Always in My Heart (1942)

Director:

Jo Graham

Writers:

Dorothy Bennett (play) and
Irving White (play) ...

Release Date:

14 March 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Musical

Plot:

After many years, MacKenzie Scott is pardoned from prison, but his wife is already involved with another man...

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Daughter | Boat | Warden | 1940s

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Kay Francis	...	Marjorie 'Mudge' Scott
Walter Huston	...	MacKenzie 'Mac' Scott
Gloria Warren	...	Victoria 'Vickie' Scott
Patti Hale	...	Booley, Angie's Granddaughter (as Patty Hale)
Frankie Thomas	...	Martin 'Marty' Scott
Una O'Connor	...	Angie, Scotts' Housekeeper
Sidney Blackmer	...	Philip Ames
Armida	...	Lolita
Frank Puglia	...	Joe Borelli
Russell Arms	...	Red
Anthony Caruso	...	Frank
Elvira Curci	...	Rosita Borelli
John Hamilton	...	Warden
Harry Lewis	...	Steve
Herbert Gunn	...	Dick

Runtime:

92 min | West Germany:70 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | West Germany:16 | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #7854)

Filming Locations:

Monterey, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Although Walter Huston had sung in his theater roles earlier, this was the first time he sang in a movie.

Movie Connections:

Version of Daughters Courageous (1939)

Soundtrack:

Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 in C Sharp Minor

The story ain't so bad, but the singing might just drive you to suicide!!!

Kay Francis is mother to two children--one who is a bit of an idiot and a daughter who is constantly singing. Francis has a fiancé who loves her but obviously wants to ship her nearly adult children off to college. You can't blame him too much, especially with all the singing, but you wonder about Kay's sanity as she seems to be the only one who doesn't recognize this.

Unknown to all but Kay is the fact that her dead husband isn't dead after all but is in prison. Since he was sentenced to prison for life, they both decided to tell the children he was dead and Kay was encouraged repeatedly by her husband (Walter Huston) to remarry. Huston is not your typical Hollywood prisoner, as he's a model of decency and eventually the state decides to pardon him just before Francis' wedding to her stuffy but rich boyfriend. However, Huston does NOT want to return to their lives, as he feels they have a right to continue as they are--he just doesn't want to upset their lives. But, he's also curious how his children have become so he secretly checks up on them with no intentions of letting them know who he really is. Of course, this plan has complications--otherwise, there wouldn't be much of a movie!

The plot of ALWAYS IN MY HEART isn't believable but despite this, the story is quite entertaining and watchable. However, Warner Brothers' latest singing discovery, Gloria Warren, made the movie tough going. That's because her style of singing was akin to Jeanette MacDonald combined with a banshee!! One reviewer called it "screeching" and this isn't far from the truth!! I can see why this young prodigy only made a few films, as every time she sang the hair on my neck stood up and my ears burned. So my advice is if the movie comes back on TV, copy it first. Then, when you watch it, you can speed through the god-awful songs!!