Song Without End
Franz Liszt is living in Chamonix with Countess Marie D'Agoult, the mother of his children, when Frédéric Chopin and George Sand visit him.By 1946, Columbia had three spec scripts from musician Theodore Kolline, but serious production did not begin until studio head Harry Cohn announced the project in 1952.When the studio delayed going forward with the project due to production and casting issues for three years, Saul backed out, and Columbia announced in 1955 that Gottfried Reinhardt had been commissioned to write a new screenplay.[6] He replaced James Wong Howe with Charles Lang, changed the costumes, and even had Anna Lee dub Patricia Morrison's dialogue.[5] Cukor also abandoned Liszt's famous long hair, opting to make Dirk Bogarde look more like Elvis Presley.After selecting the pieces to be played, he engaged piano virtuoso Jorge Bolet, the Roger Wagner Chorale, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic to perform the score.[5] Liberty Records released The Franz Liszt Story to showcase the arrangements Harry Sukman made for the film.[10] New York Times critic Bosley Crowther praised the music: “A little bit of everything reflective not only of the talent of Liszt but also of most of the great composers of his highly romantic age—Wagner, Paganini, Beethoven, Verdi, Chopin—artists whose work he respected, assisted, embellished and often played, is packed into this picture.