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My Foolish Heart

1949, Movie, NR, 98 mins

My Foolish Heart: Review

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First shown in late 1949 (in order to qualify for the Oscars, where it was nominated for Best Actress and Best Song), but withheld from general release until 1950, this was Susan Hayward's only movie for Goldwyn and her second film opposite Dana Andrews, a longtime Goldwyn contract player. Based on a short story by J.D. Salinger originally published in the New Yorker, MY FOOLISH HEART tells the tear-jerking story of the hard-drinking Hayward, who is unhappily married to former Army man Smith. Having stolen Smith from her college roommate, Wheeler, Hayward maneuvered him into marrying her when she was pregnant by another man. Now Smith wants to divorce her and marry Wheeler, and Hayward is about to tell him that their daughter, Perreau, is not really his, but Wheeler convinces her that the secret is better left undisclosed. While Hayward goes through some things, she discovers an old evening dress and that sends her (and the movie) back in memory to 1941, to a swank party in New York, where her dress has scandalized some snobs. Andrews has crashed the soiree, and the two are mutually attracted to one another. After a date, he takes her to his place and tries to seduce her--unsuccessfully, although she is drawn by his rakish manner. Hayward, who is a student at a posh boarding school, begins seeing Andrews whenever she can, but when he visits her at school and the two are caught necking, she's tossed out. Her parents come to New York, attempting to convince her to come home with them. Landis, her mother, fears that Hayward has lost her virginity, but her father, Keith, believes Hayward's protestations to the contrary after a heart-to-heart talk with Andrews, who swears up and down that the affair was never consummated. After Hayward's folks agree to let her stay in the big city, the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor and Andrews prepares to leave the country to serve in the Air Corps. The two spend one final passionate night together, after which Andrews writes a letter to Hayward asking for her hand in marriage, then takes off on the flight that costs him his life. She gets the letter after hearing of his death, then learns that she is pregnant by her late lover. Fearful of the consequences, she comes between Smith and Wheeler and gets him to marry her. When Perreau is born, Smith thinks that the child is his. Wheeler disappears and leaves them to their loveless marriage. After this extended flashback, Hayward now understands how many lives she has manipulated, so she tells Smith that she will grant him the divorce, extends her best wishes to him and Wheeler, and offers to exit the scene without taking Perreau. Smith, ever the gentleman, won't hear of that, and as the film ends Hayward is living with Perreau, looking forward to making a second, happier life for herself and her daughter. Besides Hayward's Oscar-nominated work, the film features a smashing performance from Robert Keith, in his first substantial role after playing bits in only five films since 1924, including BOOMERANG and KISS OF DEATH. The film's other Oscar nominee, the song "My Foolish Heart," became a pop standard. leave a comment
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