Your Cheatin' Heart (film)

Last updated
Your Cheatin' Heart
Your Cheatin' Heart (film).jpg
Directed by Gene Nelson
Written byStanford Whitmore
Produced by Sam Katzman
Starring George Hamilton
Susan Oliver
Red Buttons
CinematographyEllis W. Carter
Edited by Ben Lewis
Music by Fred Karger
Production
company
Four-Leaf Productions
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • November 4, 1964 (1964-11-04)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2,500,000 (US/ Canada rentals) [1]

Your Cheatin' Heart is a 1964 American fictionalized biographical-musical directed by Gene Nelson and starring George Hamilton as country singer Hank Williams. It co-stars Susan Oliver and Red Buttons.

Contents

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

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, employing Jeff Richards and June Allyson in the lead roles. [2] Then Elvis Presley was considered as a possible star, to make his follow-up movie for MGM following Jailhouse Rock . [3] However, Colonel Tom Parker refused.

Paul Gregory became attached as producer and wanted Steve McQueen for the lead. [4] 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." [5] They assigned their film to producer Sam Katzman who specialized in low budget fare.

In November 1963 Standford Whitmore was writing The Hank Williams Story for Katzman. [6] The film was made with the assistance of Williams' widow Audrey and featuring the songs ("Long Gone Lonesome Blues", "I Can’t Help It", and "Hey, Good Lookin’") lip-synched by Hamilton but sung by Hank Williams, Jr. [7]

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". [8] [9]

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." [10] 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. [10] With Audrey's support, Hamilton got the part, his signing being announced in November 1963. [11]

Paula Prentiss was at one stage attached as female star. [12]

Filming

Filming started in April 1964. [13] 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." [14]

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 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 musical film to be produced in black and white.[ citation needed ] 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." [15] Among the film's fans were Colonel Tom Parker and Hamilton's later girlfriends Lynda Bird Johnson and Alana Hamilton. [15]

The film was colorized by Turner Entertainment in 1990. The colorized version made its debut over SuperStation WTBS on January 1, 1991, the 38th anniversary of Hank Williams, Sr.'s death.[ citation needed ]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.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Peppard</span> American actor (1928–1994)

George Peppard was an American actor. He secured a major role as struggling writer Paul Varjak when he starred alongside Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), and later portrayed a character based on Howard Hughes in The Carpetbaggers (1964). On television, he played the title role of millionaire insurance investigator and sleuth Thomas Banacek in the early-1970s mystery series Banacek. He played Col. John "Hannibal" Smith, the cigar-smoking leader of a renegade commando squad in the 1980s action television series The A-Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Your Cheatin' Heart</span> 1952 song by Hank Williams

"Your Cheatin' Heart" is a song written and recorded by country music singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1952. It is regarded as one of country's most important standards. Williams was inspired to write the song while driving with his fiancée from Nashville, Tennessee, to Shreveport, Louisiana. After describing his first wife Audrey Sheppard as a "cheatin' heart", in minutes he dictated the lyrics to Billie Jean Jones. Produced by Fred Rose, Williams recorded the song at his last session at Castle Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, on September 23.

<i>Where the Boys Are</i> 1960 film by Henry Levin

Where the Boys Are is a 1960 American CinemaScope comedy film directed by Henry Levin and starring Connie Francis, Dolores Hart, Paula Prentiss, George Hamilton, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Hutton, and Frank Gorshin. It was written by George Wells based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Glendon Swarthout. The screenplay concerns four female college students who spend spring break in Fort Lauderdale. The title song "Where the Boys Are" was sung by Connie Francis, who played one of the foursome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Katzman</span> American film producer and director (1901–1973)

Sam Katzman was an American film producer and director. Katzman's specialty was producing low-budget genre films, including serials, which had disproportionately high returns for the studios and his financial backers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Hutton</span> American actor (1934–1979)

Dana Scott James "Jim" Hutton was an American actor in film and television best remembered for his role as Ellery Queen in the 1970s TV series of the same name, and his screen partnership with Paula Prentiss in four films, starting with Where the Boys Are. He is the father of actor Timothy Hutton.

<i>Mans Favorite Sport?</i> 1964 film by Howard Hawks

Man's Favorite Sport? is a 1964 American screwball comedy film starring Rock Hudson and Paula Prentiss and directed and produced by Howard Hawks. Hawks intended the film to be an homage to his own 1938 screwball classic Bringing Up Baby, with Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, and unsuccessfully tried to get these stars to reprise their roles.

<i>The Power</i> (1968 film) 1968 American science fiction film directed by Byron Haskin

The Power is a 1968 American tech noir thriller film from MGM, produced by George Pal, directed by Byron Haskin, that stars George Hamilton and Suzanne Pleshette. It is based on the 1956 science fiction novel The Power by Frank M. Robinson.

<i>The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm</i> 1962 film by George Pal, Henry Levin

The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm is a 1962 American biographical fantasy film directed by Henry Levin and George Pal. The latter was the producer and also in charge of the stop motion animation. The film was one of the highest-grossing films of 1962. It won one Oscar and was nominated for three additional Academy Awards. The cast included several prominent actors—including Laurence Harvey, Karlheinz Böhm, Jim Backus, Barbara Eden and Buddy Hackett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sol C. Siegel</span> American film producer

Sol C. Siegel was an American film producer. Two of the numerous films he produced, A Letter to Three Wives (1949) and Three Coins in the Fountain (1954), were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audrey Williams</span> American musician (1923–75)

Audrey Mae Sheppard Williams 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 Williams III and Holly Williams.

<i>Your Cheatin Heart</i> (Hank Williams Jr. album) 1964 studio album by Hank Williams Jr.

Your Cheatin' Heart is the second studio album by American musician Hank Williams Jr. The full title is: The MGM Sound Track Album Hank Williams' Life Story – The MGM Film Your Cheatin' Heart Sung by Hank Williams Jr. The album number is E/SE-4260.

<i>Made in Paris</i> 1966 film by Boris Sagal

Made in Paris is a 1966 American romantic-comedy film starring Ann-Margret, Louis Jourdan, Richard Crenna, Edie Adams, and Chad Everett. The film was written by Stanley Roberts and directed by Boris Sagal.

<i>Looking for Love</i> (film) 1964 film by Don Weis

Looking for Love is a 1964 romantic musical-comedy film starring popular singer Connie Francis.

<i>Bachelor in Paradise</i> (film) 1961 film

Bachelor in Paradise is a 1961 American Metrocolor, CinemaScope romantic comedy film starring Bob Hope and Lana Turner. Directed by Jack Arnold, it was written by Valentine Davies and Hal Kanter, based on a story by Vera Caspary.

<i>Pirates of Tortuga</i> 1961 film by Robert D. Webb

Pirates of Tortuga is a 1961 American swashbuckler film which invented an alternate history for the actual Welsh privateer Henry Morgan. It was released in October 1961 in the United States in CinemaScope.

<i>Follow the Boys</i> (1963 film) 1963 film by Richard Thorpe

Follow the Boys is a 1963 American comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Connie Francis, Paula Prentiss, and Janis Paige, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Shot on location on the French and Italian Riviera, Follow the Boys was MGM's second film vehicle for top recording artist Francis following Where the Boys Are (1960). While Francis' role in the earlier film had been somewhat secondary, she had a distinctly central role in Follow the Boys playing Bonnie Pulaski, a newlywed traveling the Riviera.

<i>Hootenanny Hoot</i> 1963 film directed by Gene Nelson

Hootenanny Hoot is a 1963 folk music musical film directed by Gene Nelson. It stars Peter Breck and Ruta Lee.

Robert M. Weitman (1905–1989) was an American film, TV and theatre producer and studio executive. For a number of years he was a leading executive at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, being head of production during a successful period in the 1960s under president Robert O'Brien. The two men oversaw the production of the last consistent run of classic films at the studio.

<i>The Wizard of Baghdad</i> 1961 film by George Sherman

The Wizard of Baghdad is a 1960 American comedy/fantasy film directed by George Sherman and starring Dick Shawn, Diane Baker, and Barry Coe. It was released by 20th Century Fox.

"I Could Never Be Ashamed of You" is a song written and recorded by Hank Williams. It was released as the B-side of "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive" on MGM Records in November 1952.

References

  1. ↑ This figure consists of anticipated rentals accruing distributors in North America. See "Big Rental Pictures of 1965", Variety, January 5, 1966 p 6
  2. ↑ Scheuer, Philip K. (November 7, 1956). "Frank Ross to Sponsor Joan Caulfield on TV; Garmes Produces 'Fear'". Los Angeles Times. p. C11.
  3. ↑ Schallert, Edwin. (August 12, 1957). "'Cheatin' Heart' Named for Presley; Holden's Rival British Favorite". Los Angeles Times. p. C11.
  4. ↑ Hopper, Hedda. "Looking at Hollywood: Plan Film About 'Your Cheatin' Heart' Composer". Chicago Daily Tribune 18, 1959. p. b5.
  5. ↑ Hamilton p 180
  6. ↑ Scheuer, Philip K. (Nov 26, 1963). "TV 'Probes' of Film Troubles Draw Fire: Producer Denies 'Obsession'; Dreyer and Bergman in News". Los Angeles Times. p. F9.
  7. ↑ Hank Williams, Jr. interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
  8. ↑ "Hamilton p 187".
  9. ↑ "Hamilton Portrays Singer But Only Mouths Songs". Los Angeles Times. November 17, 1964. p. C9.
  10. 1 2 "Hamilton p 181".
  11. ↑ Eddie Gallaher (November 17, 1963). "Riddle Sound Is Ring-a-Dingy". The Washington Post. p. G9.
  12. ↑ Hopper, Hedda (March 16, 1964). "Looking at Hollywood: Paula Prentiss Lands Big Film Role". Chicago Tribune. p. b3.
  13. ↑ "Film to Start". Los Angeles Times. April 22, 1964. p. C18.
  14. ↑ Hamilton p 182
  15. 1 2 Hamilton p 183
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.