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. 

SO YOUNG, SO BAD

Ann Francis and adorable tyke

SO YOUNG, SO BAD (1950). Director: Bernard Vorhaus.

Dr. John Jason (Paul Henreid of Between Two Worlds) is the new psychiatrist at a reformatory for girls that is run with complete disregard for these young ladies' welfare by Mr. Riggs (Cecil Clovelly) and stone-faced nurse Mrs. Beuhler (Grace Coppin). Jason tries to get support from the rather beautiful assistant superintendent Ruth Levering (Catherine McLeod), but she's too afraid of losing her job. When Jason tries to get the girls to talk about abuses to board members, they clam up, having been threatened by Riggs or Beuhler. Jason is particularly concerned with four of the young women: Loretta (Anne Francis) who tries to use sex as a weapon; Jackie (Anne Jackson), who is sullen and may have a crush on Loretta; Delores (Rita Moreno), who is pretty and shy; and Jane (Enid Pulver), who is withdrawn and needs help. Loretta wants to give up her baby boy for adoption but while she pretends to have no feelings is more emotionally involved than she lets on. So Young, So Bad was released the same year as the more famous Caged, and the two movies have many similarities [although the latter film takes place in a bonafide prison with older inmates]. SYSB is a fairly absorbing film with real attempts at characterization, and is greatly bolstered by the performances of the cast, especially Francis [Forbidden Planet], Jackson, and Moreno, all of whom would go on to have highly successful careers [Pulver did a little TV work after she completed this film]. Instead of a kitten as in Caged, the girls have a pet rabbit that gets stomped on by the abusive Beuhler. The four adult leads are all quite credible. An interesting scene has Jackie utterly collapsing into anguished tears after she sees Loretta bonding with her baby, as if she feels left out or is suffering from lesbian heartbreak. Vorhaus also directed The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine. Henreid later directed movies somewhat similar to this one.

Verdict: Some very good acting helps put this over. ***.