My Foolish Heart (1949)

72% of users liked it
(213 ratings)

Producer Samuel Goldwyn dishes up sentiment by the bowlful with My Foolish Heart. Susan Hayward is (somewhat unconvincingly) cast as a wide-eyed girl from Idaho who meets bon vivant Dana Andrews at a Manhattan party. Their brief affair results in a pregnancy, but since Andrews has been killed in the… More Producer Samuel Goldwyn dishes up sentiment by the bowlful with My Foolish Heart. Susan Hayward is (somewhat unconvincingly) cast as a wide-eyed girl from Idaho who meets bon vivant Dana Andrews at a Manhattan party. Their brief affair results in a pregnancy, but since Andrews has been killed in the war, Hayward marries a man she doesn't love to give her child a name. The experience turns the girl into an embittered alcoholic, but she sees the light before she can cause grief for her baby. Based on a story by J. D. Salinger (the only one of this reclusive author's stories ever translated to film), My Foolish Heart strains credulity to the breaking point, but was popular enough to yield a hit title song, which is still a standard on "easy listening" FM radio stations. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 38 min.
Directed By: Mark Robson
Written By: Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein
Genres: Drama, Romance, Classics

In Theaters: Dec 25, 1949 Wide
On DVD: Mar 23, 1999

Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Salinger was so dismayed at what Hollywood did to his story, that it was the first and last time that they got their hands on one of his stories.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Susan Hayward received the first of her five Oscar nominations fo this well-acted medlodrama (woman's picture), loosely based on J.D. Salinger's story.

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Featured Audience Ratings

jay n

Sentimental wartime drama with Susan Hayward strong in the lead, she was Oscar nominated. Dana Andrews is fine as her love interest but the strongest supporting performance comes from Robert Keith as Susan's father This includes a scene that is surprisingly frank for the times… More
Sentimental wartime drama with Susan Hayward strong in the lead, she was Oscar nominated. Dana Andrews is fine as her love interest but the strongest supporting performance comes from Robert Keith as Susan's father This includes a scene that is surprisingly frank for the times dealing with hasty wartime marriages and the realities once the war is over. Based on the only J.D. Salinger story he ever allowed to be adapted, he hated the results, it's not a great film but certainly an enjoyable one particularly if you're a Hayward fan.