The romantic story of Hungarian pianist Franz Liszt (Sir Dirk Bogarde), whose scandalous love affair forced him to abandon his adoring audiences.The romantic story of Hungarian pianist Franz Liszt (Sir Dirk Bogarde), whose scandalous love affair forced him to abandon his adoring audiences.The romantic story of Hungarian pianist Franz Liszt (Sir Dirk Bogarde), whose scandalous love affair forced him to abandon his adoring audiences.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 2 wins & 3 nominations total
- Thalberg
- (as E. Erlandsen)
- Chopin
- (as Alex Davion)
- Emissary
- (scenes deleted)
- Audience Member
- (uncredited)
- Komparsenrolle
- (uncredited)
- Directors
- Charles Vidor
- George Cukor(finished after Vidor's death) (uncredited)
- Writers
- Oscar Millard
- Leola Wendorff(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaCharles Vidor had completed about 15 percent of this movie when he died of a heart attack on June 4, 1959. Sir Dirk Bogarde later recalled that he was "secretly relieved" by Vidor's death, since he and his co-star, Capucine had been treated badly by the short-tempered director. Vidor would often scream at Capucine to relax, and at one point, Bogarde recalled, "shook her like a dead cat." Vidor was replaced by George Cukor, who got along much better with his stars, and was more of an "actor's director."
- GoofsGrand Duchess make reference to "Ukraine" in one scene. The term was not in wide use in the 1840s, especially not among Russian nobility.
- Quotes
Countess Marie: I met Franz at a musical party. I remember he played a ballade in A-flat major by Chopin. I thought I'd never seen anything as beautiful as Franz looked when he sat at the piano. I... I wanted to cry. He watched me as he played; Franz never fails to notice a pretty woman in his audience. Afterward, he followed me into the hall. I remember he said, "May I escort you somewhere, madame?" And I said, "Yes." And he said, "Where?" And I said, "Paradise." He didn't smile - he said, "I'll call a carriage."
Princess Carolyne: Did he?
Countess Marie: What?
Princess Carolyne: Drive you there - to paradise?
Countess Marie: [a pause, and a meaningful look as she turns to leave the room] He doesn't know the road, madame.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Film Profile: Dirk Bogarde (1961)
Charles Vidor's "Song Without End" (finished by George Cukor after Vidor died during production) looks at a period of Liszt's life. It sounds as though his scandalous personal life became as famous as his music. Sure happens with a lot of musicians.
Anyway, Dirk Bogarde plays Liszt, and Capucine plays the princess with whom he fell in love. Their love affair was what you might expect (but make no mistake, Capucine was a real babe). However, my interpretation of this movie got colored by the use of the music in cartoons. Richard Wagner is a character in the movie, and we hear the Pilgrims' Chorus from Wagner's Tannhäuser; I recognized the tune from the scene in Chuck Jones's "What's Opera, Doc?" where Bugs dresses as a Rhinemaiden to fool Elmer. I bet that my generation learned most of the high-brow culture (opera and literature) from the Looney Tunes without knowing that it was a spoof.
Anyway, it's an OK movie, not great. I guess that you could put it on your, ahem, Liszt of movies to see.
- lee_eisenberg
- Aug 22, 2020
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Song Without End - The Story of Franz Liszt
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime2 hours 21 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1