Golden Age Hollywood never let something like facts get in the way of telling a good story and nowhere is that more evident than in the biographies of music icons. Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Bert Kalmar & Harry Ruby are just a few of the songwriters who had their life stories turn into musical biographies, even if their actual lives were a bit boring. Even 19th Century composers weren't off limits. In 1944, Columbia Pictures, writer Sidney Buchman (Mr. Smith Goes To Washington) and director Charles Vidor (Gilda) took on Polish composer Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) in A Song To Remember.
While Chopin lived a short life, dying at 39, Buchman and Vidor still have to do some condensing to cram it all into 113 minutes. The film starts out with him as a young boy, under the tutelage of Josef Elsner (Paul Muni, Scarface), who is trying to convince his parents to let Chopin go to Paris. The filmmakers make it sound as if Chopin was not recognized in his native Poland, but that's not the case. And Elsner's role in Chopin's life is much bigger here than in reality, presumably to make Muni happy. Indeed, there are portions of the film that make you wonder if it really is about Chopin. After all, Muni is top-billed, ahead of even Cornel Wilde (Leave Her To Heaven), who plays the adult Chopin.
George Sands (Merle Oberon, Wuthering Heights) is the only woman in this version of Chopin's life and she essentially becomes a femme fetale. The character is written like she just stepped out of a film noir, as she pushes Chopin to sacrifice his Polish patriotism to pursue his own career. Buchman and Vidor also keep pressing on patriotism, as this was made during World War II. And even though Chopin likely died of Tuberculosis, the script makes it sound like he was dying because he rejected Poland. Of course, he has a third act epiphany and finally goes on his famous tour of Europe.
When A Song To Remember was released, the film was met with praise and even earned multiple Oscar nominations. Wilde earned the only acting nomination of his career for playing Chopin, which he does remarkably well. The film fails him more than anyone else because he is often left out of major conflicts. Yes, even in his own biopic, Chopin is shoved to the site.
A Song To Remember has sadly been forgotten about over time. Yes, it's totally fictional, but it's still filled with fine performances and wonderful color production design.
While Sony did release a made-on-demand DVD in 2011, they licensed the title to Mill Creek. The Mill Creek edition, which is supposed to make the film's 70th anniversary, was released in June and features no bonus material. The film is crammed onto a single-layer disc and there isn't even a trailer or notes to be found. Still, it's dirt cheap ($5.99 on Amazon right now), so if you have any interest in Chopin, this is a must-have. a
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