Music in My Heart

MUSIC IN MY HEART is the kind of predictable little programmer that Columbia churned out on a regular basis during the late '30s and early '40s. It's not exactly an A-film--more like a classy B flick--but it's strictly formula stuff all the way with a predictable plot based on the boy meets girl--boy loses girl--boy wins girl idea.

TONY MARTIN, looking great and in good voice, gets a chance to dominate the proceedings with his strong vocal abilities, especially on a little number called "It's A Blue World." RITA HAYWORTH, with dark hair and low hairline, is attractive and fetching as his girlfriend, but she barely gets a chance to do more than shake her hips in her one dance number. It's easy to see that she was photogenic in all of her close-ups and on the verge of becoming a big star.

The supporting cast is a good one, including ALAN MOBRAY, ERIC BLORE and GEORGE TOBIAS. I'm not keen about EDITH FELLOWS (as Rita's younger sister), sorry to say.

It's pleasant, light entertainment with a silly story and some humor that is only mildly amusing, involving a rascal of a monkey.

Robert (Tony Martin) is due to be deported and so he is rushing to the harbor to board the boat. Sharing his cab is Patricia (Rita Hayworth) is a woman rushing to marry a rich guy (Alan Mowbray). However, when there is a wreck and the cab is delayed, both miss the boat and it changes the rest of their lives.

It's strange. For years, I haven't liked singing in most movies and hated that so many classic Hollywood films have songs planted right in the middle of them for no apparent reason. However, recently I have noticed that this doesn't bother me as much as it used to--particularly when the singer has such a beautiful voice. This is definitely the case with Tony Martin. While he didn't make a ton of movies, when he did, his singing was just amazing--among the best you could find. So, as I watched "Music in My Heart", I enjoyed the musical interludes, as Martin's crooning was quite nice.

So, apart from Martin's singing, is there anything else that could make this movie worth your time? Well, it might be worth seeing just to see Rita Hayworth in one of her films before her HUGE make-over. This is because she was a favorite actress of studio head Roy Cohn and he personally groomed both her career and her face. He ordered her hairline to be adjusted (owch!), her skin to be lightened and her hairstyle and color changed. Here in this film, she's about midway through her makeover--not as ethnic as she had been but definitely not the glamor girl she soon was to become.

Another reason to watch the film is the nice little touches. Lots of wonderful supporting actors are in this one--such as Eric Blore and George Tobias. And, more importantly, their dialog is excellent--providing the sort of clever and cute colorful touches that make a film memorable.

So, despite this being a B-movie (due to its short running time and budget), it's very, very good B--almost like a 'B+' film! Enjoyable, fun and well worth your time. And while I'll admit that the ending is hokey, it sure is fun!

"Music in My Heart" is a light comedy and musical romance. Columbia Pictures wasn't yet among the top studios in Hollywood, but it was beginning to compete well with the Big Five in comedies, musicals, and dramas. This film came out while World War II was underway, but a full year before the U. S. would enter the war. Rita Hayworth had been in films for six years, but her star was just beginning to rise after the 1939 smash hit with Cary Grant, "Only Angels Have Wings" Sill, she had second billing here to Tony Martin who was a popular singer and actor at the time.

Both Martin (as Robert Gregory) and Hayworth (as Patricia O'Malley) sing in this picture, and while it's not billed as a comedy, the comedy carries much of the film. It has a fine supporting cast of some top comedy actors of the period -- Eric Blore, Alan Mowbray, and George Tobias. Andre Kostelanetz and his Orchestra add to the music. A better screenplay could have made more use of Blore and Mowbray.

The plot is fair and has a very unusual, but funny and happy ending. Martin, by the way, was a very accomplished musician on a couple of instruments as well. Here are some favorite lines from the film.

Robert Gregory, "You don't mean Charles Gardner, the millionaire publisher?" Patricia O'Malley " Uh huh." Gregory, "Say, he's got lots of money." O'Malley, "Most millionaires have."

Robert Gregory, "If you don't mind me saying so, you don't sound very much in love with him." Patricia O'Malley, "I do mind." Gregory, "Well, then, I won't say it."

Griggs (Eric Bore), "Shall we try some more bicarbonate, sir?" Charles Gardner (Alan Mowbray), "No, the bicarbonate interferes with the brandy."

Tony Martin has "Music in My Heart," a 1940 B movie also starring Rita Hayworth, Edith Fellows, Alan Mowbray, Eric Blore and George Tobias. Martin is singer Bob Gregory, who is about to be deported. We never get the full story, except his parents never applied for citizenship. Presumably he was born elsewhere but raised in the U.S. On his way to the boat to leave the country, his cab collides with the one carrying gorgeous Patricia O'Malley (Hayworth) who is on her way to the boat, too, so she can marry a rich man (Mowbray). They both miss the boat, and Bob ends up not only staying with Patricia's family but falling in love with her as well.

The film is filled with music and some great singing by Martin, who by the time I was a child, wasn't doing this type of singing any longer. He had a fantastic tenor voice. Rita's hair looks black here but she's no less beautiful. She only has one dance, but it's basically hip movement - we don't get to see much else. She and Martin make a handsome team and give relaxed performances.

"Music in My Heart" is probably a cut above a B, considering the cast. Since Cohn was grooming Rita for stardom, he surrounded her with good talent. Not that she needed anyone else around her - she always glittered like gold.

It's good to see a very young Rita Hayworth (before her Columbia make-over) looking terrific and having a lot of fun along with young and handsome Tony Martin who's in excellent voice singing pleasant songs including the Oscar nominated IT'S A BLUE WORLD. They give delightful performances and work well together.

A fine supporting cast is headed by the charming, underrated Edith Fellows who assists Martin in two numbers. While Alan Mowbray, Eric Blore, George Tobias and George Humbert all do well in the kind of parts they had played many times before but which was welcomed with glee by audiences of the thirties and forties.

Rita gets a chance to dance a little but her exceptional terpsichorean talents are wasted here.

A most enjoyable way to pass an hour.