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Song of Love (1947 film)

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Song of Love
Directed byClarence Brown
Screenplay byIvan Tors
Irmgard von Cube
Allen Vincent
Robert Ardrey
Based onSong of Love, the Life of Robert and Clara Schumann
play
by Bernard Schubert
Mario Silva
Produced byClarence Brown
StarringKatharine Hepburn
Paul Henreid
Robert Walker
CinematographyHarry Stradling Sr.
Edited byRobert Kern
Music byRobert Schumann
Johannes Brahms
Franz Liszt
Production
company
Distributed byLoew's Inc.
Release date
  • October 9, 1947 (1947-10-09)
Running time
119 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2,696,000[1]
Box office$2,737,000[1]

Song of Love is a 1947 American biopic film about the relationship between renowned 19th-century musicians Clara Wieck Schumann (Katharine Hepburn) and Robert Schumann (Paul Henreid). The film, which also stars Robert Walker and Leo G. Carroll, was directed by Clarence Brown and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Ivan Tors, Irma von Cube, Allen Vincent, and Robert Ardrey co-authored the screenplay, which was based on a play by Bernard Schubert and Mario Silva.

Plot

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In a fictionalized 19th century, musicians Clara Wieck Schumann, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms are depicted.

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 based on Faust but has no success in having it performed. Unable to cope with disappointment and failure, Robert has a mental breakdown while conducting a performance. He loses his sanity and eventually 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.[2]

Cast

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Production notes

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Hepburn trained with a pianist for weeks prior to production so she could be filmed playing the piano convincingly.[3] When Henreid is playing piano, the hands of Ervin Nyiregyházi are seen.[4] The soundtrack for the picture was recorded by Arthur Rubinstein. Rubinstein said Hepburn played almost as well as he.[3]

Reception

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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.[1]

Variety listed the film as earning $3.1 million in U.S. and Canadian rentals in 1947.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "The Eddie Mannix Ledger" (Document). Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study..
  2. ^ "Song of Love (1947) - Clarence Brown | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  3. ^ a b Chandler, Charlotte (2011). I Know Where I'm Going: Katharine Hepburn: A Personal Biography. Applause. p. 164.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Top Grossers of 1947", Variety, 7 January 1948 p 63
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