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With a Song in My Heart
A vivacious performance from Susan Hayward in the starring role is the centerpiece of 1952's With a Song in My Heart, a lavishly mounted musical biopic of 1940's singer Jane Froman that, though slightly overlong, provides pretty consistent entertainment for most of its running time, despite an air of predictability about the story.
The story follows Froman's humble beginnings as a radio singer whose career is given a big boost when she marries a songwriter named Don Ross (David Wayne), who she eventually marries. even though she's not really in love with him. At the height of her career, Jane plans a USO tour overseas but finds her life changed forever when the plane crashes and she sustains permanent damage to her leg; though she does find real romance with another crash survivor, a handsome pilot named John Burn (Rory Calhoun).
20th Century Fox poured a lot of money into this production seemingly in an attempt to disguise the fact that the story presented here is pretty much identical to at least a dozen other biopics that were made in the 1940's and '50's. Screenwriter Lamar Trotti has apparently taken the basic framework of Froman's career and constructed what I suspect is a fictional love triangle between Jane, Don, and John that borrows from a lot of other films. If the truth be told, films like A Star is Born, Smash-Up The Story of a Woman, and even Funny Girl flashed through my head watching the often used plot of a man's ego being unable to deal with the woman in his life being more successful than he is. As a matter of fact, there is a scene with Don getting drunk in a bar and being teased by his former partner (Max Showalter) that was almost identical to a scene in the 1937 and 1954 versions of A Star is Born. A little more care could have been devoted to the romantic triangle, as the overseas romance between Jane and John seemed a little rushed and the resolution of the story was a little pat and convenient.
Director Walter Lang (The King & I, Desk Set, There's No Business Like Show Business) does display an affinity for lavish musical sequences as well as compelling melodrama, combining the two with relative ease. Lang's experience with musicals was a big plus for him here, mounting musical sequences that musical lovers won't be able to resist, set against plush settings and the performers in gorgeous costumes.
An air of authenticity is added to the proceedings by having Froman herself singing for Hayward, but Hayward's lip-synching is convincing throughout. The film doesn't employ an original score, but some terrific old standards are performed like "That Old Feeling". "Get Happy", "Blue Moon", "Embraceable You", ":The Right Kind", "It's a Good Day", and "Tea for Two", and the lovely title tune.
The Fox musical does employ MGM-calibre production values, including stunning art direction and costumes. Hayward offers one of the most effervescent performances of her career, which earned her a third Best Actress nomination. David Wayne makes a surprisingly solid leading man for Hayward, doing work that rivals his performances in The Three Faces of Eve and Adam's Rib...watch him in his final scene on the phone with Calhoun. Thelma Ritter offers another wisecracking turn as a nurse named Clancy and mention must be made of a very young Robert Wagner as a young soldier enamored with Froman. It's not big on the facts of Froman's life or originality, but it's a richly entertaining movie.
A vivacious performance from Susan Hayward in the starring role is the centerpiece of 1952's With a Song in My Heart, a lavishly mounted musical biopic of 1940's singer Jane Froman that, though slightly overlong, provides pretty consistent entertainment for most of its running time, despite an air of predictability about the story.
The story follows Froman's humble beginnings as a radio singer whose career is given a big boost when she marries a songwriter named Don Ross (David Wayne), who she eventually marries. even though she's not really in love with him. At the height of her career, Jane plans a USO tour overseas but finds her life changed forever when the plane crashes and she sustains permanent damage to her leg; though she does find real romance with another crash survivor, a handsome pilot named John Burn (Rory Calhoun).
20th Century Fox poured a lot of money into this production seemingly in an attempt to disguise the fact that the story presented here is pretty much identical to at least a dozen other biopics that were made in the 1940's and '50's. Screenwriter Lamar Trotti has apparently taken the basic framework of Froman's career and constructed what I suspect is a fictional love triangle between Jane, Don, and John that borrows from a lot of other films. If the truth be told, films like A Star is Born, Smash-Up The Story of a Woman, and even Funny Girl flashed through my head watching the often used plot of a man's ego being unable to deal with the woman in his life being more successful than he is. As a matter of fact, there is a scene with Don getting drunk in a bar and being teased by his former partner (Max Showalter) that was almost identical to a scene in the 1937 and 1954 versions of A Star is Born. A little more care could have been devoted to the romantic triangle, as the overseas romance between Jane and John seemed a little rushed and the resolution of the story was a little pat and convenient.
Director Walter Lang (The King & I, Desk Set, There's No Business Like Show Business) does display an affinity for lavish musical sequences as well as compelling melodrama, combining the two with relative ease. Lang's experience with musicals was a big plus for him here, mounting musical sequences that musical lovers won't be able to resist, set against plush settings and the performers in gorgeous costumes.
An air of authenticity is added to the proceedings by having Froman herself singing for Hayward, but Hayward's lip-synching is convincing throughout. The film doesn't employ an original score, but some terrific old standards are performed like "That Old Feeling". "Get Happy", "Blue Moon", "Embraceable You", ":The Right Kind", "It's a Good Day", and "Tea for Two", and the lovely title tune.
The Fox musical does employ MGM-calibre production values, including stunning art direction and costumes. Hayward offers one of the most effervescent performances of her career, which earned her a third Best Actress nomination. David Wayne makes a surprisingly solid leading man for Hayward, doing work that rivals his performances in The Three Faces of Eve and Adam's Rib...watch him in his final scene on the phone with Calhoun. Thelma Ritter offers another wisecracking turn as a nurse named Clancy and mention must be made of a very young Robert Wagner as a young soldier enamored with Froman. It's not big on the facts of Froman's life or originality, but it's a richly entertaining movie.