This fascinating, but incredibly inaccurate portrayal of Robert Schumann and his wife Clara Wieck Schuman was done with the family trade in mind for MGM. The real story would never have made it to the screen in those days.
For one thing when Schumann started courting Clara Wieck over the objections of her father, played here by Leo G. Carroll, Clara was only 15 years old. Schumann had been going out with a 16 year old girl before Clara, but dumped her for Clara. It wasn't just the fact that Schumann was a social climber that Professor Wieck objected. Katharine Hepburn was a good choice as an adult Clara, but obviously she was not going to play teenagers at that stage of her life.
The madness that claimed Schumann we now deduce as being syphilitic in origin. Right around the time this film came out it claimed another real life victim, one Al Capone. But obviously we dare not talk about this while the Code is firmly in place.
I will say Paul Henreid was fine as the tortured genius Robert Schumann, he does the best acting in the film. There were a few snickers from some when Robert Walker was cast as Johannes Brahms who studied with Schumann. But Brahms came to Schumann when he was in his early twenties although someone not quite so American as Walker might have been a better choice.
Song Of Love is no better or worse than a lot of composer biographies, either classical or popular. The audience comes to hear the music and they heard the piano stylings of Artur Rubinstein. Those whose tastes run to the classical would have sat through any kind of story to hear Rubinstein.
The other good thing about the film and why it must have been marketed for the family trade were the kids. Schuman and Clara had quite a little tribe and their escapades look like a German version of the Brady Bunch.
If you like classical music and Katharine Hepburn than I would recommend Song Of Love.
For one thing when Schumann started courting Clara Wieck over the objections of her father, played here by Leo G. Carroll, Clara was only 15 years old. Schumann had been going out with a 16 year old girl before Clara, but dumped her for Clara. It wasn't just the fact that Schumann was a social climber that Professor Wieck objected. Katharine Hepburn was a good choice as an adult Clara, but obviously she was not going to play teenagers at that stage of her life.
The madness that claimed Schumann we now deduce as being syphilitic in origin. Right around the time this film came out it claimed another real life victim, one Al Capone. But obviously we dare not talk about this while the Code is firmly in place.
I will say Paul Henreid was fine as the tortured genius Robert Schumann, he does the best acting in the film. There were a few snickers from some when Robert Walker was cast as Johannes Brahms who studied with Schumann. But Brahms came to Schumann when he was in his early twenties although someone not quite so American as Walker might have been a better choice.
Song Of Love is no better or worse than a lot of composer biographies, either classical or popular. The audience comes to hear the music and they heard the piano stylings of Artur Rubinstein. Those whose tastes run to the classical would have sat through any kind of story to hear Rubinstein.
The other good thing about the film and why it must have been marketed for the family trade were the kids. Schuman and Clara had quite a little tribe and their escapades look like a German version of the Brady Bunch.
If you like classical music and Katharine Hepburn than I would recommend Song Of Love.