Swanee River (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Swanee River |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1939 |
| length | 84 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Sidney Lanfield |
| script |
Philip Dunne , John Taintor Foote |
| production | Darryl F. Zanuck |
| music |
Robert Russell Bennett , David Buttolph , Cyril J. Mockridge , Rudy Schrager |
| camera | Bert Glennon |
| cut | Louis R. Loeffler |
| occupation | |
| |
Swanee River is an American film drama made in 1939 by Sidney Lanfield . The film is a partially fictional biography of the composer Stephen Foster (1826–1864).
action
Stephen Foster is a young man who dreams of writing music from the heart for the common people of the south. However, his family insists that he work for a freight company in Cincinnati , which would make him seven dollars a week. His future father-in-law Andrew McDowell is also not enthusiastic about Stephen's intentions.
Stephen is short of money and has to sell his song Oh Suzanna for only $ 15. The buyer is the singer EP Christy. Stephen allows him to pose as the composer of the song. The song quickly became known nationwide. Stephen composes Camptown Races and goes on tour with Christy and his group.
Stephen's financial situation is finally secure and he can marry Jane McDowell. They soon have a child, their daughter Marion. Jane's beauty inspires Stephen to write the song Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair . However, the young family's prosperity ends when Stephen's foray into the classical subject is a failure. When the Civil War breaks out, Stephen is viewed as a traitor for his love for the southern states. Stephen seeks solace in alcohol; his wife leaves him.
Two years later, Jane returns to her husband. She encourages him to keep going. Stephen writes Old Folks at Home . Stephen won't see the song performed. On the evening of the performance that Christy gives with his group in New York, the composer dies of a heart attack.
criticism
Frank S. Nugent of the New York Times complained that the film was a poor colored number revue for half a dozen of the better-known Foster works, backed up by dramatic announcements that were hardly better than dull.
Awards
The musical director Louis Silvers received an Oscar nomination in 1940 for the category of best film music .
background
The film premiered on December 29, 1939 in New York.
The title of the film refers to the first line of the song Old Folks at Home ( Way down upon de Swanee River ), which has been the national anthem of the US state Florida since 1935 .
The film, with Al Jolson's final appearance on the screen, has some historical flaws. The historical EP Christy committed suicide as early as May 1862, two years before Foster's death.
Web links
- Swanee River in theInternet Movie Database(English)