Music in My Heart (1940) has a plot which may seem strangely reminiscent of the present, as the leading man is an inadvertent immigrant to the United States, brought to States as an infant and knowing nothing else, this deportation of a man with a quintessential American accent may tug at the heartstrings – but don’t be fooled, this is not a serious approach to the problems, whatever they may be, with illegal immigration.
This is fluff, unadulterated cotton candy, from male lead Tony Martin‘s superb vocal control when he sings, to the strangely cold-hot-cold portrayal of the female lead by Rita Hayworth, from the benevolent management of the opera company employing Tony to the family of Rita, a bunch of Italians pretending to be Romanovs from Russia, to whom money is more a distraction from life, rather than a goal. All could have become a memorable focus of a few movies, but none are dealt with seriously, and the movie is nearly stolen, lock stock and barrel, by character actor Eric Biore, who plays a butler who schemes to steal back Rita from Tony for his own boss, Charles, a man who can hardly see the world for the curtain of money pouring over him. The plot careens from random coincidence to fortunate meeting, all while no one seems too put out by this any of the unfortunate incidents that befalls them, whether it be a petulant millionaire setting up his future wife to fail, or a man on his way to a ship only to have an accident that makes him too late to catch it.
Is it worth your time? Depends on who you are. If you’re a fan of Rita, maybe – her performance is quirky, but perhaps a trifle under-confident. If you like Tony, or at least his singing, then sure. And if Mr. Biore has charmed you in other movies, he plays between the keys with a deft skill.
