Heartbeat (1946)

Director:

Sam Wood

Writers:

Michael Duran (writer)
Max Kolpé (writer)

Release Date:

May 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A daring, exciting adventure...in the world's most exciting capitol!

Plot:

A young female escapee from a reform school joins a pickpocket academy in Paris. She is caught red-handed...

Plot Keywords:

School | Diplomat | Pickpocket | Reform School | Engagement

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Ginger Rogers	...	Arlette Lafron
Jean-Pierre Aumont	...	Pierre de Roche (as Jean Pierre Aumont)
Adolphe Menjou	...	Ambassador
Melville Cooper	...	Roland Latour
Mikhail Rasumny	...	Yves Cadubert
Eduardo Ciannelli	...	Baron Ferdinand Dvorak
Mona Maris	...	Ambassador's Wife
Henry Stephenson	...	Minister
Basil Rathbone	...	Professor Aristide

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (Ontario) | Argentina:Atp | Finland:S | Sweden:15

Company:

Robert & Raymond Hakim Company

Movie Connections:

Remake of Battement de coeur (1940)

Soundtrack:

Can You Guess?

Hollywood remake from Gallic film with a Ginger Rogers as sparky pickpocket

A young girl( a lively Ginger Rogers) escaped from a reformatory, becomes the best student in a Parisian school for pickpockets(ruled by Basil Rathbone). At the beginning she attempts out her skills on an old man(Adolphe Menjou). Later when she tries to rob an attractive diplomat(Jean Pierre Aumont) they fall in love instead.

This fresh and funny farce is one the last works where director Sam Wood shows an increasing blandness in a lighthearted love story with comedy touches. Main and support cast is frankly outstanding. Top-notch, virtuoso acting by Ginger Rogers, she was the number one as dancer actress and a fascinating comedian: ¨Monkey business¨ and won an Oscar for her portrayal in ¨Kitty Foyle: natural story of a woman¨. Remaining cast formed by the French young Jean Pierre Aumont as dashing diplomat, the classic Sherlock Holmes, Basil Rathbone, the memorable Adolphe Menjou, Henry Stephenson as veteran Ambassador and the Italian Eduardo Ciannelli. Sam Wood was a good filmmaker, an expert director of actresses, almost all the magnificent acting in his movies were given by ladies, with the exceptions of the Marx Brothers in ¨Night at the Opera¨, and ¨A day at the races¨ and Robert Donat in ¨Goodbye Mr Chips¨; as are extraordinaries, Ann Sheridan and Betty Field in ¨King Row¨, it is Ingrid Bergman, marvelous when we remember her in ¨For whom the bells tolls¨, and of course Ginger Rogers in ¨Heartbeat¨ and ¨Kitty Foyle¨; these outstanding Rogers'performances are matched by Joan Fontaine's ¨Ivy¨, Gladys George's ¨Madame X¨ and Jean Arthur's ¨The devil and Miss Jones¨. Plus the picture packs a very high standard cinematography by Joseph Valentine.From the late 1920s Sam Wood was with MGM, where he remained until his death at 1966 with some exception as ¨Heartbeat¨ with RKO. Sam Wood angered the acting community by his work for Joseph McCarthy and his House UnAmerican Activities Committee.