Song of Love (1947) User Reviews (31)

Takes up where "Fruhlingssinfonie" left off

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 24 November 2007]

Katharine Hepburn is Clara Wieck, Paul Henried is Robert Schumann, and Robert Walker is Brahms in "Song of Love," a 1947 film directed by Clarence Brown and also starring Henry Daniell and Leo G. Carroll. "Song of Love" covers the marriage of Wieck and Schumann, while "Fruhlingssinfonie" (Spring Symphony), which stars Nastassia Kinski as Clara, ends before the couple's marriage. The latter makes much more of a feminist statement. In that film, the well-known Clara Wieck realizes that upon marrying Schumann, there will not be room for "two pianos" as she puts it, and that her career, in fact, is over. While it is true that Schumann wanted a traditional wife and that in those days, it said bad things about a husband that let his wife go out and earn money, Clara Schumann did indeed continue her career up until 5 years before she died.

Though there are some dramatic liberties taken with the script, much of it is true. As Schumann mentions in his conversation with Clara's father, he did live with the Wieck family for a time. Clara did take her father to court. Brahms was probably not in love with Clara, but the two were very close friends, and he did take care of the children as shown in the film. "Song of Love" is a little vague on Schumann's illness. Nowadays it is suspected to be syphilis that was treated with mercury; another suspicion is that he was bipolar. But as the film documents, he became quite ill, indeed hearing the the note "A" in his head. There are also reports that Clara and Brahms destroyed his later works because they demonstrated the disintegration of his mind. In fact, one or two pieces were destroyed, but many were put into the repertoire. And Clara did indeed promote his music in concerts throughout her life.

The glorious music of Schumann and Brahms is played throughout the film, and the performances are first-rate. Katharine Hepburn gives a beautiful characterization of Clara - strong, devoted, intelligent and gentle. Robert Walker is a warm, charming Brahms, and Paul Henried is excellent as the depressed Schumann.

Schumann, Brahms, Liszt, Chopin - once composers roamed the world as dinosaurs did. Now composers are dinosaurs. Our technologically-based society is not conducive to producing great music or art, though musicians and artists now have a variety of technological advances at their disposal to incorporate into their work. Somehow it's not the same. Let "Song of Love" take you back in time. I highly recommend "Fruhlingssinfonie," another beautiful film on the subject with a slightly different point of view. If you can, get it with subtitles rather than the dubbed version.

Much better than you'd expect...

[grizzledgeezer · 7/10 · 8 June 2007]

Katherine Hepburn would seem ideally cast to play a wildly talented woman (Clara Wieck was one of the great 19th-century pianists, an amazing feat in an era when women were not supposed to have "careers") who has to break away from her father to lead her own life.

In some ways, Katherine Hepburn's performance as Clara Wieck is one of her best, simply because she has relatively weak material to work with, and her ability to give it life becomes apparent -- she brings real passion to what, from another performer's mouth, would sound silly. Ditto for Robert Walker, whose Brahms is self-assured and even a bit wise-ass at times, not far-removed from the real Brahms. Both take trite and thrice-heard dialog and give it imaginative treatment.

"Song of Love" makes lavish use of Schumann's music (mostly piano -- his orchestral works aren't even acknowledged), with outstanding performances by an uncredited pianist, and the MGM house orchestra conducted by William Steinberg, who went on to conduct the Pittsburgh Symphony. The performances are _so_ good, I'd like to hear the complete versions (if there were any) apart from the film.

Amazingly, Hepburn, Henreid, Walker, and Daniell all had some degree of piano-playing skill, and we see them actually tickling the ivories in a convincing fashion. (Some of the playing appears to be undercranked, so it looks as if Clara's or Franz's fingers are flying across the keys. The film implies that Clara was nearly as good a pianist as Liszt.)

Dramatically, the film is all over the place, with good scenes (Wieck pere telling Bob why he shouldn't marry Clara, Clara mouthing off to Liszt about his interference) followed by cutesy Hollywood creations (Clara encouraging Bob & John to kill a chicken for New Year's Eve dinner). The movie's principal failing is its shortness -- we never see Bob & Clara actually falling in love -- and the inability to move Bob past the point of The Tortured Composer Without Recognition Suffering From Mental Illness Of An Unidentified Sort. Bob & Clara had an intense sex life (Clara marked her journal to indicate when they had sex -- there are a _lot_ of marks), and the film suffers (as, oddly, "Brokeback Mountain" does) from the lack of an intense and passionate scene of love-making. There are times when sexual explicitness /is/ appropriate.

As a classical-music lover, I bring an interest and prejudice to this film the average viewer lacks. (I cried at a few spots, mostly because of my fondness for the Schumann-Ruckert "Widmung", which gets heavy use.) How they will react to this film, I don't know. But it's worth seeing to hear the excellent music and to see how fine actors handle less-than-great material.

The "triangle" among Bob & Clara & John is a fascinating subject and perhaps an adventurous filmmaker will someday create an "Amadeus"-like film about it. In the meantime, you can enjoy Jan Swafford's excellent biography of Brahms.

A musical feast for the ears...semi-successful as biography...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 19 November 2007]

SONG OF LOVE is a tastefully romanticized biography of the Schumanns (Clara and Robert), as portrayed by KATHARINE HEPBURN and PAUL HENRIED, in a glossy tribute to their classical music. Their life changes when they take in a boarder/student by the name of Brahms, ROBERT WALKER, who immediately falls in love with Clara.

While she makes a successful career as a pianist, her husband is less successful in pursuing his serious work as a composer. The story chronicles the highs and lows of their marriage as they struggle to raise seven or eight children while juggling their professional lives. Whether the romantic angle with Brahms falling deeply in love with Clara is accurate or not, I don't know. I'll have to read more about them to get the full picture, but it makes for an interesting romantic drama with lots of classical music, courtesy of Rubenstein at the piano.

An unusual film for Katharine Hepburn, who does beautifully at the keyboard looking as though she's really playing the instrument, as well as Henry Daniell as Franz Liszt who is quite adept at the fingering.

Good performances throughout, but I suspect that it's a film for classical music lovers only.

A wonderful experience for romantic musicians.

[JBall75487 · 13 September 2001]

Yes,we can ignore the opinions of the pedantic musical historians who belittle this film, because this is one for anyone with a love of music ! In essence, historically accurate - Brahms was a friend of the Schumanns, Robert did suffer from a brain disorder which drove him to attempt suicide and caused his early death, Brahms undoubtedly loved Clara, but she remained faithful to Robert for the rest of her life, whilst she pursued the career of a piano virtuoso (which she was).All of this adds up to a romantic story with all the necessary ingredients plus the music of Schumann and Brahms,(played with customary brilliance by Artur Rubinstein) surely a guarantee of success. The three principal characters are played with a reasonable degree of authenticity, indeed, Robert Walker bears such an uncanny resemblance to Brahms as a young man that one suspects he may be a descendent ! And what a tour-de -force is Miss Hepburns characterisation of Clara Schumann, a woman, by all accounts, possessed of steely resolve and immense courage. The only relatively weak link is Paul Henried, who bears not the slightest resemblance to Schumann, and fails to convey Schumann's determination and musical genius - perhaps a little pedestrian and lacking conviction. The performance of Henry Daniell as Franz Liszt is superb, projecting the personality of 'the Master' to perfection, and particularly worthy of note is his 'performance' of Schumann's 'Widmung', where his simulated pianistic technique is incredibly accurate, indeed, one suspects that he may well be a competent pianist in his own right. The whole essence of this drama is conveyed with a flair and a grasp of the subtle nuances of the various relationships which generates an astonishing degree of authenticity, almost as if we are seeing the events as they actually happened. Add to this the music, the pianism of the incomparable Rubinstein, and a classic has been born to stand the test of time ! As a matter of interest, Schumann composed the song 'Widmung' (Devotion) at the time of his marriage to Clara - the music 'played' by Henry Daniell is,in fact, not the original song, but an arrangement by Franz Liszt.

SONG OF LOVE (Clarence Brown, 1947) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 19 December 2011]

With the word "song" appearing in the title, this must be another Hollywood biopic about a famous composer: in fact, we get no fewer than 3 here (Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms and, once again, Franz Liszt), as well as an accomplished female pianist (Clara Wieck, later Schumann)! Being an MGM production and starring Katharine Hepburn to boot, I was prepared for the worst – but I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the result; mind you, I love Hepburn's classic comedies with Cary Grant and Spencer Tracy – yet, given her predilection for theatricality, I tend to approach her dramatic work with less enthusiasm!

The acting is fine all around, but I feel that the honors in this case should go to the consistently underrated Paul Henreid: he tackles the most difficult role as Schumann – whose lack of personal success, and being essentially forced to live in the shadow of his wife and depending financially on her own career, gives him severe bouts of melancholia (brought about by the persistent hearing of one particular dissonant note) which even lead to an attempted suicide and ultimately land the composer in a mental institution (though history tells us this isolation was self-imposed)! At this time, Hollywood was not yet rooted in the concept of rewarding actors playing these type of challenging parts (especially when they are based on real figures), so Henreid's performance – indeed, the whole film – was ignored by Academy voters: another category where it ought to have been a sure-fire consideration was the black-and-white cinematography (back then, color films were separately judged) in view of the exquisite lighting, courtesy of Harry Stradling, throughout.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand: the picture opens on a concert given by Clara where she is constantly being corrected by her stern father (Leo G. Carroll) sitting right behind her! She rebels, however, when – instead of the usual encore – she opts to play a piece by a new composer, Schumann, with Caroll forced to swallow his pride since it particularly pleases the royalty in attendance! After the performance, though, he and Henreid (whom the older man had taken in as a student) exchange harsh words (since the latter apparently intends marrying his mentor's daughter) and, when Schumann leaves, Clara goes with him! Cut to 10 years and 7(!) children later, Brahms (Robert Walker) arrives on the scene – pretty much a younger version of Schumann himself, and who is platonically doted on by both husband and wife. That said, it turns out that he harbors feelings for Clara, and which emerge the more Schumann retreats into himself on account of his condition (reaching its zenith during his conducting of the self-penned opera "Faust" in concert form). For the record, Liszt (Henry Daniell) had been instrumental in securing its production, in an effort to help the Schumanns' impecunious situation (the husband had already been humiliated by seeing Hepburn forced to resume performing after several years but, while the result proves a resounding success so that her agent hopes for a run of such concerts, she is adamant that it be for a one-time engagement only, just so the family can rise above water financially!).

Still, unable to hold himself back any longer, Brahms decides to leave the Schumanns' residence. Following Robert's death, his own career flourishes but, learning of Clara's secluded life, he visits her and, naturally, hopes to fill in the blank of both husband and father (he had been especially close with one of their girls, which the young man had even seen through a case of measles), yet the now-ageing lady tells him that she is still Mrs. Schumann, at which he gracefully retreats…but not before telling her that, if her love for her husband is still so passionate, she should do her utmost to bring his music to the world! The film, then, ends with Clara (towards the end of her own life) sitting down at the piano before vast audiences once again and opting to play the very composition that had received the approval of the present King (who was no more than a boy back when we first heard it!) against her father's better judgment.

SONG OF LOVE has all the ingredients for a sophisticated entertainment – comedy (especially involving the antics of the Schumanns' cantankerous old nanny), drama, romance, child interest and, of course, classical music (that said, even if this is copious throughout and involves all four musically-inclined protagonists, it is hardly memorable in comparison to the recently-viewed A SONG TO REMEMBER {1945}, about Frederic Chopin, and SONG WITHOUT END: THE STORY OF FRANZ LISZT {1960}) – and it is all tastefully handled by veteran Brown, enough to make it palatable for most of its somewhat overgenerous 118 minutes. Although the movie has now been officially released on DVD-R via the "Warner Archives" collection, the copy I acquired is plagued by intermittent wobbliness in the picture (despite being sourced from a TCM transmission).

Interesting and quite good, but could have been more

[TheLittleSongbird · 6/10 · 30 September 2013]

Anybody fascinated by Robert and Clara Schumann's story, who loves Schumann's songs and who loves Katharine Hepburn will find good reason to see and at least moderately like Song of Love. Song of Love is not a great film but it is a decent one. It is hurt by some pedestrian pacing, stilted dialogue and that Robert Schumann's gradual descent into insanity could have been explored in much more depth(it did feel rather shallow, maybe a little less on Brahms, whose subplot takes too much time to develop and evolve, might have helped a little). Song of Love looks very beautiful however, and is directed with great class and taste. The music is just glorious as well, a healthy dose of Schumann, Brahms and Liszt and performed beautifully. While the insanity angle could have been explored much more, the story is still quite interesting and moving if somewhat shallow at times. And the performances were fine, Katharine Hepburn fared best in the acting department, charming and sympathetic as well as with a commanding and arch side too. Paul Henreid's role as Robert was the most difficult, and he carries it with dignity and later on austerity. Robert Walker looks eerily like Brahms and he is nuanced, good-natured and sympathetic as him. Henry Daniell is very neurotic and virtuosic as Liszt, Elsa Jensson is amusing and Leo G. Carroll is very effective at being an over-bearing and disapproving father figure. In conclusion, not great but interesting and worth watching. For a history lesson look elsewhere, for a decent way to spend 2 hours judging Song of Love as a film stick with it. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Compose yourself and enjoy the performances

[LCShackley · 6/10 · 24 November 2007]

I recently gave a dismal review to "A Song to Remember," the 1945 biopic about Frederic Chopin. That film was a poor Hollywood attempt to tell the story of a great composer. "Song of Love" was made at almost the same time, about a composer who was a contemporary of Chopin, but it does a better job, both biographically and in terms of the lead actors.

Hepburn/Henreid/Walker are a much stronger combination than Muni/Oberon/Wilde (especially the latter two), bringing real passion to the roles and making them seem like actual human beings. It's a bit of a stretch seeing Hepburn at age 40 playing Clara Wieck as a teenager, but we'll cut her some slack because of her glowing personality and quite remarkable finger-syncing. (Bad on-screen piano playing is a personal pet peeve of mine.) The plot is loosely based on the truth. The love triangle aspect is played up here, as could be expected in Hollywood. Another possible error is that scholars have speculated that Clara was not all that sad about having Robert away in an asylum, because it gave her freedom to resume her career. (The movie makes it seem as though she went into seclusion and had to be coaxed out by Brahms.) She did devote her later performances to Robert's work, but she was a fine composer herself (never mentioned in the film). Far too much time is taken with the sub-plot involving Brahms as the Schumann's virtual live-in houseboy (another stretch of the truth), but I suppose that was done so we could have the cook character as the only real comic relief.

There's a lot of nice piano music here and a decent enough representation of the lives of Robert and Clara Schumann. What I'd really like to see, though, is a more in-depth dramatization of Robert's gradual descent into insanity. But that's a little too grim for MGM in the 1940s!

Song of Love Shall Fill Your Heart ***

[edwagreen · 7/10 · 20 November 2007]

Beautiful music is the highlight of this nice 1947 film dealing with the lives of Robert and Clara Schumann.

Katharine Hepburn gives a restrained, but compelling performance as Clara, the woman who gave up a promising career to marry Schumann and subsequently have 7 children with him. The early scenes are comic viewing Hepburn as a mother of 7 attempting to rear the children. I thought I'd see the famous cooking scene repeated in Hepburn's 1942 film- "Woman of the Year."

Paul Henried is in fine form as the brilliant music professor who was plagued with mental problems. In comes Robert Walker as Johannes Brahms. He has come to study with Schumann and moves in with the family. His love for Clara shall eventually drive him away only for him to come back to her several years after Schumann's death.

There is an interesting performance by Leo G. Carroll as Clara's domineering father. There is a court scene as Carroll objects to his daughter marrying Robert. What would Womens Lib think about this?

Musically sophisticated biopic of Robert and Clara Schumann

[kinolieber · 9/10 · 23 January 2004]

And Johannes Brahms. The music performances are completely devoid of the usual dumbing-down that was par for Hollywood in this era. Artur Rubinstein provides exquisite versions of the piano pieces, and the orchestral performances are authentic and done beautifully. The story is a sensitive abridgement/invention of the biographies of these three musical greats. The actors are uniformly superb with Henreid and Walker at the top of their game and Hepburn perfectly cast and giving it all she's got. I expected cornball trash. Instead this is one of the best music bios Hollywood ever produced. Clearly the producer/director Clarence Brown appreciated this music and brought together artists who could do it justice. Bravo!

Katharine Hepburn plays the piano!

[HotToastyRag · 6/10 · 11 November 2017]

In this biopic of Robert Schumann, Paul Henreid plays the struggling pianist and Katharine Hepburn plays his wife, also a pianist. While Paul felt fine about using a hand double during the musical scenes, Kate trained so that she would be believable as a piano player. Not only do you see her playing during the scenes, but you actually hear her, too! Usually, music is dubbed over, but Kate was so flawless in her playing that director Clarence Brown opted to let audiences hear her music. So, if you want to see Katharine Hepburn showing an enormous amount of musical talent, this is the movie for you!

Robert Walker costars as Johannes Brahms, as well as Henry Daniell as Franz Liszt. It's an interesting story to see the three famous musicians together, but the main focus of the plot is the Schumanns. Kate puts her career on hold to give her full support to Paul as he pursues his musical dreams, but will the pressure prove to be too much for him? You'll have to watch the film, or know your history, to find out.

My favorite scene in the film is during one of Katharine Hepburn's concerts. There she is, in a beautiful ball gown, playing a slow concerto to hundreds of people in a theater, when a nurse shows herself in the wings and tries to get Kate's attention. She holds up Kate's newborn baby, indicating that the child is hungry and needs food from Mama. Kate immediately speeds up the piano concerto, to the audience's confusion and entertainment, so that she can finish the piece as quickly as possible and attend to her baby. It's hilarious and adorable. If you like musical movies, or if you found that scene too cute to resist, go ahead and rent Song of Love. It probably won't be your all-time favorite Katharine Hepburn movie, but it's pretty good.

A heartfelt attempt

[arturus · 5/10 · 20 December 2005]

This was produced as a sincere attempt to tell the story of the relationship between composer Robert Schumann, his wife Clara, and an up-and-coming youngster, Johannes Brahms.

The story is largely a fictionalized version of the true tale. According to their letters, Clara's feelings for the young Brahms were more of a motherly than a romantic nature. Brahms did indeed feel a great deal for Clara, but he knew the parameters of their relationship and accepted them. The portrayal of Robert in this film is the worst written and least accurate, probably accounting for Henreid's pallid performance. Brahms was only one of the young male talents that Robert befriended and aided, while Clara looked the other way. We now know too that Robert's illness and cause of death was most likely the ravages of syphilis. The picture skirts the issue and never really makes clear what is wrong with him.

The portrayal of the resourceful and strong-willed Clara is more accurate, and Hepburn is a good casting choice, though on the surface an unlikely one, and the best part of the picture is the portrayal of the boisterous Schumann household, which she essentially heads, leaving her husband free to pursue his own interests and talents. And after Robert's death, the real Clara did indeed devote her life to preserving his legacy.

This film is not a bad one, though the reverential way these three people are treated, and the stilted dialogue written for them, gets in the way. Walker looks so much like the portraits of the young Brahms, especially Brahms in his thirties, that it's uncanny.

The choice of Artur Rubenstein to play all of the solo piano pieces on the soundtrack is a puzzling one, as he makes little attempt to differentiate between the styles of playing of the different characters. And Rubenstein was never a particularly strong player of Brahms and Schumann. His playing of Liszt is much better.

This unique and exquisite film is a love song to music.

[David-240 · 10/10 · 5 September 2001]

Why this film is not better regarded by critics I cannot fathom. It features truly sublime direction by Clarence Brown (Orson Welles would be proud of some of those tracking shots), and four brilliant performances by Katharine Hepburn, Robert Walker, Paul Henreid and Henry Daniell. The plot is simple, even slight, but the film is really about music, and is soaked in the exquisite sounds of Schumann and Brahms (played I believe by Arthur Rubinstein). Hepburn and Daniell play piano with utter conviction - surely both actors had some knowledge of the instrument. Excellent art direction and superb cinematography make the film glow visually as well as aurally.

It's all about love - between people and for music. This is a unique film for its time - a true mood piece, in which the divine music allows you to experience the love felt by the characters. Don't sit back and think - allow the images and the sounds to take you away. Clarence Brown was a brilliant director - one of the best Hollywood ever produced. He knows exactly how to move an audience with the sheer beauty of his images and the power of music. Never has this ability been more evident than in SONG OF LOVE, which I venture to describe as a masterpiece.

Reasonably good for a 40s biopic.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 22 August 2015]

As a retired history teacher, I am always skeptical of biopics-- particularly the older ones. Too often Hollywood played fast and loose with the truth and made real people 'more interesting' by completely fictionalizing much of their lives. Fortunately, "Song of Love" sticks closer to the truth than most...though you certainly cannot take what you see as gospel. So, yes, it appears that much of what you see (including Brahms falling in love with Mrs. Schumann) did happen....though maybe not exactly how and exactly when you see in the film--and, interestingly, the prologue of the film actually admits this!

As far as the film goes, it's competently acted and looks lovely. Not surprisingly, it has a lot of music--perhaps too much to interest the average viewer. I like classical and romantic music but I found my attention waning during some of the longer musical interludes. Still, it is interesting and reasonably well made. Not at all a must-see but worth seeing.

Hollywood misses a great story

[dschc535 · 4/10 · 12 May 2007]

First of all, Katherine Hepburn is badly miscast as Clara. She just can't be convincing as the devoted, selfless, rather smarmy wife that the writers have created.

But the real weakness of the film is its shallowness in the face of a potentially great piece of drama. Schumann's bipolar (manic-depressive) disorder amounts to "Oh, oh, I have a headache" and the occasional angry word. Suicide? The word is used, but there's no sign of it in domestic scenes and when we see him in the mental hospital he's calm and subdued and smiling and optimistic. A superficial treatment. And Brahms is so upright and bourgeois - no sign of his gruff humour, his love of tweaking the noses of the establishment, no sign of his tortured attitude toward sex and women resulting from spending his youth playing piano in brothels. And was Clara's long concert career entirely about promoting Robert's music, or was she, in fact, a remarkable pianist who wanted a career for herself, a female pianist carving out a place for herself in a male world? Any sort of treatment of the lives of great artists is better than none, but this is a standard Hollywood, middle-of-the-road approach, particularly disappointing because the real story is so much more dramatic, so much more interesting, so much more human.

Respectable Composers Biopic

[harry-76 · 10 May 2004]

Considering this screenplay was for a major film studio and geared for the general public, rather than professional musicians or scholars, the five writers who contributed to the script did a decent job.

Centered in the enactment is that of Clara Wieck, played fervently by Katherine Hepburn, who enjoyed a full life of commitment to her composer husband Robert Schumann, large family and artistic ideals.

Clara's strength held the household together, which included border composer Johannes Brahms, played earnestly by Robert Walker.

Paul Henried has the difficult assignment of portraying Robert, a musical genius suffering from depression. Whereas today medication easily placates these symptoms, in the 19th century, people just had to suffer from the ailment, which affected all those around. Henried manages the role with sensitivity.

Clara was known to eschew technical "brilliance" that was the earmark of Franz Liszt, and in one telling scene she conveys her embodiment of "loving simplicity" over Lisztian "show." It's a provoking moment that conjures relevance today, where "young piano whiz kids" often may play up a storm technically, while seldom penetrating the spiritual heart of the score.

Clara apparently was one of the strongest women of the 19th century, in a male-dominated society, successfully surmounting a father's legal challenge of her marriage, the deaths of a number of her children, and a husband who constantly needed attention--all the while composing, arranging, and giving concerts.

In a touching scene Walker's Jonannes admits to his love for Hepburn's Clara. It's not a far-fetched scene, according to musicologists, though there's hardly concrete proof for substantiation.

The film is rich in the works of Brahms, Schumann and Liszt, and Hepburn and Henry Danielle (as Liszt) do commendable physical renderings of mock piano playing to sublime recordings of Artur Rubenstein. Clarence Brown directs with his usual sure hand.

The Madness That Claimed Him

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 14 May 2010]

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.

A Solid Period Piece

[atlasmb · 7/10 · 28 August 2020]

Understated and sensitive performances by its three stars make this period piece a success. Katharine Hepburn is Clara (Weick) Schumann, thevgreat pianist and wife of composer Robert Schumann (Paul Henreid). She subjugates her professional career to love, marriage and household, always supporting her husband, who later suffers from psychological ailments that eventually prove debilitating. Robert Walker plays Johannes Brahms, who enters their lives and becomes a fixture.

The script takes liberties with the truth, but not so many as to distort the essences of its three subjects or their relationships. Precisely how much Brahms loved Clara, or she him, is not known. But clearly the three of them shared a love of music and each other that was mostly harmonious.

The story is set in a time and place that was blessed with a bounty of musical talent and genius. The intersection of the lives of so many musical greats is always of interest to me. My favorite scene in the film is when Clara, responding to a request to play by Franz Liszt (Henry Daniell), counters his bombastic performance with a demonstration of subdued romanticism while gently delivering a monologue that is a thinly-veiled criticism of his style.

This film should be enjoyable to fans of classical music. Schumann's "Traumerei" is particularly used to great effect.

Love lives on in music

[princesshm27 · 7/10 · 13 June 2008]

This is a brilliant movie for someone with taste in Real Music. The direction is awesome. The sets are great. Its based on a true story bout a composer who struggles all his life to get some achievement with his compositions & finds that in his loving wife who is a popular artist. The music played through the scenes are awesome esp those played by the STUDENT of the great composer himself who finds his way into the home & hearts of the Schumann's Family. A remarkable story about a woman & a man,a woman with many admirers, an artist & a composer, family issues, moralities & career struggles from the Stage to the kitchen! Great performance by all the great actors.

More a typical love-story than a biopic really.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 6/10 · 17 July 2007]

I don't quite understand how people can see this movie as a serious biopic. It has all the typical ingredients and feeling of a romantic/musical MGM movie from the '40's. Not much in it that makes this movie distinct itself.

Yes, it's really one of those movies of when you've seen one of them. you've seen them all! Don't get me wrong, "Song of Love" is not bad, at least not worse than other same type of genre movies but it's also not any better. The movie is far too formulaic for that.

You can say that the only real redeeming quality of the movie is its music. It features the music from composers Schumann, Liszt and Brahms (characters also appearing in the movie). It's really beautiful music to hear and it gets featured prominently in the movie.

Nothing wrong with the acting in this one. Katharine Hepburn was real great. I also liked Paul Henreid, who has also appeared in another couple of good well known movies. Not every character gets ever really deepened out unfortunately. It makes the movie with its drama mostly shallow and therefor the movie also doesn't leave a very big impression.

If you like these type of '40's MGM movies this is of course a perfectly good watch or you. It features all of the ingredients and way of storytelling and it also most definitely has the same typical atmosphere all over it.

6/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

One for music lovers!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 28 October 2017]

Copyright 12 July 1947 by Loew's Inc. An MGM picture. New York opening at the Radio City Music Hall: 9 October 1947. U.S. release: October 1947. U.K. release: 27 October 1947. Australian release: 28 August 1947. 10,788 feet. 120 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: Robert Schumann's success as a composer seems assured when he marries the celebrated pianist Clara Wieck, despite her father's strenuous objections.

COMMENT: Great music, marvelously performed (even by the normally lackluster MGM Symphony Orchestra), studding a story which although sometimes banal and always over-romanticized (and rather indifferently acted by Henreid and particularly Walker) maintains the interest. As usual, our complaint is that the scriptwriters would have made a more colorful and enthralling film out of the real facts instead of the half-truths here presented. For instance Professor Wieck opposed Schumann's marriage to Clara not only on the grounds of his lack of prospects but because of his mental instability and drunkenness. He had already attempted suicide in 1833.

As for the acting, I think the producer should have switched the lead roles and cast Walker as Schumann, Henreid as Brahms. However, we have no complaints with the other players. Hepburn is perfect and her piano-playing looks so skillful, we can readily believe that she (instead of Rubinstein) is actually supplying the music.

The movie's other stand-out performance is provided by Henry Daniell, who not only looks like Liszt, but conveys the vigor, the enthusiasm, the calculating passion that the great composer undoubtedly possessed.

Although confined to a few early scenes, Leo G. Carroll makes a forceful impression as Clara's father. We like the way he sits behind her at the opening concert, whispering directions.

Brown has directed the musical sequences with an agreeably fluid camera style that reinforces the baroque vastness of the concert hall sets, packed with costumed extras. Photography and other credits are likewise smoothly stylish in these musical recitals. By contrast, the domestic scenes are handled in a surprisingly pedestrian fashion. A few attempts to leaven them with slapstick comic relief seem both clumsy and inappropriate.

A pity we don't see a lot more of Daniell, a lot less of Henreid and Walker. Never mind, the music and Hepburn's radiant acting and skillful miming, make up for a lot.

OTHER VIEWS: Exquisite music in this talky but ingratiatingly acted (particularly by Hepburn and Daniell), superbly photographed and set, period comedy-drama. Hepburn gives a luminous performance. Even Walker is sincere and convincing, the costumes are A-1, the sets splendid with Brown and photographer Stradling making great use of them, the sound recording, while it has some unfortunately tinny moments, particularly during Liszt's recital, is of a higher standard than we might expect of MGM and a fine array of character players including Byron Foulger's court attendant, and Francis Pierlot's congratulating musician are on are on hand.

Brown makes splendid use of Hans Peters' magnificent sets and the milling crowds of extras, even indulging in a few bravura effects like the dazzling dolly back through the miniature of the concert hall set (marvelous special effects by Warren Newcombe) right at the conclusion.

Superbly atmospheric photography by Harry Stradling makes the sequences with dreary old Paul Henreid almost attractive to look at. Henreid is actually well cast as the lackluster Schumann who after his vigorous opening scenes in which he stands up to Leo G. Carroll's awesome martinet, spends the rest of the film being dominated by Miss Hepburn and feeling sorry for himself, through into effectiveness again in his concluding scene at the asylum (Clinton Sundberg as the doctor).

This movie provides a feast for music lovers, and it's certainly good to get away from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's usual escapist fare.

I enjoyed the movie but predominantly because of Kate

[eddax · 7/10 · 16 February 2010]

A biopic about Johannes Brahms and two other musical people - Robert and Clara Wieck Schumann - whom I've never heard of. The beginning of the movie gives the disclaimer that it's based on their true stories, and a quick glance at Wiki shows that the main plot points are there, i.e. how Clara Wieck sacrificed a huge career as a gifted pianist to help her husband's lesser composing one, and how Brahms and Wieck shared an unconsummated love because of her devotion to her husband.

I have to admit that I'm naturally biased here because it's Katharine Hepburn who plays Clara Wieck and of course my opinion is that she's great. I mean, how suitable for the role of a artiste is she, with her classic Greek goddess looks. And it really does look like she did all the piano-playing herself and it was amazing how her fingers flew. Just watching her play the piano makes the movie. But this is Kate, and even when she's not the pianist but a harried mother of eight, she's still radiant.

As for the rest of the movie, it's fairly rote, unfortunately. The big historical names don't matter so much if you're not a classical music fan, and I'm not, so the songs (of love!) didn't leave an impression on me, which means the movie comes across as a standard devoted-wife- sacrifices-all-for-her-husband movie.

A disappointing representation of a fantastic love story.

[Benjamin-M-Weilert · 5/10 · 25 August 2021]

Anyone who has spent a significant amount of time with me will know that I absolutely love the story of Clara and Robert Schumann. She was such an inspiring woman and well ahead of her time in terms of her independence. In researching her life for a future historical fiction novel I plan to write, I found that Katharine Hepburn had portrayed Clara Schumann in Song of Love (1947). I already knew the story beats of the life of Robert and Clara (with some of the drama Johannes Brahms (Robert Walker) introduced), but Song of Love misses the point almost entirely.

While there were some scenes in this movie that spoke to the situation of Robert and Clara's tragic love story, they were completely lost in what I can only describe as "1940s sitcom schtick." These scenes added nothing to the narrative of the implied love triangle between Clara, Robert, and Johannes. Instead, the film focused on banal comedy, like having the maid quit but still needing to figure out how to cook a chicken for dinner. The focus of these scenes early in the film turned me off to the eventual heart of the movie.

Song of Love felt like it was pandering to the lowest common denominator instead of highlighting this real-life story of love and loss. The amount of drama that should have been portrayed paled in comparison. If this film is to be believed, Brahms basically became a live-in maid for the Schumanns without showing how desperately he loved his mentor's wife. We do get the sense that Clara was eternally devoted to Robert in this film, both as a wife and a mother of multiple children, but it becomes so boring by then that it's hardly worth noting.

A disappointing representation of a fantastic love story, I give Song of Love 2.5 stars out of 5.

Passion in Music, Passions in Life, Passions on Screen

[marcin_kukuczka · 8/10 · 24 March 2013]

Clarence Brown's production, as much classical, traditional and typical as for its period, appears to symbolize a modern approach to the sort of storytelling it evokes. Opening and closing at the Dresden Royal Opera along with its ostentatious set designs (full credit to art direction by Cedric Gibbons), it is Schumann's MUSIC that sets the tone for the entire movie and evokes its mood clearly. Yes, the fact this movie is about a musician or rather musicianS proves this assumption right – music as the major though implicit hero of the film. But with this comes something more vibrant, more vital and engrossing – passions.

The unprincipled, passionate protagonists (the musicians) differ considerably as we get to know them and, speaking in far more modern sense, try to analyze them. SONG OF LOVE foremost delivers something that viewers may cherish to great extent: the fantastic combination of certain sweetness, little subtlety and desirable musicality of characters. Many IMDb reviewers have rightly observed that. Actually, what surprises us in this movie and what has not dated is an insight into driving forces within artists rather than their life stories. Seemingly, the lead belongs to Robert Schumann (1810-1856) played by the romantic hero of the movies of the period...

PAUL HENREID instills an understanding of what a musical and passionate character is really like... If you remember his role in DECEPTION by Irving Rapper, he echoes that approach here. There could be no better choice for the role of Schumann who is the movie's implicit lead and explicit inspiration of Clara Schumann, his wife (Katherine Hepburn) than this actor. Henreid, capable of capturing the essence of a musician's neurotic vs. calm personality, helps the movie flee the unnecessary burden of a biopic, the haunting temptation for linear, logical type of storytelling. The musical characters are changeable, share, in a way, passions in music and passions in life but differ considerably in temper and style. Henreid handles the role with desirable effect combining inspiration. In his unforgettable scene of conducting the orchestra and choir, passion enters the screen. Now something about his female co-star, who seemingly would end up in failure when we think of combining these two.

KATHERINE HEPBURN, known for a variety of roles from tomboy in ADAM'S RIB to gentle Beth in Cukor's LITTLE WOMEN, would indeed occur not a very good choice for Henreid's co-star. Yet, she crafts the role of Clara Wieck Schumann, the composer's wife and his lifelong companion and admirer with ease and slight distance. She is humorous and yet perfectly serious in moments that require these twists of emotions. Opening and closing the movie with a pompous and magnificent display of skills, she proves that the source of inspiration is music, is art – in that case, the so much cherished "Traumerai" through which she wants Schumann's genius live forever. Yet, in between the grandeur of the opening and closing, there is this ever present moral clash so typical of Code Hollywood – career vs. motherhood. She is a mother of 7 children who does not give up the duties of a mother and a wife who makes right decisions. In one scene, after the smashing musical performance, she rushes to breast feed her little baby. No one would have depicted this hurry as funnily as Ms Hepburn. Quite a vivid character. But all would be conventions within marriage, even artistic marriage if it were not for the character that supplies the movie with true mixture of spice and sweetness.

ROBERT WALKER is, perhaps, the most intriguing character as Johannes Brahms – another milestone musical character of the film, sometimes placed in an inferior position to Schumann (his tutor) and sometimes in a predictable aspect of rivalry. The actor who is probably best remembered for his homo-erotic and psychologically captivating role in Hitchcock's STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, does a terrific job as a great musician and yet constantly a guest, someone coming from the background, from the mist of backdrop presence. In one terrific scene, he plays his "Wiegenlied" lullaby to Schumann's little daughter – a milestone classical piece, Walker highlights memorably the delicacy and vividness of his character. His passion, however, does not only lie in music...

Among the SUPPORTING CAST, it is worth mentioning Else Janssen as Bertha the cook who holds some humorous reliefs of the movie and Henry Daniell as Franz Liszt, the last composer character of the film who delivers a bravura performance and portrays a neurotic essence and talent blending with a bit of madness. It's a pity that there is no single mention of Frederic Chopin.

The artistry of the movie beautifully delivers Clarence Brown's direction style. Garbo's favorite director, he displays certain features that echo CAMILLE or ANNA KARENINA. But full credit for cinematographer Harry Strandling who handles everything with flair for details, beauty and accurate aesthetics.

SONG OF LOVE is an artfully and musically inspired movie that stands as a modern approach and a passionate product of its time. A gem highly worth seeing which brings the music and the passions of artists and within artists vividly to life. 8/10

If your a good pianist, don't expect...

[fandarntastic · 6/10 · 16 June 2023]

Acting, script, good. However, it was foolish to use actor's hands pretending to play, especially Hepburn's hands, instead of a pianist's hands. Using professional pianist s for the views of the fingers is done sucessfully in many movies and shows. In fact, I've seen it in person done while I was an extra in a movie. Perhaps non-players are fooled? It's frustrating to be distracted by that unnecessary choice. A much more recent piano movie, The Competition, tried it and failed miserably, too. So, if you can't tell, enjoy! As for me, sadly, I had to fast forward through some piano playing scenes or look away from the carnage and just enjoy the fine recording. Oh, and if you happen to believe an actor can pull this off and actually learn to play these pieces, who isn't someone like Oscar Levant, you're sadly mistaken. Give concert pianists some credit, would you!

what a bunch of pap . . .

[rgcarterx1 · 5/10 · 16 June 2010]

I read a biography of Robert Schumann (over 40 years ago) and it was an interesting story of Robert and Clara . . . but good ole Hollywood . . . they take a story of real people and "base" a movie on it. Here is a movie of three extraordinarily talented musicians and about the only thing in this movie that reminded me of them was the fact that it had characters named "Robert Schumann", "Clara Schumann" and "Johannas Brahms". It has two great actors, Paul Henreid and Katherine Hepburn, who have been in some fine movies. In this one, I don't see Robert and Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms . . . I see Paul Henreid, Katherine Hepburn and Robert Walker running around spouting Hollywood lines. What a shame . . . they could have made a great movie about three great musicians.