I just watched this movie again the other day, after not having seen it since it came out in 1964. But I'm not sure if one of my favorite scenes in this movie ever happened! When Hank and Audrey go to meet Fred Rose in his Nashville office in 1946, he asks Hank to write a song about seeing an old love, and then takes Audrey out to coffee meanwhile. They return later, and Hank has come up with a few verses of "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love With You)" right to Rose's specification. I thought this was a great event, but according to some biographers from his band, Hank wrote that famous tune in the back of the touring car. He didn't record it until 1951, so I doubt he wrote it in 1946. In one online article about Rose and Williams, this event is said to be factual; but I suspect the author got it from this movie. - Am I wrong on this? -
Of course, his last wife is absent from the film. His morphine addiction is missing. That, with his alcohol abuse, maybe was due to pain from a congenital missing disc in his back. And he died lying in the back seat of his car with a bottle of booze, having had a few morphine shots earlier, during a long drive. I don't imagine he did any singing in a roadside bar during that car trip. However, the beautiful scene at the end, with the audience singing to mourn him, did happen, I am happy to find out.
So, as many reviewers here say, this film is apparently not accurate, but it is still a fun movie. Apparently, Hank's first wife, Audrey, wrangled with MGM for 10 years over the plot, delaying the movie.
But I am looking forward to the Tom Hiddleston portrayal of Hank in "I Saw the Light", coming out in November 2015. I hope they get all the details of his all too short, gritty life right this time ! There's a clip on the web now.
Like Janis Joplin, only the cool die young.
Of course, his last wife is absent from the film. His morphine addiction is missing. That, with his alcohol abuse, maybe was due to pain from a congenital missing disc in his back. And he died lying in the back seat of his car with a bottle of booze, having had a few morphine shots earlier, during a long drive. I don't imagine he did any singing in a roadside bar during that car trip. However, the beautiful scene at the end, with the audience singing to mourn him, did happen, I am happy to find out.
So, as many reviewers here say, this film is apparently not accurate, but it is still a fun movie. Apparently, Hank's first wife, Audrey, wrangled with MGM for 10 years over the plot, delaying the movie.
But I am looking forward to the Tom Hiddleston portrayal of Hank in "I Saw the Light", coming out in November 2015. I hope they get all the details of his all too short, gritty life right this time ! There's a clip on the web now.
Like Janis Joplin, only the cool die young.