Swanee River (1939) User Reviews (14)

The last moment was ridiculous

[theowinthrop · 6/10 · 22 May 2005]

I am giving this film a "6" because of my fondness for Stephen Foster's melodies (and my pity for his fate), and because - whatever one thinks of his racist "blackface" act, Al Jolson was a wonderful singer. If it had been shot as a concert film of Foster's best tunes, it would have been worth an "9" or even a "10". Instead it is tied to one of those idiotic Hollywood composer biographies. It is a sub-set to Hollywood biographies, all of which have fact problems. Here it is trying to concentrate on Foster's alcoholism (a fact), but not on the business problems he confronted in his career.

Foster was the first American composer of lasting merit (although his contemporary Louis Moreau Gottschalk came close). His compositions were totally composed by him (including lyrics). But he never had any business abilities, so that while tunes like "Old Folks At Home", "Beautiful Dreamer", "The Camptown Races", "I Dream of Jeannie" and "Oh Susannah" were massive popular hits, Foster got remarkably little of the profits. Added to his problems were the lack of efficient copy-write protection in the U.S. (or on the globe, for that matter) to prevent pirating of his work. He was also the first composer who tried to live on the successful profits of his compositions. Had he been frugal, and not a drinker, it just might have worked (for a few years he did prosper), but he fumbled it. His last years were spent still composing, but living as a Bowery derelict. His end is not quite the melodrama of the film - he fell in his room cutting himself (not cutting his throat). Due to his alcoholic condition weakening his body, he died a few days later in Bellevue Hospital.

Don Ameche is a terrific actor, and does what he can here - but it reminds us of an extended development of his Edward Salomon (Lillian Russell's doomed composer husband) in the Russsell biography. He is talented - greatly so - but drink and ill health doom her here. No new extension of his acting range as Foster.

By 1939 I wonder if there was increasing criticism by African - American groups regarding stereotyping in Hollywood. Probably not too much yet, or at least enough for the industry to take notice. Films about D.D.Emmett (DIXIE), and other films with minstrel segments in them would still appear within the next decade. It really is not until the end of the 1940s and into the 1950s that an effect of World War II is felt - a dislike for the disparate treatment of African Americans - and begins to have an impact. So the minstrel portions, historically correct (unfortunately), were totally acceptable in this film in 1939.

Oddly enough, given the accidental tragedy that ends this film, the fate of E.E.Christy is overlooked. Christy apparently had a nervous breakdown in the 1860s, and threw himself out of a window. One would not know that watching Jolson's performance, based on this script.

The concluding moment of this film always stuck in my craw. Tragically announcing the death of Foster at what was supposed to be the benefit to resurrect his career, Christy/Jolson announces the first performance of Foster's latest and greatest tune. He starts singing "Old Folks At Home" (renamed "Swanee River" - as in the film title), Jolson starts singing it (remember for the first time). When the music reaches the chorus, "All the world is sad and weary..." the whole audience arose and sang it's chorus lines. Remarkable example of massive psychic transference, or poor screenplay writing: I leave it to the viewer to guess which.

An all right bio of Stephen Foster

[willrams · 6/10 · 15 November 2002]

This is a slow moving not exactly true bio of Stephen Foster. However, I had to comment on it because I always like Don Ameche who plays Foster, and his daughter was played by Diane Fisher, who is the sister of a good friend of mine. Ameche does a good job, but it's Al Jolson, and his "Mammy" songs that steal the show. It seems Emmet Kelly, the famous clown, was in it, so I guess that is something to look for.

Suicide?

[zootzot · 30 May 2004]

My mother took me to see this movie in 1939, when I was 6 years old, at the Sanders theater across from Prospect Park in Brooklyn. I liked the music, and still do, but have this memory of Stephen Foster killing himself with a straight razor. I remember the water in the wash pan next to him filling with blood. Heavy stuff for a six year old. I asked my Mom why he would do that and she said she didn't know. Of course, later in life I found out why.

The music was great and the color very impressive for the time. Anyway, I always liked Don Ameche and remember seeing him sing and dance on Broadway in 1953 at the Winter Garden theater co-starring with Hildegarde Neff. I believe the show was Silk Stockings.

Enjoy the music and nostalgia

[caa821 · 7/10 · 24 October 2006]

In this film's comment section, the one given by "theowinthrop" is particularly on the mark, and I would agree with all of its points. Being from Cincinnati, and attending four years in high school in Louisville, one of my roommates was from Bardstown, Kentucky, the locale of "My Old Kentucky Home," the state park of the same name, and "The Stephen Foster Story," one of the nation's largest outdoor (indoors if rain) dramas. This area is among America's most beautiful, and seeing it just magnifies the already giant irony of the fact that this locale, and others depicted by Foster's work, were from the pen of a man from Pittsburgh, who spent most of his time there, in Cincinnati and New York City - dying in abject poverty in the latter.

Hollywood biopics about composers and musical personalities (e.g. Rodgers & Hart, Kern, Romberg, Duchin, Sousa, and a score of others) are among the most fictionalized genre in any medium. However, this one dwarfs them all. I read a brief review (I believe from Leonard Maltin) remarking that in this flick, every line of dialog seemed to spark a lyric and/or title for a new song.

Jolson's inclusion is interesting to view, especially recalling that this was a time when his tremendous career had reached a point somewhat below its former level. The following years into the 1940's would see its subsequent rejuvenation, the filming of his two highly-popular biographical pictures (they may well run this one a close second for fictional aspects), and his rise to be voted top vocalist again (besting Crosby and Sinatra), only to have ill health overtake him.

Seeing Ameche, who was to enjoy greater longevity than Jolson and many other contemporaries, along with Jolson, is a unique asset of this film. Enjoy this, along with the nostalgic period conveyed (and the sad history of callousness and lack of respect for those of color - both during the time of the story and filming), and the outstanding melodies which Mr. Foster created.

Stephen Foster biopic

[HotToastyRag · 6/10 · 9 September 2021]

The same year as Gone With the Wind, audiences had the chance to see another movie during the same time period, Swanee River. However, since it was an inferior movie, not many people probably did. If you want to rent it now, you'll see Don Ameche playing the famed composer Stephen Foster. He certainly personifies the stereotypical musician: losing track of time because he's lost in thought, putting the phrase of a tune he's working on above importance of all else, and getting in large bouts of depression whenever he feels like a failure. Still, a nice, normal Southern girl wants to marry him. Against her father's better judgment, Andrea Leeds does marry him. And boy, does she suffer for it! On their wedding night, he abandons her to tinker around on a saloon piano.

A large portion of this movie features Al Jolson and his backup singers in blackface. It's a touchy subject for lots of people, but if you're able to understand its historical context, you might get through the movie. I've seen quite a few movies depicting this time period that feature blackface performances, and when they are used for historical purposes rather than just gratuitous song and dance numbers, I don't mind them. However, this one goes on and on and on. Al Jolson's ego nearly escapes from the screen, and you can imagine him insisting on singing each song in its entirety. It does feel gratuitous, especially because Stephen Foster himself never performed in blackface.

If you know anything about Stephen Foster, you know that he had a sad life. This is not an uplifting story, which is probably why they shove so many toe-tapping songs down the audience's throat. So, if you just want something patriotic and upbeat, rent Yankee Doodle Dandy instead. If you are in the mood for this one, you'll see Felix Bressart in the supporting cast - and that's always a treat! And of course, you'll hear lots of pretty music.

Why should facts get in the way of a Hollywood biopic?!

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 24 September 2023]

"Swanee River" purports to be the life story of Stephen Foster, the famous 19th century composer. However, it often gets the facts wrong and consists of too many song and dance numbers, many of which are VERY problematic here in the 21st century. So, on one hand it's just bad history and on the other, it's pretty offensive and has too many song and dance numbers. As a result, Don Ameche is wasted.

The story begins with Foster being a penniless wannabe composer. It follows him with successful songs such as "Old Black Joe", "Camp Town Races" and many other familiar hits. Ultimately, he dies young and folks are sad. But along the way, the story gets too many facts wrong. Additionally, with all the minstrel numbers (featuring Al Jolson), it's not only not much fun but pretty offensive as well.

To me, this is exactly the sort of song and dance film that just doesn't age well...not just because of the black-face numbers but because it's hard maintaining the story with so many disruptions.

The Stephen Foster Story

[lugonian · 8/10 · 22 September 2001]

SWANEE RIVER (20th Century-Fox, 1939), directed by Sidney Lanfield, is the second adaptation on the life of American composer Stephen Collins Foster (1826-1864). An earlier version, titled HARMONY LANE (Mascot, 1935) starred Douglass Montgomery, and the third and last incarnation (to date) became I DREAM OF JEANNIE (Republic, 1952) with Bill Shirley as Foster. Having seen all three screen treatments at one time or another over the years, the vote goes to the 1939 version as the best of the trio. For this screen version, it stars Don Ameche as Foster, an absent-minded but good-natured struggling composer whose songs become part of American music, thanks to the encouragement of his wife, Jane (Andrea Leeds) and E.P. Christy (Al Jolson), the "world's greatest minstrel." Of course with Foster's popularity comes trials and tribulations, whether it be in his struggles for success, or due to heavy drinking leading to his failed marriage, but it is not all in vain. Even after Foster's death, his music lives on.

While SWANEE RIVER is more of a fictional essay than fact, and what Hollywood bio-pic isn't, overlooking inaccuracies such as Foster's last complete composition actually being "Beautiful Dreamer" instead of "Swanee River" as the screenwriters of this story depict, the movie holds interest during its 85 minutes. Accurate in its period costumes, SWANEE RIVER is given lavish Technicolor, the charm of Andrea Leeds, and the rich singing voice of Al Jolson. Sadly for the legendary Jolson, who is in excellent form both in acting and singing (mostly in black-face), this became his last movie as a featured performer. The comedy routines for the minstrel shows, which wouldn't work as entertainment today, are lavishly staged and reproduced from that by-gone era.

Of the 200 completed songs written by Foster, only a few were selected. The musical program includes: "Here Comes the Hevan Line" (sung by Negroes); "Beautiful Dreamer" (background score); "Oh, Susanna" (sung by Al Jolson); "Camptown Races," "My Old Kentucky Home" (sung by Don Ameche and Al Jolson); "Ring, Ring de Banjo," "I Dream of Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair," "Old Black Joe" and "Swanee River" (sung by Jolson).

In the supporting cast are Chick Chandler as Mr. Bones; Felix Bressart as Henry Kleber; George Reed as Old Joe; Diane Fisher as the Foster daughter, Marion; and The Hall-Johnson Choir.

Don Ameche is believable as Stephen Foster, but even today, this life story of Foster is overshadowed by his earlier and most famous role in 1939's THE STORY OF Alexander GRAHAM BELL. Out of circulation for quite some time, if SWANEE RIVER should ever resurface again on any cable channel, chances are it won't be from American Movie Classics, where it was once scheduled and pulled in 1991, but possibly on the Fox Movie Channel during the early morning hours. For now, SWANEE RIVER, available on DVD, lives in the memory of those fortunate to have seen it many years ago. (***1/2)

Eye & Ear Candy

[telegonus · 8/10 · 17 November 2001]

This is hardly an accurate biography of songwriter Stephen Foster, but it's an awfully good movie thanks to its beautiful score, breathtaking photography, and scenic design. Its pictorialization of antebellum America and the South in particular rival the same year's Gone With the Wind. Producer Darryl Zanuck was especially gifted at producing these Techniciolor extravaganzas, and this one's as good as it gets. Even if one can't stand the story,--and it's a sad one--the movie is worth seeing and hearing for the remarkable skill with which it was made. Don Ameche is a pleasing Foster, and Al Jolson is on hand as Christy (of the OLD Christy Minstrels fame), and sings the songs with a gleefully vaudevillean relish which at times seems a bit over the top for the historical period. On the other hand the movie seems quite accurate in other respects and feels, to me, more like nineteenth century America than 1939.

America's Premier Melody Maker

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 13 January 2008]

The first time I saw this film was well over 50 years ago on WOR TV's Million Dollar Movie. It was almost a requirement in my house as my father was a big fan of Al Jolson and my mother happened to love the melodies of Stephen Foster.

Two years after Swanee River was out, Foster and other songwriters of his era had a revival of sorts as the American Society of Composers and Publishers got into a wing ding battle with the radio and record industry and banned its music from broadcast and vinyl. What was done was that a lot of music that was in the public domain got revived in all kinds of strange ways. Swing versions of various classic and folk melodies invaded the airwaves. Country type music got it's own licensing agent in Broadcast Music Incorporated set up as a rival to ASCAP. It all got settled before Pearl Harbor and the country moved on to more important disputes. But Swanee River as a film gave Foster kind of a leg up on some of his other public domain contemporaries.

Don Ameche, fresh from another biographical triumph in Alexander Graham Bell, makes a charming, talented, but weak of character Stephen Foster. The man who created some of the most beautiful melodies ever composed, was no businessman as other reviewers pointed out. He also suffered from alcoholism which led to his early demise. Andrea Leeds is his patient and loving wife for whom I Dream of Jeannie was composed.

As was also pointed out by another reviewer, there was no such thing as ASCAP to protect the creators of melody from exploitation. What Al Jolson's E.P. Christy did to Stephen Foster insofar as his first song hit, Oh Susanna is concerned was not only true, but quite the norm. What Christy did was also decide maybe he ought to cut Foster in on the profits to keep the creative spigot flowing.

Jolson as Christy was the premier minstrel artist of his day when that form of entertainment was acceptable and popular. Of course Jolson got his start in minstrel shows and damage to his reputation has come because he never would discard the black-face. This is the only time on film that Jolson plays a real life character and he sings the Foster songs with feeling and the inimitable Jolson style.

By dint of the fact that his songs were minstrel show material and some and only some glorified the old South, Foster himself has come down as damaged goods in these politically correct days. That's a pity because items like Beautiful Dreamer, Old Dog Trey, My Old Kentucky Home are the stuff of genius.

It's not the complete truth, but Swanee River still holds up as a nice account of America's premier melody maker of his century.

Don Ameche Redeems a Cumbersome Bio-Pic

[Kalaman · 26 October 2003]

"Swanee River", an extravagant Fox production directed by Sidney Lanfield, is one of those polished, ambitious and somewhat cumbersome biographies of notable figures that were frequent in late 30s and early 40s in Hollywood. Along with this one, there were pictures like "Story of Alexander Graham Bell", "Abe Lincoln in Illinois", "Life of Emile Zola", "Lillian Russell", and "Juarez". Don Ameche, a talented actor and performer who has a great dynamic presence on the screen, redeems this sternly stolid and schmaltzy biography of the legendary composer Stephen Foster. Al Jolson co-stars, and continues to sing his "Mammy" renditions, but they ultimately stick in your throat and become lifeless. I didn't care for Stephen Foster, though I have to admit I really liked his tunes. But in all honesty, I kept watching "Swanee River" because of Ameche.

A Tribute to Stephen Foster

[LeonardKniffel · 8/10 · 9 April 2020]

The great Don Ameche stars in this fictionalized life of Stephen Foster, a songwriter from Pittsburgh who falls in love with the South and comes up with American classics like "Oh, Susanna," "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair.," "My Old Kentucky Home," "Old Black Joe," "Old Folks at Home," and "Beautiful Dreamer." Everybody should know these songs, like 'em or not. ---from Musicals on the Silver Screen, American Library Association, 2013

No Way

[rob-284 · 22 November 2001]

Proof that not every 1939 release was part of the Golden Age. It's the life and not-so-hard times of Stephen Foster (Don Ameche), who despite a heart condition and a taste for the drink manages to crank out hit after hit. This is the cliched sort of composer bio in which every key event turns out to be instant inspiration for a new ditty, and the moment an on-screen audience hears a new song it can immediately join in for a reprise and know all the words. Still, Al Jolson is sturdy as E.P. Christy, the Technicolor is ravishing, and there are several convincing recreations of minstrel show numbers...and that last fact is why you won't see this film around, no way.

It's just not P.C. to show all that blackface any more, let alone the condescending approach to black people. (When Foster has ripped off "Oh Susannah" from a slave work song but is stuck on the last line, Jeannie--she of the light brown hair fame--comments that she's grown up among black music, their simple culture..."Hmmm...Here's how I think the Negroes would end it." Bingo, smash hit.) "Swanee River" is no great shakes as a movie, but it's a shame that people can't see it because of cowardice.

Foster and Christy

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 14 August 2022]

A lot of biopics made during the studio era blended fact and fiction. Sometimes the fictionalized aspects of a person's life on screen were regarded as truth, especially if they glorified the individual's reputation. In this case, 20th Century Fox has seen fit to dramatize the life of composer Stephen C. Foster (Don Ameche) who gained fame as one of the country's most beloved songwriters of the 1800s.

This is supposed to be a feel-good film, presented in Technicolor, so the darker aspects of Foster's life have been glossed over. If his life story was remade today, no doubt his struggles with mental illness would be more prominently featured; his alcoholism and the break-up of his marriage would not be given short shrift; and the legacy of his music which celebrated life in the antebellum south would be seen through a politically correct lens.

I guess we should be grateful those darker elements are not present in this 1939 production, and that for the most part, the story remains a fairly nostalgic affair. Foster's simple music, which owes a debt to negro spirituals, is what's front and center; it's what this picture seeks to celebrate and often succeeds at doing.

I am not sure if I would have picked Don Ameche for the lead role, though he can sing and has musical talent. Mr. Ameche was probably cast because of the strength of his performance in another popular biopic, THE STORY OF ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL. Audiences accepted him playing historical figures from the past.

They also accepted someone like Al Jolson playing a role largely in blackface. However, it should be pointed out that there are several scenes in which Mr. Jolson does not appear in blackface. Typically this only occurs when he is on stage, when his character E. P. Christy is performing minstrel routines with his band.

One thing that is factual here is that Foster and Christy had a long-running collaboration. It may be argued that Foster would not have achieved renown if Christy's blackface routines had not popularized the material Foster wrote.

This would be Jolson's last on screen role in a motion picture, though he did provide the vocals for Columbia's biopic about his life, THE JOLSON STORY, seven years later. Jolson is a consummate entertainer, and his musical scenes are a highlight...they are infused with a lot of energy and fun. In the more dramatic scenes, he holds his own opposite Ameche.

Cast as the faithful wife is Andrea Leeds, borrowed from Sam Goldwyn. It occurs to me while watching her that physically she has a striking resemblance to Olivia de Havilland. I read that producer Daryl Zanuck wanted one of his contract players Nancy Kelly to take this role, but I think Miss Leeds provides the necessary amount of wholesomeness and naive quality required. She works very well in the scenes where her character is dealing with her husband's genius and madness.

Another nice thing about this production is that we are given background on how Foster came to pen some of his most famous tunes. For example, there's a sequence at the beginning of the film where our young lovers meet up along a river while they are courting, before their marriage. At the end of the picture, he composes what is perhaps his most well-known piece, 'Old Folks at Home a.k.a. Swanee River' when he is reflecting about simpler times they shared near the Suwannee River in Florida.

There is also the relationship the two have with the coachman (George Reed) of the wife's wealthy family. He's affectionately called Old Joe, and Joe keeps asking throughout the movie when a song will be written about him.

In a poignant scene, Joe dies and they feel as if they've lost a member of the family. As Joe dies, Ameche whistles some impromptu notes to him, which becomes the basis for a song about Old Joe. A choir sings this at Joe's grave, and I felt this to be a highlight of the picture.

The war between the states becomes a plot point in the second half of the movie. The scriptwriters take several liberties with the facts during this part. We see Foster's career go belly up, when he is condemned by northerners for glorifying the south with his popular tunes. For a time his music is not played because of this. Some of these reversals did not really occur until after the war.

I suppose it provides ample drama to alter the timeline slightly and have Foster feeling defeated if his sympathy for the south is used against him. One thing for certain is that Foster's own family-- a financially successful northern family-- was not in favor of abolition. I wonder how this point would be handled today if the film were remade now.

The last sequence of the picture is the most powerful. Foster has been involved in a life-threatening injury on the night that his ode to Swanee River is to be performed by Christy. When he doesn't show up at the theater, his wife realizes something is wrong. She rushes out to find him, and Christy follows. Foster dies a short time later, but we are told that his music will continue to live on and remain an important part of American culture. His simple compositions celebrate the lives of all Americans, about how we triumph over adversity and do not forget our origins.