With a Song in My Heart (1952)

Strong and Moving!

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Is WITH A SONG IN MY HEART the corniest musical ever? I tend to think so. It's entertaining, I will give it that much, but some of the schmaltzy musical numbers are just outrageously over the top. Having them sing 'Home on the Range' just before the plane crashes was about the silliest thing I have ever seen in a movie of this type. I guess I will have to read one of the three biographies about Jane Froman to see if they really did sing where the deer and the antelope roam moments before the wing caught on a wave and they overturned. Though I strongly suspect they did not.And unlike others who may need their hearing checked, I did not feel Susan Hayward matched Froman's singing at all. There is a number where she is entertaining troops near the end of the movie. In the middle of the tune, she stops and tells a soldier she's never heard of Texas. In that moment, it's very obvious that Hayward's speaking voice is jarringly different from Froman's singing voice.A real musical star should have been used for this picture. Or else Hayward should have performed all the music herself (though I suspect it wouldn't have been too great). Even Froman, with a speech impediment, might have dubbed all of Hayward's lines. That would have brought more realism to the story anyway.

Marvelous musical bio of Jane Froman with Susan Hayward stellar in the lead. How much of the backstage part of her life is true is up to question but for a fifties film it does present her troubled first marriage honestly. The real focus is on her struggle with her injuries from a plane crash and her fortitude and courage is inspiring in the face of huge odds. The music is great and well presented and performed. The staging of the title number is lavishness itself. A wonderful and warm supporting performance by Thelma Ritter is a big plus as always. Once Jane hits the road for the army shows have the tissues at the ready, the scene with Robert Wagner is so delicately lovely it can't help but break your heart. Absolutely rousing finale!

Jane Froman was a popular radio personality in the 1930s and 40s. Millions of listeners enjoyed her beautiful operatic voice. By the time television came around, Froman's career was beginning to wind down. In the early 1940s, she was severely injured in a plane crash en route to Europe. But her popularity soared after that incident, because although disabled, she continued to entertain American troops. In effect, she became a symbol of American optimism and perseverance during WWII."With A Song In My Heart" is Froman's story, from the time that she became well known as a singer. The film is factual, but mostly it is inspirational. Susan Hayward plays Froman, and lip-syncs to Froman's actual singing voice. Although technically this film is not a musical, there are plenty of songs.The film begins with her singing to an enamored audience. Most of the rest of the plot is a flashback to her rise to stardom, the crash, and the difficulties she endured afterwards. The plot then returns at the end to the film's opening performance.Susan Hayward does a fine job as she imitates Froman's gestures, and animates Froman's optimism, showmanship, and verve. All of the songs and music predate rock-n-roll, and therefore have a dream-like quality. Many of her performances are formal, complete with big chandeliers and wavy, silky curtains. Costumes range from glamorous before the accident, to informal in later years. David Wayne and the always reliable Thelma Ritter are convincing in secondary roles.The music in this film is totally from another era, very orchestral and idealized. I could not identify with any of it. That's not a criticism, just an observation. My one complaint about this film is that the tone is just a tad too upbeat and reassuring. Whatever warts the woman might have had are conveniently left out of the film. Indeed, the film tends to deify Froman. She seems imbued with superhuman goodness. But that's how cinematic bios were made in those days."With A Song In My Heart" is a fine biography of a woman who truly had a talent for singing. Just be aware that the story and the film may seem a tad antiquated by today's standards.

Even though the plot is the same old typical Hollywood schmaltz, with little insight into the woman's real life, WITH A SONG IN MY HEART stands as one of Hollywood's best musicals, right up there with SINGING IN THE RAIN. Susan Hayward, who bore a striking resemblance to operatic-voiced warbler Jane Froman, acts her heart out and lip-syncs so beautifully, you'll swear she's doing her own singing. There are many memorable moments in HEART, not the least of which are two tunes Hayward performs with shy young G.I. Robert Wagner in tow. If you read wikipedia or catch the many Froman clips on youtube, you can see Froman came up as a singer in the 1920s and 30s and by World War II was traveling the globe to entertain the troops. Badly injured in an aircraft accident, about which the movie is a bit squeamish, Froman battled back from her injuries and resumed her career. She died in 1980. The movie ends with Froman still singing after many surgeries, and moving on to the second of her three marriages. The staging, the costumes, the lighting, the quality of the sound, everything works like a charm in this classic biopic. Try not to shed a tear or get a shiver up and down your spine when Hayward/Froman launches into "I'll Walk Alone" or belts out "America The Beautiful."