jjnxn-1
Lets get this out of the way right off the top, Ginger Rogers is too old for her part in this film! True she looks very lovely and far younger than the 35 years she was when this was made, perhaps 25 or 26, but she is supposed to be an 18 year old escapee from a reform school and there is no amount of soft focus that could make that believable.As far as the rest of the film its a mediocre effort wasting the other two assets it has on hand, Adolph Menjou and Basil Rathbone, in small parts. The story itself is rather ridiculous held up by the talent involved but it's wasted effort. A forgettable enterprise, all the stars have made better films that should be sought out instead.
Laurel-Canyon
A light comedy like this is so different from typical Hollywood fare. It's a delightful French omelette - fluffy and sophisticated all at once. It leaves a sweet savour and refreshment, where other 'zany' comedies rely on just heaping up one cliché after another, thick and fast, with an often indigestible, overcooked, somewhat tiresome result."Heartbeat" keeps you guessing what will come next, like the most skilled flirt.Six years earlier in 1940, the film "Beat of the Heart" ("Battement de Coeur") was produced in France, starring the stunning Danielle Darrieux and the incredibly charismatic Claude Dauphin. As an American remake, "Heartbeat," according to the credits, was the creation of the three original French writers, plus two additional Hollywood writers for adaptation and additional dialogue.Overall, it makes its trans-cultural moves very well, in a romantic dance across the Atlantic.Ginger Rogers is completely convincing as an 18-year old, and on this point I disagree with other reviewers. It should be considered, for the sake of argument, that an 18-year old woman in Europe in 1940, or in 1946, had the maturing experience of World War II imprinted on her mind and heart. Truly, such a creature was a child-woman, not a plastic doll, an airhead, a sex object, or a narcissistic 'Material Girl'. She would have had the character of an adult, combined with true innocence, the innocence of a person who has seen cruelty and ugliness and crime, but has not yet personally become corrupted. As a matter of fact, I don't think any 18-year old American starlet would have had a clue as to how to play this part effectively. The following actresses certainly would have been "the right age". Amazingly, these five were the only American ingénues with star quality in 1946. Would you have cast any one of them, instead of Ginger Rogers? I doubt it. They simply weren't ready yet for such a role.Patricia Neal, age 20; Grace Kelly, age 17; Janet Leigh, age 19; Jeanne Crain, age 21; Ann Blyth, age 18.On the other hand, these two European lovelies would have been perfect, and they were already skilled on both stage and screen. But they would not come to Hollywood for several more years.Audrey Hepburn, age 17; Jean Simmons, age 17.Adding to its unique character, "Heartbeat" handles some very mature themes with a delicate, Cosmopolitan flare. The leading man is the lover of a married woman, and he is in the diplomatic corps of her older husband, "the Ambassador." This portrayal by Adolphe Menjou is perfect - suave, funny, devious, and attractive. Now Arlette knows from the very beginning that the handsome Jean-Pierre Aumont, the man she is falling in love with, the man who enjoys baiting her innocence, is himself a scoundrel. For his part, he tries to get rid of her puppy-dog affection by marrying her off to a sponger who will take her off his hands for a price. The actor captures this duplicity expertly. He is not at all a one-dimensional Romeo!By the way, the humorous sponger is played to the hilt by British comic actor Melville Cooper, who was actually a true hero, a veteran of the First World War who had been captured by the Germans. Another tour-de-force performance is delivered by Russian emigré Mikhail Rasumny. He was already 56 when he charmed the viewers of "Heartbeat" playing the thief/butler who counsels Arlette when she needs it most.As for the opening episodes with Basil Rathbone, playing a sort of Fagin to a motley group of over-aged delinquents, these scenes serve to introduce Arlette as a most extraordinary young lady, indeed. She actually manages to fool Professor Aristide himself, the expert schemer and arch criminal of them all! A spectacularly funny cameo for Sherlock Holmes!Far from suffering through this film, let alone finding it boring, I was immensely entertained to the very end. The 'Hollywood ending' was really not predictable. In a film like this, anything could have happened.The whole fantasy was delightfully bubbly, like pink champagne.
wes-connors
Reform school knock-out Ginger Rogers (as Arlette Lafron) is trained as a Parisian pickpocket, upon release from the institution. Unfortunately, Ms. Rogers is almost immediately caught. During the running time, she receives admirable support from sexy Jean-Pierre Aumont, teacher Basil Rathbone, and ambassador Adolphe Menjou. Even in soft focus, the lovely Rogers is an unconvincing 18-year-old. Interestingly, she did, with script and charm, manage the girlishness in "The Major and the Minor" (1942). Perhaps, "Heartbeat" was hoped to be the same sort of success. Not quite, but the cast and crew do what they can.**** Heartbeat (5/10/46) Sam Wood ~ Ginger Rogers, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Basil Rathbone, Adolphe Menjou
BooBoo516
This film, although not among Ginger Rogers best work, is certainly worth checking out. As usual she is most engaging--she plays a teen (she was actually 35) somewhat convincingly. She has run away from a girls reformatory and is recruited by Professor Aristide (Basil Rathbone), who runs a pickpocket academy in Paris. She is assigned a pickpocketing "job" by a corrupt ambassador (Adolph Menjou). Of course along the way she meets a man (Jean-Pierre Aumont), falls in love and well, you get the drift. The supporting cast is also entertaining most notably Adolph Menjou, although one doesn't see Basil Rathbone nearly enough here. At times the story is slow moving and quite predictable, but when Ginger is on the screen her beauty,charm and magnetism more than compensate for this. If you are a fan of Ginger Rogers, Adolph Menjou or Basil Rathbone this largely forgotten film is worth a look.
