''With a Song in My Heart'' is a 1952 American

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

film that tells the story of actress and singer Jane Froman, who was crippled by an airplane crash on February 22, 1943, when the Boeing 314 Pan American Clipper flying boat she was on suffered a crash landing in the

Tagus River The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to ...

near

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

, Portugal. She entertained the troops in World War II despite having to walk with crutches. The film stars

Susan Hayward Susan Hayward (born Edythe Marrenner; June 30, 1917 – March 14, 1975) was an American film actress, best known for her film portrayals of women that were based on true stories. After working as a fashion model for the Walter Thornton Model A ...

Rory Calhoun Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in supporting roles in films such as ''How to Marry a Millio ...

David Wayne David Wayne (born Wayne James McMeekan, January 30, 1914 – February 9, 1995) was an American stage and screen actor with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life and career Wayne was born in Traverse City, Michigan, the son of Helen M ...

Thelma Ritter Thelma Ritter (February 14, 1902 – February 5, 1969) was an American actress, best known for her comedic roles as working-class characters and her strong New York accent. She won the 1958 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, and received ...

Robert Wagner Robert John Wagner Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor of stage, screen, and television. He is known for starring in the television shows '' It Takes a Thief'' (1968–1970), ''Switch'' (1975–1978), and '' Hart to Hart'' (1979� ...

, Helen Westcott, and Una Merkel. Froman herself supplied Hayward's singing voice. The film was written and produced by

Lamar Trotti Lamar Jefferson Trotti (October 18, 1900 – August 28, 1952) was an American screenwriter, producer, and motion picture executive. Early life and education Trotti was born in Atlanta, US. He became the first graduate of the Henry W. Grady C ...

and directed by

Walter Lang Walter Lang (August 10, 1896 – February 7, 1972) was an American film director. Early life Walter Lang was born in Tennessee. As a young man he went to New York City where he found clerical work at a film production company. The business piq ...

. The title song, " With a Song in My Heart" (Rodgers and Hart, 1929), became famous in the United Kingdom as the theme to the long-running BBC radio show '' Family Favourites''.

Plot

Jane Froman (

) is a humble staff singer at a

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

radio station, but in no time she rises to the uppermost rungs of network radio fame. Jane gratefully marries her agent Don Ross (

), but soon both realize they're not truly in love. Jane's popularity soars, and she leaves on a European tour. When her plane crashes, she is partially crippled. Unable to walk without crutches, she nonetheless goes on to entertain U.S. troops during World War II.

Cast

as Jane Froman *

as John Burn *

as Don Ross *

as Clancy *

as GI paratrooper * Helen Westcott as Jennifer March * Una Merkel as Sister Marie * Richard Allan as dancer / tenor *

Max Showalter Max Gordon Showalter (June 2, 1917 – July 30, 2000), sometimes credited as Casey Adams, was an American film, television, and stage actor, as well as a composer, pianist, and singer. He appeared on more than 1,000 television programs. One ...

as Harry Guild * Ed Oliver as bandleader Singing groups the Four Girl Friends, the Modernaires, the Melody Men, the Sklyarks, and the Starlighters appear in the film.

Production

The rights to Jane Froman's life story were sought by a variety of production companies, including MGM, Warner Bros, Sam Goldwyn, 20th Century Fox, and Wald-Krasna (at RKO). In September 1950 Fox announced that Lamar Trotti would write and produce ''The Jane Froman Story''. Froman says she decided to go with Fox after talking to Trotti even though MGM offered $25,000 more. She says the price paid was "mid six figures". In March 1951 Fox announced that the male leads would be played by David Wayne and Dale Robertson and that the film would be called ''I'll See You in My Dreams''. In April 1951, Jean Peters was announced as the star. In May, the lead went to Susan Hayward. The title was changed to ''You, the Night and the Music''. Rory Calhoun replaced Robertson in June. In July 1951 Robert Wagner was added to the cast. Joyce McKenzie was cast as the woman (in reality singer and actress Tamara Drasin, who died in the crash) who took Froman's seat Froman acted as technical adviser, but refused to watch the sequence involving the airplane crash.

Soundtrack recording

As per the times, the soundtrack album for ''With a Song in My Heart'' was a studio recording, and it initially included eight songs and a shorter version of the "American Medley" sung by Jane Froman, with a short orchestral introduction by George Greeley, who conducted the orchestra and chorus. The

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

album was released in multiple formats: Capitol L-309 (LP), DDN-309 (4 record 78rpm-Box Set); KDF-309 (4 record 45rpm singles Box-Set); and FBF-309 (2 EP Box-set). This album was the best-selling album of 1952 and spent 25 weeks at the top of the ''Billboard'' chart. Jane Froman also released a single of the title song with Capitol Records.

Reception

The film was a box office success. Wagner's small role received a lot of acclaim, resulting in 3,000 fan letters a week arriving at the studio – this encouraged Fox to build him up as a star.

Awards and honors

The film was also nominated for inclusion on AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers list of the most inspiring films in American film history, but did not make the final list.

Soundtrack songs from the film

Although the film won the Academy Award for the Best Original Score, there were a number of American standards represented. All except three songs featured the voice of Jane Froman; and were performed by

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Daniel Decatur Emmett Daniel Decatur Emmett (October 29, 1815June 28, 1904) was an American songwriter, entertainer, and founder of the first troupe of the blackface minstrel tradition, the Virginia Minstrels. He is most remembered as the composer of the song "Dixie ...

* " With a Song in My Heart" – Music by

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most well-known American ...

; lyrics by

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include "Blue Moon", " The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", " Bewitched, B ...

* "Hoe That Corn" – Music by

; lyrics by

Jack Woodford Jack Woodford (1894–1971) was an American novelist and non-fiction writer, author of successful pulp novels and non-fiction of the 1930s and 1940s. He wrote unique books on writing and getting published. Most famously, Woodford authored ...

(performed by Max Showalter and

) * " That Old Feeling" – Music by

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; lyrics by

Lew Brown Lew Brown (born Louis Brownstein; December 10, 1893 – February 5, 1958) was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States. During World War I and the Roaring Twenties, he wrote lyrics for several of the top Tin Pan Alley composers, esp ...

* "I'm Through With Love" – Music by Fud Livingston &

Matty Malneck Matthew Michael "Matty" Malneck (December 9, 1903 – February 25, 1981) was an American jazz violinist, songwriter, and arranger. Career Born in 1903, Malneck's career as a violinist began when he was age 16. He was a member of the Paul White ...

; lyrics by

Gus Kahn Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including " Pretty Baby", " Ain't We Got Fun?", " Carolina in the Morning", " Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo ...

* " Get Happy" – Music by

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ' ...

; lyrics by Ted Koehler * "Jim's Toasty Peanuts" – Music and lyrics by Ken Darby * "The Right Kind" – Music by

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; lyrics by

Don George Don R. George (August 27, 1909 – 1987) was an American lyricist of popular music. His songs include " The Yellow Rose of Texas" " I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues" (1937), " I'm Beginning to See the Light" (1944) and " Everything but You" (194 ...

& Charles Henderson * "Montparnasse" – Music by

; lyrics by Eliot Daniel (Sung by

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* "On the Gay White Way" – Music by

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; lyrics by

Leo Robin Leo Robin (April 6, 1900 – December 29, 1984) was an American composer, lyricist and songwriter. He is probably best known for collaborating with Ralph Rainger on the 1938 Academy Award for Best Original Song, Oscar-winning song "Thanks for t ...

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; lyrics by

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...

* " Tea for Two" – Music by

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; lyrics by

Irving Caesar Irving Caesar (born Isidor Keiser, July 4, 1895 – December 18, 1996) was an American lyricist and theater composer who wrote lyrics for numerous song standards, including " Swanee", "Sometimes I'm Happy", " Crazy Rhythm", and " Tea for T ...

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It's a Good Day "It's a Good Day" is a popular song written by Peggy Lee and her husband Dave Barbour and published in 1946. Peggy Lee's recording reached the Billboard charts in January, 1947 peaking at No. 16. Other Recordings The song has been recorded by many ...

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Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

and

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* "They're Either Too Young or Too Old" – Music by

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; lyrics by

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* " I'll Walk Alone" – Music by Jules Styne; lyrics by

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premi ...

Songs included in an "American Medley" * "

America the Beautiful "America the Beautiful" is a patriotic American song. Its lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and its music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey. The two neve ...

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* " California Here I Come" – Music by Joseph Mayer; lyrics by

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...

& Buddy G. DeSylva * " Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" – Music and lyrics by James A. Bland * " Stein Song" (University of Maine)" – Music and lyrics by E.A. Fenstad & Lincoln Colcord * "

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& Buddy G. DeSylva * " Deep in the Heart of Texas" – Music by Don Swander; lyrics by June Hershey

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:With A Song In My Heart (Film) 1952 films 1952 drama films 1952 musical films 1950s biographical drama films 1950s English-language films 1950s musical drama films 20th Century Fox films American aviation films American biographical drama films American musical drama films Best Musical or Comedy Picture Golden Globe winners Biographical films about singers Cultural depictions of American women Cultural depictions of pop musicians Films directed by Walter Lang Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe winning performance Films scored by Alfred Newman Films that won the Best Original Score Academy Award Films with screenplays by Lamar Trotti Jukebox musical films Musical films based on actual events Photoplay Awards film of the year winners 1950s American films