esther's inadvertently becoming a cash cow for the exploitation market, as well as arousing the lust of Crawford's shady husband). Production values high, yet the movie fails to convince or satisfy. Crawford's breathy condescension is meant to substitute for an impassioned nature, but she doesn't bring any dimension to her role; as a result, one feels the actress is sticking mainly to externals and faking her way through. ** from ****

Ezcellent and for the Most Part Highly Realistic

[Handlinghandel · 8/10 · 23 August 2005]

Certainly this is one of Joan Crawford's best movies. She beautiful in the dated "Grand Hotel." She really acts in "The Women." She's fine in the high melodrama of "Possessed." She's very good in "Mildred Pierce." And "Sudden Fear" is a fine noir.

Apart from Ms. Crawford, for the moment, we have the plot: A child in Ireland is in a terrible accident, in which her mother dies. She becomes blind and deaf and loses the ability to speak as a result of the trauma. This, by the way, is the title character, not Ms. Crawford. That was also rare in her career and maybe a first here.

As someone very knowledgeable about the blind, I give this a very high rating. This is only a personal feeling but I prefer it to the famous "Miracle Worker," which to me is overwrought and, though based on a true life, not very accurate.

"The Story of Esther Costello" is accurate. The scenes at the school on Long Island to which Crawford takes Esther, well played by Heather Sears, are believable. The Braille is well researched, as are other aspects of her learning.

As Esther grows up, she becomes a very pretty young m=woman. Without giving away the plot, she is abused and raped. This is sadly still true of the lives of blind woman and women with other disabilities. They are taken advantage of by parents and other relatives, by schoolmates, and very often by spouses. The same is true, to a lesser degree, of disabled men.

Make no mistake: This is no arid treatise. It has its campy moments, as well as its legitimately exciting ones. Among the former are Crawford's swank no matter where she is and the irony of her becoming a sort of foster mother here in light of later revelations by her own daughter.

This is a painful movie but a very fine one.

Good Old Joan Crawford Picture

[robtaday · 7/10 · 18 September 2013]

I watched this recently on a Crawford double bill with Harriet Craig. The movie is typical of what Crawford was getting in the 1950s. I have to say though, that I had to laugh out loud at one point. I don't know if they laughed when the movie was originally screened in theaters but I came up with a million punch lines when, only after being raped did Esther "miraculously" regain her sight, speech and hearing. I couldn't help but wonder what else she might be able to do if he jumped her again - perhaps sing and dance! But then, that's what makes these old movies so much fun. The sex scenes indicated by tempestuous rain and the climax hinted at by door flying open, thunder,etc. Too much! It's a lot better than the in-your-face sex scenes of today though. Great for a "sick day" at home.

Not as good, but interesting anyway

[HotToastyRag · 5/10 · 28 September 2020]

The same year Playhouse 90 broadcasted the original "The Miracle Worker", Columbia Pictures produced the feature film The Story of Esther Costello, a fiction about a blind and deaf girl who receives dedicated help from an older woman. There aren't too many similarities between the two stories, but there are enough to make you feel sorry for Joan Crawford and Heather Sears, who didn't get the glory of Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke. (Not to mention feeling sorry for Teresa Wright and Patty McCormack from Playhouse 90.)

The two main differences in the Helen Keller and Esther Costello accounts are the impetus behind their afflictions and the motivations of their teachers. While Keller was ill as an infant and lost her senses, Costello lost her senses in reaction to an emotional trauma during her childhood. Anne Sullivan was a teacher by profession, but Joan Crawford's character was merely a wealthy woman who was touched by the poor girl's story and wanted to adopt her. She does take Costello to a special school and ends up teaching her sign language and other methods, but the story takes an odd turn when Joan's husband comes into the picture. He suggests taking Costello on a world tour giving speeches and holding fundraisers, to create a fund for other deaf and blind children.

If you like The Miracle Worker, you're going to want to watch this version. It's based on a novel rather than a true story, but it's worth seeing "what if" about a similar Helen Keller character. Joan Crawford isn't very convincing as being the loving adoptive mother figure, but Heather excels in her sign language and disorientation as a blind girl. In many scenes, she places her hands on Joan's face to assist her in lip reading, and Joan looks like she can't stand it! Rossano Brazzi is Joan's slimy husband, and while it's horrifying that Joan can't see through his terrible behavior, it's even more horrifying that his character does what he does. If you particularly like him, you should skip this movie.

Deja Vu...Joan becomes the spokesperson for a major organization, but it's not soda pop!

[Poseidon-3 · 30 August 2005]

Made while Crawford was still newly married to her final (and most say most compatible) husband, this drama foreshadows in some ways the role she would later take in spearheading the publicity of a corporation. She plays a wealthy divorcée on a visit to her birthplace in Ireland who is introduced to a pathetic young girl (Sears) who is deaf, blind and mute. Reluctantly, she takes the girl under her wing, appalled at the conditions under which she has been living, and returns to the U.S. When it becomes clear how much work it will take to make Sears function in any way normally, she devotes herself to the cause, staying in the school with her until she can communicate. The inspiring story of this transformation leads to an international charity association and, unfortunately, unearths Crawford's estranged husband Brazzi. The trio lives as a family again, but things aren't always as smooth as they appear. Crawford gives a strong portrayal of a mostly selfless individual, though, at this stage in her career, softness was something she had to affect more than present naturally. The strong brow, mannered inflection, stiff jaw and severe posture were already starting to resemble caricature, though she does inject more than a little heart into her role. Sears, quite a remarkable discovery, does an admirable job in a role (based very loosely on Helen Keller) that requires expression and reaction without benefit of dialogue. It is to Crawford's credit that Sears is permitted to retain her place as the title character and the central focus of the story in an era when a star could easily have whittled the part down in order to showcase herself. Brazzi is attractive and slick and, though he isn't entirely believable as Crawford's mate, the two do develop a strong relationship to one another. Patterson turns up as an interested reporter and Randell adds some zest as a chiseling promoter. The strengths lie in the large scope of the story and the attention to detail of the education of Sears. (Amusing as these scenes can sometimes be, they are reputed to be reasonably factual in their presentation.) All of the performances are committed and solid. Weaknesses would include a tendency toward the wildly melodramatic and the occasionally unintentional comedy of Crawford traipsing around muddy Ireland and schools for the blind in a variety of elaborate, but not-always-lovely, Jean Louis concoctions. It's difficult to know whether Joan had any inkling when making this film that she would soon be flying around to openings and dedications in the name of Pepsi-Cola, enacting much of the same glad-handing public relations that she does here. In any case, it served as a dress rehearsal for her.

Well constructed movie, although Crawford not believable

[kittyvista · 7/10 · 16 September 2013]

Perhaps it's because we now know the back story regarding the quality of Joan Crawford's parenting skills, but her performance in The Story of Esther Costello lacks credibility. The role of Mrs. Landi is one of an unfulfilled, wealthy woman whose maternal cravings are thwarted by an on-again, off-again relationship with a cheating husband (she doesn't divorce because of her Catholic faith.) Crawford is a little too domineering even in this film to pull off a role that demands a much softer side.

Despite the weakness in casting, the movie itself is highly engaging and retains the interest of the viewer from beginning to end without being too soap-operaish in nature. Rossano Brazzi plays his role of alcoholic gigolo very well, being both charming and disgusting at the same time. Heather Sears does an excellent job as Esther Costello. She has no dialogue until the end, but evokes a sense of vulnerability through her acting skills.

Other reviews have mentioned that Leonard Maltin found the film "unintentionally funny," and I have to concur with his observations. The aftereffect of Mr. Landi's drunken rape of young Esther is that she regains her eyesight and hearing (psychiatric opinion at the time was that a shock to the system would "cure" hysterical blindness / deafness). Not only that, but Esther is suddenly capable of delivering a speech after the Landis are killed. Quite a turnaround for a girl who was blind and deaf for years. This ending varies from that of the original story, but it is in keeping with the desire to create a movie with an uplifting and "happy" ending.

The strangest possible story of a hopelessly blind and deaf child

[clanciai · 10/10 · 15 July 2019]

The story is by renowned novelist Nicholas Monsarrat, also known for "The Cruel Sea" and "The Capillan of Malta", two other realistic and documentary novels, but this is not about the war. It's about a deaf and mute poor orphan in Ireland, who is taken care of by Joan Crawford, who makes an unusually impressive performance, without falling into pits of sentimentality and bathos. Heather Sears as the young girl is the chief star of the film, though, unknown and making the performance of her life for a start. The real crushing thing is the story, though. It is devastating in its merciless exposure of commercial exploitation of humanitarianism. The real drama begins as Rossano Brazzi enters the stage. He is a former husband of Joan Crawford, whom she tried to separate from, but when he reappears she is too weak for him, with very unforeseen consequences. The film is beautifully made with brilliant music, and the realism of the story couldn't have been carried through more consistently. I was often irritated with Joan Crawford for her overbearing manners, but here she is quite perfect and admirable all the way.

"How do I know you'll ever be anything more than a helpless nothing?"

[utgard14 · 4/10 · 26 January 2014]

The opening scene of this film tells the story of how Esther Costello became deaf and blind. If you can watch this straight-faced then you're a better person than me. It was the first of many unintentionally funny scenes in this melodrama. A rich American woman named Margaret Landi (Joan Crawford) visits the Irish village where she was born. The villagers, with the local priest at the forefront, conspire to guilt Margaret into taking Esther (Heather Sears) with her. Why they do this is unclear. I suppose it could be because they wanted the girl to be taken care of and Margaret had the financial means to do it. But the gleeful way the villagers were acting made me think they were happy to be rid of the girl for less noble reasons. Anyway, from here the movie becomes like "The Miracle Worker" with Joan and Heather as surrogates for Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller. Esther's story gets national attention and Margaret starts a charity in her name. Things take a dark turn when Margaret's ex Carlo (Rossano Brazzi) shows up.

Joan's acting is poor. She seems out of her comfort zone, except for when she's dealing with scumbag Brazzi. Sears is awful. Let's be honest she really is. It's hard to play a part like this I'm sure but she's just not up to it. Her wide-eyed blank stares and silly miming are hard to take seriously. Later, after she has learned how to communicate, she acts in such a way you can barely tell she's disabled at all. One particular part I want to mention is a big spoiler so -- SPOILER WARNING. Late in the film, Carlo rapes Esther. This shock causes Esther to regain her sight and hearing! That's right, rape cures her. Wow is all I can say. The movie is often touted for the part of its plot dealing with fraudulent charities. Good intentions aside, it's a fairly ridiculous movie with many scenes that are unintentionally funny.

it sure deserves kudos for being DIFFERENT!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 22 April 2006]

This is probably the strangest movie of Joan Crawford's career and one of the best from her latter years as well. While the movie is far from perfect (it is a bit heavy-handed at times and schmaltzy), it dares to be different. Plus, while schmaltzy, it juxtaposes it with intense cynicism and the end result is surprisingly watchable. This is especially important because this reviewer generally HATES Joan Crawford movies (I just didn't think she could act)!

Okay, the movie begins with Joan visiting Ireland and being introduced to Esther Costello--a teen rendered deaf and blind after a frightful childhood accident. Crawford is very rich and takes pity on her and tries to get her the best medical care--but her problems seem incurable. Well, Joan takes her to a deaf/blind school and intends to pay for her to stay. However, she becomes very attached to Esther and instead of just leaving her there as she originally intended, she stays with her and becomes her personal teacher. Eventually, she is able to get through to her and train Esther to read braille and communicate. This part of the movie is pretty inspiring--some might say TOO MUCH, but this cynical reviewer liked this part of the film.

Joan later realizes that there must be many other kids out there like Esther who need help, so she decides to form the "Esther Costello Foundation" to fund the training of deaf/blind individuals. The organization takes off wildly, as Esther herself is a terrific public speaker (with, of course, the help of Joan to translate).

At this point, Joan's estranged slime-bag of a husband (Rossano Brazzi) comes out of the woodwork. He proclaims his undying love for Joan and they are reconciled. He feigns interest in the organization and helps Joan to greatly increase the notoriety of the foundation. Unfortunately, unknown to Joan is that Mr. Slimebag actually is siphoning off funds and has a more than paternal interest in the lovely Esther. Eventually, this piece of filth rapes Esther but is later discovered by Joan. In the end, she kills herself and Rossano, but only after she determines that the nice reporter she's known all through the film is interested in marrying and taking care of Esther. Had the movie ended EXACTLY like this, it would have received a 9. BUT, the schmaltzy ending included a miraculous event--Esther's vision AND hearing came back and she and her new husband are the focus of the fade-out!!! The ending is just too unbelievable and detracted greatly from the rest of the film.

PS--An interesting note. At this point in her life, Joan was married to a "big-wig" from Pepsi. In several of her films and in public appearances, she was sure to have bottles of Pepsi or Pepsi posters around for product placement. Towards the first half of the movie, I noticed that, once again, there's the Pepsi!!! Joan stands directly under the biggest and most obvious Pepsi sign. I'm sure, as usual, she insisted in this as part of her contract!

Couldn't Stomach it

[ScottAmundsen · 3/10 · 9 September 2016]

I am afraid I stopped watching about half an hour in. It wasn't that the movie was bad, exactly, but the intense sentimentality dragged the story down and Rossano Brazzi's character was a most unwelcome intrusion into what might otherwise have proved an uplifting story (though Crawford's attempts to steal scenes didn't help either).

Oddly enough, this story, adapted from a novel, has striking similarities to THE MIRACLE WORKER, which came five years later, and was the true story of Helen Keller and her teacher Annie Sullivan. The difference is that the later film presents its story without a trace of sentimentality, showing its characters unvarnished and with all their flaws on display. As a result, TMW is much more realistic.

TSOEC suffers mainly from Crawford's penchant for melodrama. Heather Sears, under David Miller's steady direction, delivers an impressive performance in the title role; the problem is that Crawford keeps making sure the audience's attention is on HER at every opportunity. Something that Anne Bancroft refused to do, and it won her an Oscar, and one for young Patty Duke as Helen.

I feel rather bad about this review. I so wanted to like this picture that the end result came as a major letdown. And the worst part is that if Crawford had had more confidence in her director, and in her own abilities as an actress, this might have come off much better.

Well cast film.

[alexandra-25 · 17 April 2017]

This film is perfectly cast, with Joan Crawford at the helm, playing out her trademark histrionics. She was accustomed to this typecasting, and accordingly played it to the hilt in The Story of Esther Costello. This melodramatic on screen persona is a far cry from her early work, in such films as Rain (1932) where she plays a prostitute.

Crawford's melodramatic persona was a safe bet for her since Mildred Pierce (1945) for which she won the Academy Award. This was the making of Crawfod as well as the breaking. She seemed to be stuck in the character of Mildred Pierce from then on in.

As for her co-star Rossano Randi, it was a brave move for him to take on the part of the slime ball rapist, embezzler, and exploiter. It was a risk for his career as an actor, and it could have the affect of stereotyping people from Latin extraction.

The part of the title role; as in Esther Costello, was played exceeding well by Heather Sears. All of her acting was conveyed through emotion and gestures alone. This was especially played well in her vulnerable scenes, such as that of the rape victim.

The fact that Esther overcomes many of her obstacles, the narrative of the story turns victimhood into survival. A powerful theme with a message of hope. However the end of the film, where Esther recovers from her disabilities, is too much.

If the viewer can overcome the melodrama of this film, it has some powerful messages in it. For that reason it's worth a look at.

Joan Crawford and a charming Heather Sears

[kirksworks · 8/10 · 16 December 2008]

Crawford is a tough one. I don't like her all that much, but she was quite good and likable in "Grand Hotel," almost stealing the picture from Greta Garbo. But in Crawford's later films she was almost a caricature of a woman. I've seen her in films I never would have watched except that they were either directed by someone I was interested in or there was someone else in the cast I liked. A good case in point is "The Story of Esther Costello" from 1957.

By that time Crawford had lost her youth, and was the queen of Pepsi Cola. But I wanted to see "Esther Costello" because it was one of the earliest performance of Heather Sears, one of my favorite British actresses (see her in "Room at the Top," by all means - what a great film!). In "Esther Costello" Sears plays a girl who went deaf and blind in childhood during the explosion of an uncovered WWII land mine. The story that follows is similar to "The Miracle Worker," except it's much more cynical and condemns capitalist business masquerading under the guise of an altruistic agency. Sears was excellent. Crawford was bad. There is one scene in the movie at an airport where you can see a big Pepsi sign on the wall in the background. Joan, please.

Heather Sears, on the other hand, makes "Costello" worth a look. Through most of the film she doesn't speak, making her performance mostly pantomime, which only multiplies her innocent appeal. Unlike "The Miracle Worker," which is a much better film, but very different, "Costello" is more low key. The plot (BIG SPOILERS...) is rather compartmentalized - traumatized girl is saved from dire poverty, learns to communicate through sign language, becomes a recognizable icon, is used for monetary gain by others, then regains sight and speech through another trauma. Yet, it sort of flows.

The film is also unique for its time in that it addresses child sexual abuse straight on. In this regard, it is set apart from "Miracle Worker," which primarily focuses on one woman Ann Sullivan, played by Anne Bancroft, getting through to a deaf blind child. That aspect of "Costello" is dealt with quickly by comparison, with Crawford in the similar Bancroft role. The most interesting part of "Costello" occurs after Sears character has learned to communicate. All the scenes with Crawford trying to get through to her are rather clunky compared to the Bancroft scenes with Patty Duke in "Worker." Yet, Sears manages to make the early scenes watch-able with her discovery of language coming across as very genuine.

Sears is worth seeing in a number of films, including "Room at the Top," "Sons and Lovers," as Christine in Hammer's "Phantom of the Opera," and much later in life, as Biddy in the 1974 "Great Expectations." She died much too young.

but the girl's history "blind-deaf and silent" it was taken with such a realism that the movie is really impressive.

[Misterixt · 10/10 · 5 July 2001]

Of not having been for the spectacular interpretation of both: Joan Crawford and Rossano Brazzi, it had been impossible to locate this movie in the database. In the Argentina it was exhibited as "La ragazza d'oro" or "The girl of gold" (I don't remember it exactly). I have not been able to see the original version, although the common thing was that many scenes "strong" was suppressed (to the style of what counts Cinema Paradisso), and inclusive he lost temper the translation of the dialogues. I saw this movie being still smaller than age but accompanied by my mother that achieved that they allowed me to enter to the cinematograph a rainy noon of winter. We had gone shopping to the great city and the trade closed at noon. She was fanatic admiring of both actors. The movie was "not capable it stops smaller than 18 years", and the only thing "boisterous" that was seen they were some "shirt twins" of him that Joan found in the girl's bed. But like they said "it was enough to understand the argument." Still to the 18 years one had enough "film culture", and it had fixed them to him to see "Wage of fear", the versions of "dramas" of Tennessee Williams and of Arthur Miller and until "God's litle acre"!, I believe to be able to say with enough foundation that "Story of Esther Costello" she had all the necessary one to be remembered as "a classic." It ignored that it was based on a real case, but the girl's history "blind-deaf and silent" it was taken with such a realism that the movie is really impressive.

A very powerful film about touchy subjects.

[sadie_thompson · 20 June 2000]

Leonard Maltin said that the movie was often "unintentionally funny." Sure, I find rape hilarious. I meant that in a sarcastic way, mind you. I don't know why Mr. Maltin found this film funny, because it isn't. It is about a blind, deaf, and dumb girl named Esther and the way she adapts to society with the aid of a wealthy socialite named Margaret Landi. Joan Crawford and Heather Sears are incredible in their respective roles of Margaret and Esther. Miss Crawford did an amazing job, very unlike anything else she did. I highly recommend this film.

'E.Costello-Endearing Mommie Meets Mildred Pierce ***

[edwagreen · 28 August 2011]

Joan Crawford portrayed a wealthy patron who takes an interest in Irish Esther Costello, blinded and a deaf mute due to a tragic accident in her youth.

At first, the picture shows how Crawford works with the child. Succeeding, a foundation is set up to aid similar children.

The typical Joan Crawford film emerges with the appearance of her separated husband, Rossana Brazzi.

We have several subject areas here- love for a child, exploitation, and an inappropriate romance. In typical Crawford fashion, the film does end tragically, but with Esther resolute to make a life for herself.