''Song of Love'' is a 1947

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

starring

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...

, Paul Henreid, Robert Walker, and Leo G. Carroll, directed by Clarence Brown and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay was co-authored by Ivan Tors,

Irma von Cube Irma von Cube (December 26, 1899, Hanover; July 25, 1977) was a German-American screenwriter. She began as an actress and a writer for films in Germany in the early 1930s, and continued when she arrived in the United States in 1938. Among her f ...

, Allen Vincent, and Robert Ardrey, based on a play by

Bernard Schubert Bernard Schubert (January 1, 1895 – August 4, 1988) was an American screenwriter and television producer during the early sound era of film and early days of television. From 1931 through 1948 he was involved in the scripts for 25 films. Two o ...

and Mario Silva.

Plot summary

The film is a fictionalized romance set in the 19th century, focussing on musicians

Clara Wieck Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...

(

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

( Paul Henreid) and

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

( Robert Walker). Clara takes a break from her thriving career as an acclaimed concert pianist to devote herself to her struggling composer husband Robert and their seven children. Johannes Brahms, Schumann's best student, takes a place in their home but falls in love with Clara and eventually realises he must move out. Schumann works on his opera "Faust" but has no success with interesting producers in it. Unable to cope with disappointment and failure, Robert eventually has a breakdown while conducting a performance. He later dies in an asylum. Brahms proposes marriage to Clara but she rejects him saying she will always love Robert. She devotes the rest of her life to preserving his music and his memory.

Cast

as Clara Wieck Schumann * Paul Henreid as Robert Schumann * Robert Walker as Johannes Brahms * Henry Daniell as Franz Liszt * Leo G. Carroll as Professor Wieck * Elsa Janssen as Bertha (as Else Janssen) * Gigi Perreau as Julie * 'Tinker' Furlong as Felix *

Ann Carter Ann Carter (June 16, 1936 – January 27, 2014) was an American child actress, who worked with dozens of film stars, compiling an "unimaginably distinguished résumé" despite an acting career which lasted only slightly more than a decade.Luca ...

as Marie * Janine Perreau as Eugenie * Jimmy Hunt as Ludwig * Anthony Sydes as Ferdinand * Eilene Janssen as Elise * Roman Bohnen as Dr. Hoffman *

Ludwig Stössel Ludwig Stössel (12 February 1883 – 29 January 1973) was an actor born in Lockenhaus, now Austria, then Hungary. He was one of many Jewish actors and actresses who were forced to flee Germany when the Nazis came to power in 1933. Biography St ...

as Haslinger (as Ludwig Stossel)

Production notes

Hepburn trained intensively with a pianist so that she could be filmed playing the piano. When Henreid is playing piano, the hands of

Ervin Nyiregyházi Ervin Nyiregyházi (January 19, 1903, BudapestApril 8, 1987, Los Angeles) was a Hungarian-American pianist and composer. After several years on the concert stage in the 1920s, he descended into relative obscurity before briefly reemerging in the ...

are seen.Bazanna, Kevin (2007). ''Lost Genius: The Curious and Tragic Story of an Extraordinary Musical Prodigy''. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart; New York: Carroll & Graf; Cambridge: Da Capo Press. p. 205. The soundtrack for the picture was recorded by

Arthur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist.

Reception

The film earned $1,469,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $1,268,000 elsewhere resulting in a loss of $1,091,000. ''Variety'' listed the film as earning $3.1 million in U.S. and Canadian rentals in 1947."Top Grossers of 1947", ''Variety'', 7 January 1948 p 63
/ref>

References

External links

*
''Song of Love'' at IMDB

''Song of Love'' at TCM Movie Database
* {{Clarence Brown 1947 films 1940s biographical drama films 1940s historical drama films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American black-and-white films Films directed by Clarence Brown Films with screenplays by Robert Ardrey Films about classical music and musicians Films about composers Films about pianos and pianists Films set in Germany American biographical drama films American historical drama films Films set in the 1830s Films set in the 1840s Films set in the 1850s Films set in Düsseldorf Biographical films about musicians Robert Schumann Johannes Brahms Cultural depictions of Franz Liszt Cultural depictions of classical musicians 1940s English-language films 1940s American films