SONG WITHOUT END

US, 1960, 140 minutes, Colour.
Dirk Bogarde, Capucine, Genevieve Page, Patricia Morrison, Ivan Desny, Martita Hunt, Lou Jacobi, Marcel Dalio.
Directed by Charles Vidor.

Song Without End was popular in its time, even winning an Oscar for best musical scoring. It also won the Golden Globe for best musical and Dirk Bogarde was nominated for a Golden Globe as best actor in a musical. However, critics were not kind to the film at the time – and have not been since.

This is very much a Hollywood-style biography of a famous composer, the focus on Liszt and his relationships as well as his music. Patricia Morrison appears as Georges Sand and the link between Liszt and Wagner and Chopin is emphasised in the film.

Dirk Bogarde exercises his Saturday matinee style and attraction in the role of Liszt. Capucine was beginning to emerge as a popular actress in Hollywood films at the time.

The film was directed by Charles Vidor who had made an impact in 1945 with his biography of Chopin, A Song to Remember with Cornel Wilde (gaining an Oscar nomination) as Chopin. Critics in later decades bracket Song to Remember with Song Without End in the criticism (and some ridicule) of the Hollywood biopic.

This was Charles Vidor’s last film. In the 1940s he had great success, especially with some Rita Hayworth vehicles – Cover Girl, Gilda, The Loves of Carmen. In the 1950s he directed some entertaining films like Hans Christian Andersen as well as some melodramas like Rhapsody, Love Me or Leave Me, The Swan. He also did the remake of A Farewell to Arms.

1. Was this a good musical drama? Did it keep audience Interest? How? Did enjoyment depend tin audience interest in Liszt? Liszt's music? Was it a just portrayal of a phase of the composer’s life? Insight into the character and life of a composer?

2. How well sulted to the film were thecolour, the cinemascope, the sets, the music?

3. The importance of the structure of the film: the focus on a small phase of Liszt’s life? Did this do adequate justice to the man, the complexities of his life, his genius, his creativity?

4. How good was Dirk Bogarde's portrayal of Liszt? How well did he depth his character? Could the audience understand Liszt as a man, as an attist? What kind of man was Liszt? How tormented in his genius? How callous in his disregard of others? How self-centred? Liszt as a mixture of the libertine and the religious man? His relationship with Maria, his change to Caroline, his composing, his artistic playing?

5. What insight into the artist of the ninteenth century did the film give? What characterised the composers of this century? In individualism, romanticism?

6. How well communicated was the music? The musical background, the number of the concerts? Liszt's composing, the dances in the squares etc? Did the film offer an adequate selection of Liszt’s music, played well?

7. How did the film show the importance of the women's influence on liazt? Maria and her urging him to compose? Caroline and her faith in him, gibing him inspiration?

8. How sympathetically did the film portray Maria? The household and the children, her protecting him? Her not wanting him to be a concert pianist, her pushing his composing, the effect of the break-up of their relationship, her desperate means to keep him? What kind of a person was Maria? Was she good for Liszt? Why could she not retain his affections?

9. How did Caroline contrast with Maria? Why was she infatuated with Liszt? The importance of her going to the concerts, her patronising him, her loving him? How important was she for Liszt? Her not protecting and loving him? Her loving him?

10.The importance of Caroline's religious scruples? Her consistency in her religious beliefs? Her sense of destiny with Liszt? Her willingness to dare all? The lies that she told for happiness within grasp? her sense of retribution in not being able to marry Liszt? how moving was this segment of the film? why?

11. Caroline’s husband and the staid ninteenth century attitude towards law, contractual marriages, property? Was the marriage between Caroline and her husband a valid one? Could it be broken? The husband’s trying to prevent Caroline's marriage with Liszt and the hurt to their lives? What were audiences meant to feel about this?

12. The possibilities of success at Weimar? The support of the Dutchess? Liszt's work with the orchestra, the portrayal of Wagner's opera, the possibility of marriage?

13.The ideallic happiness of the Roman sequences? The preparation for the marriage? Liszt and the people?

14.How was the film marked with sorrow? Liszt's hurting of others, the rival’s concert? His hurting of Maria and the children? Liszt's relationship with his mother? The visit to Paris and Caroline's clash with Maria? Liszt as having the support of the people? The falling apart of the idol in Rome?

15.How satisfied were audiences at the end fo the film? Why? How enjoyable was the film? How much a popular film of insight into a historical character and genius?