My Foolish Heart (1949) with Susan Hayward and Dana Andrews

1949 my foolish heart

I was a nice girl, wasn’t I?

J. D. Salinger only authorized one of his works be adapted for the film, with that being the story “Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut.” There’s little left of Salinger’s work in the resulting My Foolish Heart, a well acted but otherwise rather poorly executed overly melodramatic film starring Susan Hayward and Dana Andrews.

Unsurprisingly, Hayward here plays a young lady- Eloise- with a drinking problem. She’s stuck in a listless marriage with her husband Lew (Kent Smith) and together they have a daughter. Lew’s a bit of a bum, having dated Eloise’s best friend back in their school days and he’s returned to her on the side as Eloise has devolved into potential alcoholism. He’s no blue ribbon at the county fair, shall we say.

A sudden appearance by the old classmate in question throws Eloise into a massive flashback, dreaming of her first love, pilot Walt Dreiser (Dana Andrews). Walt was drafted and killed in the war, though in a freak accident as opposed to combat.

It’s easy to forget the current state of affairs throughout My Foolish Heart, as most everything unfolds during this flashback. We are left to figure out that Eloise’s life is a disaster because of the “one who got away.” That perhaps her life would have turned out entirely differently had she been able to marry the personable and charming Walt as opposed to the glorified doorstop that is Lew. If one wanted to think on a deeper plane here (I’m not among them.) is it Walt’s death or Eloise’s inability to move on which has caused all the problems for her?
1949 my foolish heart susan hayward dana andrews

Most viewers won’t care enough to bother, except for those intrigued by rather unexciting soap opera-esque manufactured drama. What folks should care about, especially if they are going to watch the entire picture, is the acting. Dana Andrews and more critically Susan Hayward do legendary work here turning mush into something that at times has substance. Hayward, to her credit is outstanding, and earned an Academy Award nomination, losing out to Olivia de Havilland in The Heiress.

Director Mark Robson, in my mind a director often at the helm of what one would term women’s pictures, works his usual magic in taking the “woman” out of this and making it all copacetic. Gone is all of Salinger’s great commentary, dialogue and characterization. My Foolish Heart even goes so far as to almost justify Lew’s probable adultery given Eloise’s drinking. Balderdash!

Rather than portraying a strong woman who overcomes loss and builds a great life and family, we are left with a rather bitter woman, distant from her daughter and reliving past lives and what could have been through a bottle.

Get by whatever meaning there may be here and enjoy the performances and you’ll like this one a lot better.

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