Change of Heart
Brief Synopsis
Janet Gaynor and James Dunn and their close friends Charles Farrell and Ginger Rogers graduate from a West Coast college and fly to New York City to find work.
Cast & Crew
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John G. Blystone
Director
Janet Gaynor
Catherine Furness
Charles Farrell
Chris Thring
James Dunn
Mack McGowan
Ginger Rogers
Madge Rountree
Nick Foran
Nick
Film Details
Also Known As
Manhattan Love Song, The World Is Ours
Genre
Romance
Release Date
May
18,
1934
Premiere Information
New York opening: week of 10 May 1934
Production Company
Fox Film Corp.
Distribution Company
Fox Film Corp.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel Manhattan Love Song by Kathleen Norris (New York, 1934).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 16m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
6,937ft
(8 reels)
Synopsis
After their graduation from college, friends Catherine Furness, Chris Thring, Mack McGowan and Madge Rountree move to New York City. Madge hopes to become an actress, lawyer Chris wants to work for a big firm, Mack aspires to being a radio crooner, and Catherine desires to be a writer. Although the quartet are great friends, their relationships are strained by their romantic entanglements, for Catherine is in love with Chris, who has eyes only for Madge, while Madge cannot make up her mind between Chris and Mack, who adores Catherine. Upon their arrival in the big city, the awed youngsters call Phyllis Carmichael, an alumnus of their university, who invites them to a party. Later, when none of the friends have jobs yet, a desperate Catherine responds to an ad seeking parents for orphaned infants. After Catherine explains to Dr. Nathan Kurtzman, the babies' caretaker, that as an orphan herself she is willing to work as a nanny for anyone who adopts one of the babies, Harriet Hawkins, a kindly old woman who runs a used clothing shop, hires her. Harriet explains that she keeps one of the babies with her to show to the rich people who drop off their clothes in hopes that someone will adopt the child. The now employed Catherine rushes to the boardinghouse where the friends are staying and discovers that Chris and Mack have also found jobs. Their excitement is short-lived, however, for Madge announces that she is leaving to live with Phyllis, who can introduce her to a better class of people. While Mack disparages Madge's selfishness, Catherine is heartbroken when Chris runs after Madge. Mack proposes to Catherine, but she gently turns him down and moves in with Harriet. A month later, Mack visits Catherine and helps her persuade Louise Mockby to adopt the boy for whom Harriet is caring. Later, Catherine learns from Mack that Chris became ill and disappeared after Madge left with businessman Howard Jackson to be married in California. Catherine tracks down Chris, who requires round-the-clock nursing. Her loving care saves his life, and after Chris recovers, he realizes that he loves her. The two are wed and everything goes well until the return of Madge, who decided not to marry Howard. Madge has inherited a large amount of money and pesters Chris, who now works for Gerald Mockby, Louise's lawyer husband, for legal advice. Catherine is jealous of the attention Chris pays to Madge and finally confronts her. Catherine and Chris are to spend the weekend with the Mockbys, and Madge states that if she cannot persuade Chris to stay with her, she will give him up. Catherine is crushed when Chris misses their train and goes to the Mockbys alone. Chris soon arrives, however, and Catherine hugs him as he says he wants only her.
Director
John G. Blystone
Director
Cast
Janet Gaynor
Catherine Furness
Charles Farrell
Chris Thring
James Dunn
Mack McGowan
Ginger Rogers
Madge Rountree
Nick Foran
Nick
Beryl Mercer
Harriet Hawkins
Gustav Von Seyffertitz
Dr. [Nathan] Kurtzman
Kenneth Thomson
Howard Jackson
Theodor Von Eltz
Gerald Mockby
Drue Leyton
Mrs. Gerald [Louise] Mockby
Nella Walker
Mrs. Frieda Mockby
Shirley Temple
Shirley
Barbara Barondess
Phyllis Carmichael
Fiske O'hara
T. P. McGowan
Jane Darwell
Mrs. McGowan
Mary Carr
Mrs. Rountree
Irene Franklin
Greta Hailstrom
James Gleason
Hot dog vendor
Brenda Fowler
Frank Moran
Crew
Joseph Aiken
Sound
Harry Akst
Composer
Jasper Blystone
Assistant Director
Margaret Clancy
Film Editor
Louis Defrancesco
Music Director
Elmer Dyer
Aerial Photographer
Mack Elliott
Still Photographer
James Gleason
Screenwriter
Samuel Hoffenstein
Additional Dialogue
Rita Kaufman
Gowns
Sonya Levien
Screenwriter
Paul Mantz
Aerial Photographer
Hal Mohr
Photography
Walter O'keefe
Composer
Jack Otterson
Settings
M. B. Rugg
Assistant Camera
Winfield Sheehan
Producer
William Skall
2nd Camera
Robert Surtees
Assistant Camera
J. S. Zamecnik
Composer
Film Details
Also Known As
Manhattan Love Song, The World Is Ours
Genre
Romance
Release Date
May
18,
1934
Premiere Information
New York opening: week of 10 May 1934
Production Company
Fox Film Corp.
Distribution Company
Fox Film Corp.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel Manhattan Love Song by Kathleen Norris (New York, 1934).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 16m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
6,937ft
(8 reels)
Articles
Change of Heart
Recent college graduates travel to New York City in search of work.
Change of Heart
Recent college graduates travel to New York City in search of work.
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working titles of this film were Manhattan Love Song and The World Is Ours. Fox could not use the title Manhattan Love Song because it had already been claimed by Monogram for their 1934 picture (see below). Kathleen Norris' novel first appeared serially in Collier's (15 July-16 September 1933). A Hollywood Reporter news item noted that writer/actor James Gleason was signed to be the dialogue director of the film, but this claim has not been confirmed. Modern sources include Mischa Auer in the cast. Change of Heart marked the screen acting debut of Drue Leyton, and the twelth and final picture of popular love team Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell. Gaynor and Farrell's first picture together was the enormously successful 1927 Fox film Seventh Heaven, which, along with their next film, Street Angel, and the picture Sunrise, earned Gaynor the first Academy Award for Best Actress. Their first sound picture, 1929's Sunny Side Up ensured their continued strength at the box office. Among their other films in the 1930s were Delicious and Tess of the Storm Country (see below).
