''So This Is Love'' (also known as ''The Grace Moore Story'') is a 1953 American musical

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Gordon Douglas, based on the life of singer

Grace Moore Mary Willie Grace Moore (December 5, 1898January 26, 1947) was an American operatic soprano and actress in musical theatre and film.Obituary ''Variety'', January 29, 1947, page 48. She was nicknamed the "Tennessee Nightingale." Her films helped ...

. The film stars

Kathryn Grayson Kathryn Grayson (born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick; February 9, 1922 – February 17, 2010) was an American actress and coloratura soprano.Ronald Berganbr>Obituary '' London Guardian'', February 19, 2010. From the age of twelve, Grayson train ...

as Moore, and

Merv Griffin Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 he hosted his own ta ...

. The story chronicles Moore's rise to stardom from 1918 to February 7, 1928 when she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera.

Plot

Grace Moore (

) dreams of being a great opera singer. She starts out singing at a nightclub, where she meets her boyfriend Buddy (

). She takes singing lessons and Buddy pressures her to marry him and move out of the city. Grace, however, cannot give up on her career. At one point her dreams may be dashed, as poor singing instruction has

inflamed Inflammation (from la, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants, and is a protective response involving immune cells, blood vessels, and molecu ...

her

vocal cords In humans, vocal cords, also known as vocal folds or voice reeds, are folds of throat tissues that are key in creating sounds through vocalization. The size of vocal cords affects the pitch of voice. Open when breathing and vibrating for speech ...

. Under the direction of a new, better voice coach, she is told to rest and not speak for three months. She does so, but Buddy Nash marries another woman while Grace is secluded in a cabin. Upon Grace's return to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, she is able to sing again and continues her lessons. She is hired as an

understudy In theater, an understudy, referred to in opera as cover or covering, is a performer who learns the lines and blocking or choreography of a regular actor, actress, or other performer in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to ap ...

in a

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 and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

and takes over when the leading lady (

Marie Windsor Marie Windsor (born Emily Marie Bertelsen; December 11, 1919 – December 10, 2000) was an American actress known for her femme fatale characters in the classic film noir features ''Force of Evil'', ''The Narrow Margin'' and '' The Killing''. Wi ...

) falls ill. Grace's performance impresses the producers so much that she is made a star on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

. Her next boyfriend, Bryan Curtis (

Douglas Dick Douglas Harvey Dick (November 20, 1920 – December 19, 2015) was an American actor and occasional screenwriter. His most famous role came in the 1948 film ''Rope''. In 1971, Dick left the entertainment industry to work as a psychologist. Early ...

), dates her for two years before insisting they marry, to which Grace agrees. When Grace auditions for the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

, she is told that she lacks experience and that her youth, charm and voice are better suited to musical comedies. She wagers

Otto Kahn Otto Hermann Kahn (February 21, 1867 – March 29, 1934) was a German-born American investment banker, collector, philanthropist, and patron of the arts. Kahn was a well-known figure, appearing on the cover of ''Time'' magazine and was sometimes ...

(Roy Gordon), the Manager of Metropolitan Opera, that she will perform there within two years. She quits her musical contract and books passage to Europe in order to get better vocal training. Bryan says he can't compete with her dream and ends their engagement. Two years later Grace has returned and sings in a starring role at the Metropolitan. She is a success and has finally achieved her dream to be an opera star.

Cast

According to her 1959 autobiography ''My Story'', actress

Mary Astor Mary Astor (born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke; May 3, 1906 – September 25, 1987) was an American actress. Although her career spanned several decades, she may be best remembered for her performance as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in '' The Maltese ...

wrote that in late 1952, she had been initially cast by Warner Brothers in ''So This Is Love'' (then titled The Grace Moore Story) for the role of Aunt Laura Stokley. Before actual filming began, Astor had even made some camera tests but had to bow out of the film after breaking her leg from a fall in her home. The role went to Rosemary DeCamp. (My Story: An Autobiography by Mary Astor pgs. 219-220 Windham Press)

Soundtrack

''So This Is Love'' is a

jukebox musical A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known popular music songs, rather than original music. Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while others confine themselves to songs perfo ...

. The soundtrack consists of various songs from multiple composers. Songs, such as ''Remember'' by

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russi ...

and '' Pack Up Your Troubles...'' by

Felix Powell Felix Lloyd Powell (23 May 1878 – 10 February 1942) was a Welsh British Army Staff Sergeant most famous for writing the music for marching song " Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile", in 1915, during World Wa ...

and

George Henry Powell George Henry Powell (27 April 1880 – 3 December 1951) was a Welsh songwriter who, under the pseudonym George Asaf, wrote the lyrics of the marching song "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag" in 1915.George Asaf.Pack Up Your Troubles in Yo ...

, were released prior to and not written for the film.

Track listing

# Voi, Che Sapete – Kathryn Grayson # Time On My Hands – Kathryn Grayson # The Tickle Toe – Kathryn Grayson # The Kiss Waltz – Kathryn Grayson #

Remember Remember may refer to: Film and television * ''Remember?'', a 1939 film starring Robert Taylor and Greer Garson * ''Remember'' (1926 film), an American silent drama film * ''Remember'' (2015 film), a Canadian film by Atom Egoyan, starring Chris ...

– Kathryn Grayson # Oh Me! Oh My! – Kathryn Grayson #

I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate "I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate", often simply "Sister Kate", is an up-tempo jazz dance song, written by Armand J. Piron and published in 1922. Louis Armstrong claimed he had written the song and sold it for 10$ he never received. Kate w ...

– Kathryn Grayson #

Ciribiribin "Ciribiribin" is a merry Piedmontese ballad, originally in three-quarter time, composed by Alberto Pestalozza in 1898 with lyrics by Carlo Tiochet. It quickly became popular and has been recorded by many artists. Decades later it enjoyed conti ...

– Kathryn Grayson # Ah! Je Ris De Me Voir Si Belle (The Jewel Song) – Kathryn Grayson #

Christ The Lord Is Risen Today "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" is a Christian hymn associated with Easter. Most of the stanzas were written by Charles Wesley, and the hymn appeared under the title "Hymn for Easter Day" in ''Hymns and Sacred Poems'' by Charles and John Wes ...

# I Kiss Your Hand, Madame – Merv Griffin #

I'm Just Wild About Harry "I'm Just Wild About Harry" is a song written in 1921 with lyrics by Noble Sissle and music by Eubie Blake for the Broadway show ''Shuffle Along''. "I'm Just Wild About Harry" was the most popular number of the production, which was the first fin ...

# In Dat Great Gittin' Up Morning – Noreen Corcoran # Je Veux Vivre (Juliet's Waltz Song) – Kathryn Grayson #

Memories Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...

Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile! "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag, and Smile, Smile, Smile" is the full name of a World War I marching song, published in 1915 in London. It was written by Welsh songwriter George Henry Powell under the pseudonym of "George Asaf", and s ...

# Si, Mi Chiamano Mimi (Mimi's Aria) – Kathryn Grayson # So This Is Love

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0046334 1953 films 1950s biographical films 1953 musical films American biographical films Biographical films about singers Films about opera Films directed by Gordon Douglas Films scored by Max Steiner Films scored by Ray Heindorf Warner Bros. films Cultural depictions of classical musicians Cultural depictions of American women 1950s English-language films 1950s American films