I'VE ALWAYS LOVED YOU

Bill Carter and Catherine |McLeod

I'VE ALWAYS LOVED YOU (1946).  Director/producer: Frank Borzage.

Famous pianist and conductor Leopold  Goronoff (Philip Dorn of Zeigfeld Girl) , who is quite a chauvinist, takes pretty Myra Hassmann (Catherine McLeod of So Young, So Bad) under his wing and teaches her everything he knows, although he seems to feel that no woman could ever be a true artist. At her first concert at Carnegie Hall, the audience seems to feel differently and Goronoff's jealousy causes him to make a foolish decision. Myra marries handsome farmer George (Bill Carter) and settles down, but years later her daughter Georgette (Vanessa Brown) starts on her own career. Will Myra's path cross with Goronoff's, and what will happen to all concerned when they do? 

Dorn and McLeod at Carnegie Hall

I've Always Loved You, like many romantic movies, throws logic to the wind and glosses over so much that it almost seems like a fantasy film. The ending, although satisfying in some ways, is especially ridiculous -- someone who played one concert 17 years ago gives another at Carnegie Hall without any rehearsal or prior announcement -- sure! Dorn gives a good performance in one of his largest roles, although James Mason might have done more with it. Catherine McLeod, who acquits herself quite nicely, did mostly television work. Bill Carter is appealing, but at times he's so nice that he's borderline cloying. One suspects he was trying to cover up his English accent as he is playing an American farmer. Apparently he didn't impress the right people because this was his last film role for over fifteen years.  

Bill Carter

There are also some excellent supporting performances in this, including Fritz Feld as Goronoff's long-suffering manager; Elizabeth Patterson as Myra's nanny and housekeeper; and especially Maria Ouspenskaya as Goronoff's very loving and wise "bubushka" or grandmother. The film moves at a good pace and is filmed in truly gorgeous Technicolor. But no matter how good the acting, the fact remains that most of the movie's power comes from Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto, which of course was also used the year before in the far, far superior Brief Encounter. I've Always Loved You came from Republic Studios, once famous for its serials. In fact one of Catherine McLeod's earliest roles was as a dancer in The Tiger Woman! 

Verdict: Beautiful concert sequences tied to a rather contrived and foolish plot. **1/2.