Your Cheatin' Heart (film)
| Your Cheatin' Heart | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Gene Nelson |
| Produced by | Sam Katzman |
| Written by | Stanford Whitmore |
| Starring |
George Hamilton Susan Oliver Red Buttons |
| Music by | Fred Karger |
| Cinematography | Ellis W. Carter |
| Edited by | Ben Lewis |
|
Production
company |
Four-Leaf Productions
|
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
99 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2,500,000 (US/ Canada rentals) |
Your Cheatin' Heart is a 1964 musical directed by Gene Nelson, starring George Hamilton as country singer Hank Williams. It co-stars Susan Oliver and Red Buttons.
A young Hank Williams is trying to earn money by pitching a snake-oil cure-all to the gullible, capping his spiel by picking up his guitar and singing. In the crowd is The Drifting Cowboys, a group of touring country-western musicians who happen to be passing through. They invite Williams to join their group, and music history is made.
The film was made with the assistance of Williams' widow Audrey and featuring the songs (Long Gone Lonesome Blues, I Can’t Help It, and Hey, Good Lookin’ among them) lip-synched by Hamilton but sung by Hank Williams, Jr.
The end scene (when the audience is notified that Williams has died while on the way there) portrays an actual event, as one audience member stands up unprompted and begins to sing "I Saw the Light". Others stand up quickly and join him, as the spotlight shines on the stage where Hank should be. This was similar to what actually happened after Williams died, as Hawkshaw Hawkins and several musicians began singing "I Saw The Light", and the crowd joined in, thinking at first that the announcement was an act, but when Hawkins and company began singing, the crowd realized it was no act.
The film was originally released in 1964 in black and white, and has the distinction of being the final MGM musical film to be produced in black and white.
The film was colorized by Turner Entertainment in 1990. The colorized version made its debut over SuperStation WTBS on January 1, 1991, the 38th anniversary of Hank Williams, Sr.'s death.
MGM's music division owned the rights to the Hank Williams songbook. In 1956, it was announced the studio would make the movie with producer Joe Pasternak, employing Jeff Richards and June Allyson in the lead roles. Then Elvis Presley was considered as a possible star, to make his follow-up movie for MGM following Jailhouse Rock. However, Colonel Tom Parker refused.
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