Heartbeat (1946)

In Paris, a young woman runs away from a reform school, joins a pickpocket academy, and finds herself falling for the handsome diplomat she's been blackmailed into stealing from.

Director:

Sam Wood

Writers:

Morrie Ryskind (adaptation), Hans Wilhelm (original screenplay)

Stars:

Ginger Rogers, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Adolphe Menjou

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

Storyline

A young female escapee from a reform school joins a pickpocket academy in Paris. She is caught red-handed on her first attempt at stealing by an upper class man. He recruits her to do him a favor at a society party where she meets and falls in love with a young, handsome, rich diplomat. Whether or not she can land him is another story.

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Plot Keywords:

screwball comedy | reform school | pickpocket | diplomat | paris france | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Heartbeat is a direct remake of the French romantic drama Battement de coeur, released in 1940.

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Quotes

Yves Cadubert: When I lie, everybody knows. Maybe I should go into politics where it doesn't matter.

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Connections

Referenced in Keaton's Cop (1990)

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Soundtracks

Can You Guess ?
(The Heartbeat Song)
Music by Paul Misraki
Lyrics by Ervin Drake
Sung by Ginger Rogers

User Reviews

Average scene-by-scene remake of 'Battement de coeur'.

I waited to view 'Heartbeat' until I had first managed to watch the French original from 1940 that this movie is derived from. I felt that to see them in chronological order offered the best chance to appraise them relatively.

I thoroughly enjoyed 'Battement de coeur', finding it possessed a lightness of touch and was full of sparkling wit. Despite watching it on a SECAM tape that didn't play terribly well in my PAL VCR, the French original bowled me over with its zest and sprightly charm. The inestimable Danielle Darrieux shines as only she can.

After such a pleasing viewing experience, I was rather intrigued to discover how the story would play out under different auspices, but with Max Kolpe again contributing to the writing. It really proved to be a bad case of deja-vu when a week later I watched the DVD of 'Heartbeat'. I honestly don't know who decided that it should be a scene-by-scene remake. Constrained by adhering rigidly to the scenes from 'Battement de coeur', 'Heartbeat' was always going to struggle to be anything other than forced in areas to persons who had already viewed the 1940 movie. For example, the scene where Ginger Rogers kicks the floor in adolescent frustration at being detained just falls flat, whereas the scene in 'Battement de coeur' exhibited buckets of vitality and flouncing joie de vivre. The half-hearted reenactment of scenes and characters' movements was eerie and strange to observe.

Up to about two-thirds of the way through, I wasn't particularly held by the script or by the performances. For me, the early scenes in the pick-pocket school are uninspired recreations of those in 'Battement de coeur'. Even the dummy they practice on is exactly the same! Luckily though, it gradually grew on me and began to charm me somewhat. In contrast to many reviewers, I feel that the romantic elements of the second half aid the movie considerably. The scenes in the last reel of Rogers and Aumont dancing contain more spontaneity and zest than those that have gone before.

'Heartbeat' is inoffensive and contains some reasonably funny moments involving watches. Despite being over-aged for her role, I thought Rogers was appealing and displayed a nice mix of teenage shyness and spunkiness. Adolphe Menjou and Basil Rathbone appear fleetingly but are good value as always. As the teacher, Rathbone is watchable but he cannot quite equal the menacing and imposing performance of Saturnin Fabre in 'Battement de coeur'. Menjou does well and is at the centre of many of the funniest intrigues. Overall, the movie is relatively likable but considerably hamstrung by its aping of the French original. Do attempt to take in 'Battement de coeur' before seeing this, for goodness' sake!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Corazonada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Robert & Raymond Hakim Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1