Music in My Heart (1940)

1 Nomination, 0 Wins

Nomination: Best Music, Original Song: Chet Forrest and Bob Wright for "It's A Blue World"

The Academy Award ceremony held in 1941, like the other ceremonies held in the era, must have been full of musicians.  Nine films were nominated for Best Original Song, 17 films for Best Original Score, and nine more for Best Score.  The old Academy rules allowed for large numbers of nominations in several categories, giving scores of musicians the designation "Academy Award nominee."  While this was no doubt a great thing for those nominated, for the Oscar completist it can be a mixed blessing.  Many of the films nominated in these categories, particularly Best Song, tend to be light and frivolous films that would have had no chance of an Oscar nomination without the music categories.  Sometimes this allows me to watch fun and lighthearted comedies that I would have otherwise missed, but more often I am stuck watching dreadful films with one halfway decent song.  Thankfully, "Music in My Heart" is an example of the former.

Starring Tony Martin and Rita Hayworth and directed by journeyman director Joseph Santley, "Music in My Heart" is a lighthearted romance with a plotline so forgettable that just 24 hours after watching it, I am having a tough time recalling it to write this post.  The pleasure of "Music in My Heart" comes not from the story, however, but instead from a charming leading performance by Tony Martin and some entertaining songs, including the nominated "It's A Blue World."  Though not the best song in the film, "It's A Blue World" is a pleasant tune worthy of its nomination, but it had little chance against the Oscar winning "When You Wish Upon a Star."

I'll completely forgot that I watched this film in a month, but it was a short, enjoyable movie and it made for a pleasant afternoon.