Song Without End (1960)

Director:

Charles Vidor

Writer:

Oscar Millard (writer)

Release Date:

14 October 1960 (Finland)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Tagline:

His Scandalous Affairs Shocked the World!

Plot Keywords:

Composer | Frank Liszt | Frederick Chopin | Pianist | Classical Music

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Dirk Bogarde	...	Franz Liszt
Capucine	...	Princess Carolyne Wittgenstein
Geneviève Page	...	Countess Marie D'Agoult
Patricia Morison	...	Georges Sand
Ivan Desny	...	Prince Nicholas
Martita Hunt	...	Grand Duchess
Lou Jacobi	...	Potin
Albert Rueprecht	...	Prince Felix Lichnowsky
Marcel Dalio	...	Chelard
Lyndon Brook	...	Richard Wagner
Walter Rilla	...	Archbishop
Hans Unterkircher	...	Czar
Erland Erlandsen	...	Sigismond Thalberg (as E. Erlandsen)
Alexander Davion	...	Frederic Chopin (as Alex Davion)
Katherine Squire	...	Anna Liszt

Also Known As:

Crescendo

Runtime:

141 min | USA:130 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | 4-Track Stereo

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Berndorf Theater, Vienna, Austria

Company:

William Goetz Productions

Trivia:

George Cukor thought Patricia Morison's voice as George Sand was too feminine, so he had it dubbed (by Anna Lee).

Quotes:

Countess Marie: I met Franz at a musical party. I remember he played a ballade in A-flat major by Chopin. I thought I'd never seen anything as beautiful as Franz looked when he sat at the piano. I... I wanted to cry. He watched me as he played; Franz never fails to notice a pretty woman in his audience...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Making of '...And God Spoke' (1993)

Song Without End is A Memorable Musical Biography ****

Opulent film is terrific with Dirk Bogarde playing Franz Liszt in a totally memorable performance. Capucine, as the Princess Carolyne, and Genevieve Page, as the abandoned mistress, were truly terrific here as well as a fine supporting performance by Martita Hunt, as the Czar's sympathetic sister. Hunt literally made a career of playing strong, erudite women.

The set decorations here are phenomenal, they're on par with the great 1944 film "Wilson."

The music is magnificent although we could have done without knowing about the friendship between Liszt and the anti-Semite Richard Wagner. Another flaw is the miscasting of Lou Jacobi as Bogarde's manager. Jacobi sounded like he came out of the Catskills. This film for Jacobi came after his super performance, the year before, in the beloved "The Diary of Anne Frank." (Happy Birthday Lou as you turn 95 on Dec. 28th.)

The first part of the film deals with Liszt's career. His playing in concerts in various European countries was remarkable. The second part deals with his ill-fated love with the Countess Cathryne of Lichtenstein.

While we see that Liszt entered the priesthood when his proposed marriage to Cathryne was rejected, we really can't tell if Cathryne became a nun. I imagine no since she was still technically married in the eyes of the church. Nonetheless, we have a powerful, beautifully acted film. Too bad that Totentanz, a Liszt masterpiece, was not played here. I had to know that piece of grand music in a required music course at college. Like the movie, Totentanz was a masterful piece.