''Your Cheatin' Heart'' is a 1964 American fictionalized biographical-

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 ...

directed by

Gene Nelson Gene Nelson (born Leander Eugene Berg; March 24, 1920 – September 16, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, screenwriter, and director. Biography Born Leander Eugene Berg in Astoria, Oregon, he and his family moved to Seattle when he wa ...

and starring George Hamilton as country singer

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

. It co-stars Susan Oliver and

Red Buttons Red Buttons (born Aaron Chwatt; February 5, 1919 – July 13, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role in the 1957 film ''Sayonara''. He was nominated for awards for his acting work i ...

Plot

A young Hank Williams is trying to earn money by pitching a snake-oil cure-all to the gullible, capping his spiel by picking up his guitar and singing. In the crowd are the Drifting Cowboys, a group of touring country-western musicians who happen to be passing through. They invite Williams to join their group, and music history is made.

Cast

* George Hamilton as

* Susan Oliver as

Audrey Williams Audrey Mae Sheppard Williams (February 28, 1923 – November 4, 1975) was an American musician known for being the first wife of country music singer and songwriter Hank Williams, the mother of Hank Williams Jr. and the grandmother of Hank Willi ...

as Shorty Younger *

Arthur O'Connell Arthur Joseph O'Connell (March 29, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an American stage, film and television actor, who achieved prominence in character roles in the 1950s. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for both ''Pic ...

as Fred Rose * Shary Marshall as Ann Younger * Rex Ingram as Teetot * Chris Crosby as Sam Priddy *

Rex Holman Rexford George Holman (born 1935) is an American film and television actor. Holman was born in Oklahoma. He began his screen career in 1959, appearing in the anthology television series '' The Millionaire''. In 1960 he made his film debut in ' ...

as Charley Bybee * Hortense Petra as Wilma, the Cashier *

Roy Engel Roy Engel (September 13, 1913 – December 29, 1980) was an American actor on radio, film, and television. He performed in more than 150 films and almost 800 episodes of television programs. Career Engel's ancestry was Irish and Dutch. His ...

as Joe Rauch * Donald Losby as Young Hank Williams * Kevin Tate as Boy Fishing

Production

Development

MGM's music division owned the rights to the Hank Williams songbook. In 1956, it was announced the studio would make the movie with producer

Joe Pasternak Joseph Herman Pasternak (born József Paszternák; September 19, 1901 – September 13, 1991) was a Hungarian-American film producer in Hollywood. Pasternak spent the Hollywood "Golden Age" of musicals at MGM Studios, producing many successfu ...

, employing Jeff Richards and

June Allyson June Allyson (born Eleanor Geisman; October 7, 1917 – July 8, 2006) was an American stage, film, and television actress, dancer, and singer. Allyson began her career in 1937 as a dancer in short subject films and on Broadway in 1938. She sign ...

in the lead roles. Then

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

was considered as a possible star, to make his follow-up movie for MGM following '' Jailhouse Rock''. However,

Colonel Tom Parker Thomas Andrew Parker (born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk; June 26, 1909 January 21, 1997),

refused. Paul Gregory became attached as producer and wanted

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...

for the lead. MGM then offered the role to Nick Adams, but he turned it down as well. According to George Hamilton, MGM then "revised their concept of the film as quickie drive-in fare that might sell some records in the South and maybe to some crossover ''Beverly Hillbillies'' fans." They assigned their film to producer

Sam Katzman Sam Katzman (July 7, 1901 – August 4, 1973) was an American film producer and director. Katzman produced low-budget genre films, including serials, which had disproportionately high returns for the studios and his financial backers. Ea ...

who specialized in low budget fare. In November 1963 Standford Whitmore was writing ''The Hank Williams Story'' for Katzman. The film was made with the assistance of Williams' widow Audrey and featuring the songs ("

Long Gone Lonesome Blues "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" is a 1950 song by Hank Williams. It was Williams' second number-one single on the Country & Western chart. "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" stayed on the charts for 21 weeks, with five weeks at the top. Background "Long ...

", "I Can’t Help It", and " Hey, Good Lookin’") lip-synched by Hamilton but sung by

Hank Williams, Jr. Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of southern rock, blues, and country. He is the son of ...

Casting

Parker was friendly with George Hamilton, who had been a fan of Williams' music since his youth, knew every song Williams had written and could also play the guitar. Hamilton was under contract to MGM but says the studio "didn't see their stock company preppy playboy playing a drug addict honky-tonk crooner". Parker introduced Hamilton to Hank Williams' ex-wife Audrey. The two got along well and Audrey lobbied on Hamilton's behalf. Hamilton said, "Audrey wanted the movie to happen, especially to make her son, Hank Williams Jr., a singing star the same way she had pushed Big Hank to stardom." The idea was that Williams Jr would dub the singing in the movie and release the soundtrack album under his name; Hamilton wanted to perform the songs himself -- "that was the key to the character"—but knew the only way he would get the part was to agree to be dubbed. With Audrey's support, Hamilton got the part, his signing being announced in November 1963.

Paula Prentiss Paula Prentiss (née Ragusa; born March 4, 1938) is an American actress. She is best known for her film roles in ''Where the Boys Are'' (1960), ''What's New Pussycat?'' (1965), ''Catch-22 (film), Catch-22'' (1970), ''The Parallax View'' (1974), a ...

was at one stage attached as female star.

Filming

Filming started in April 1964. Hamilton says Sam Katzman ran a tight ship. "Jungle Sam cracked the whip, whacked the cane and the whole film was in the can right on time. But he gave me free rein creatively and our director... brought in something memorable, and even Sam knew it."Hamilton p 182 The end scene (when the audience is notified that Williams has died while on the way there) portrays an actual event, as one audience member stands up unprompted and begins to sing " I Saw the Light". Others stand up quickly and join him, as the spotlight shines on the stage where Hank should be. This was similar to what actually happened after Williams died, as

Hawkshaw Hawkins Harold Franklin "Hawkshaw" Hawkins (December 22, 1921 – March 5, 1963) was an American country music singer popular from the 1950s into the early 1960s. He was known for his rich, smooth vocals and music drawn from blues, boogie and honky ...

and several musicians began singing "I Saw the Light", and the crowd joined in, thinking at first that the announcement was an act, but when Hawkins and company began singing, the crowd realized it was no act.

Release

The film was originally released in 1964 in black and white, and has the distinction of being the final

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

musical film to be produced in black and white. According to Hamilton, "the movie made me a hero in the South, but because it was a small film, it didn't get the exposure it deserved in the rest of the country."Hamilton p 183 Among the film's fans were

Colonel Tom Parker Thomas Andrew Parker (born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk; June 26, 1909 January 21, 1997),

and Hamilton's later girlfriends

Lynda Bird Johnson Lynda Bird Johnson Robb (born March 19, 1944) is the elder daughter of the 36th U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson. She served as chairwoman of the Board of Reading is Fundamental, the nation's largest chil ...

and

Alana Hamilton Alana Hamilton Stewart (; born May 18, 1945) is an American actress and former model. She has also used her maiden name, Alana Collins, and her names from her first marriage, Alana Collins-Hamilton and Alana Hamilton, professionally. Early life ...

. The film was colorized by Turner Entertainment in 1990. The colorized version made its debut over

SuperStation WTBS TBS (an abbreviation for Turner Broadcasting System) is an American pay television network owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It carries a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy, alo ...

on January 1, 1991, the 38th anniversary of Hank Williams, Sr.'s death. ''Your Cheatin' Heart'' was released on DVD November 9, 2010, by Warner Archive as a MOD (Manufacture On Demand) disc via Amazon (Black and White version). The colorized version has never been released on any form of home media, but DVD-Rs of it frequently show up on websites specializing in bootlegs of rare movies.

References

* George Hamilton & William Stadiem, ''Don't Mind If I Do'', Simon & Schuster 2008

External links

* * * * {{Sam Katzman 1964 films 1960s biographical films 1964 musical films American biographical films American musical films Biographical films about singers Country music films 1960s English-language films Films set in the 1930s Films set in the 1940s Films set in the 1950s Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Cultural depictions of Hank Williams Films directed by Gene Nelson 1960s American films