Movie: Your Cheatin' Heart (1964)
George Hamilton Stars as Hank Williams in Country Music Film
The late, great Hank Williams (1923-1953) was accorded his own Hollywood biography in 1964 with Your Cheatin' Heart. George Hamilton plays the legendary Country Music Hall of Famer, with Susan Oliver, Red Buttons and Arthur O'Connell in solid support. Hey Good Lookin'!
Screenplay, Director
Stanford Whitmore wrote Your Cheatin' Heart for Four-Leaf Productions and MGM.
Directing was Gene Nelson, whose previous credits included Hootenanny Hoot (1963) and the Elvis Presley musical Kissin' Cousins (1964).
Your Cheatin' Heart Cast
Memphis-born George Hamilton is Hank Williams. Other cast members include Susan Oliver (Audrey Williams), Red Buttons (Shorty Younger), Arthur O'Connell (Fred Rose), Shary Marshall (Ann Younger), Rex Ingram (Teetot), Chris Crosby (Sam Priddy), Roy Engel (Joe Rauch) and Donald Losby (Young Hank Williams).
The then-25-year-old Hamilton was not a popular choice to play "The Hillbilly Shakespeare." Many country music fans viewed the handsome actor as nothing more than a male model whose previous screen roles had been limited to playing rich playboys and collegiate types - i.e., Ryder Smith in Where the Boys Are (1960).
Low Budget, Filming
Your Cheatin' Heart was a low-budget affair produced by B-movie impressario Sam Katzman. The movie was shot in Hollywood, with various sets used to recreate the important locales in Hank Williams' life.
Hank's widow, Audrey Williams, served as the film's technical advisor. Reportedly, her drinking had been a problem during filming as she battled music publisher Wesley Rose in how to best portray her late husband's life on the big screen.
Hank Williams Jr. Soundtrack
George Hamilton, who possessed a fair singing voice, had wanted to perform Hank Williams' songs himself. That idea, however, did not sit well with Wesley Rose, whose music publishing company Acuff-Rose held the sole licensing rights to Hank Williams' playlist.
Eventually selected to record the film's all-important soundtrack was 15-year-old Hank Williams Jr. Both Wesley Rose and Audrey Williams had championed Hank Jr., with cornered MGM executives bowing to their wishes. It proved to be a wise move, with Hank Jr. delivering the country bacon, expertly recreating such Hank Williams standards as "Hey Good Lookin'," "Jambalaya," "Cold, Cold Heart," "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" and the title song "Your Cheatin' Heart."
Your Cheatin' Heart Movie
Filmed in black and white, Your Cheatin' Heart dramatizes the short life and music career of Hank Williams. The film opens in small-town Alabama, where young Hank learns how to play the guitar from itinerant musician Teetot.
The dirt-poor Williams later pursues his music career as a young man, plying his trade in a traveling medicine show. Here he meets future wife Audrey, who recognizes his talent and pushes him on to Nashville.
With the help of manager Shorty Younger and music publisher Fred Rose, Hank Williams eventually reaches the pinnacle of country music. But the troubled Williams is beset by demons -- mainly alcohol and pills -- which contribute to his untimely death at age 29 on New Year's Day 1953.
Release, Reviews
Your Cheatin' Heart opened in selected movie theaters in December 1964.
"There's very little wrong with Your Cheatin' Heart...There have been bigger, better and more expensive screen biographies of musicians, but few more honest and disarming..." wrote Howard Thompson of The New York Times (5/20/65).
Your Cheatin' Heart on VHS, DVD-R
Your Cheatin' Heart -- a moderate box-office success -- is commercially available on VHS. There also exist DVD-R bootleg copies of the movie, both in its original black and white and colorized formats.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
