The Secret Heart (1946)

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Not Rated
1h 37min
Drama, Romance
25 Dec 1946 (USA)
Movie

6.5 (721)

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Brillant pianist Larry Addams allows his frustrated ambitions to ruin his life and commits suicide, leaving his wife, Lee, and two small children, Penny and Chase, under the stigma of disgrace. Lee takes over and devotes her life to paying... See more »

Director:

Robert Z. Leonard

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Stars:

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Brillant pianist Larry Addams allows his frustrated ambitions to ruin his life and commits suicide, leaving his wife, Lee, and two small children, Penny and Chase, under the stigma of disgrace. Lee takes over and devotes her life to paying off Larry's debts and raising her two step-children. Prior to her marriage, Lee had turned down the proposal of Chris Matthews, wealthy ship builder and college friend of Larry's, but he had remained as a true friend to both. On the night of the suicide, Lee and Chris had attended a dinner party together and, horrified and shocked at the death, Lee sends Chris away, and for ten years does everything possible for the children to make up for the loss of their father. Bewildered by some of the strange stories concerning her father, the grown-up Penny (June Allyson) questions Lee and her brother Chase. Later, Penny meets and falls in love with Chris, not realizing he is the man Lee gave up.

Still of June Allyson, Claudette Colbert (I) and Walter Pidgeon in The Secret Heart (1946)

Still of Claudette Colbert (I) and Walter Pidgeon in The Secret Heart (1946)

Still of Lionel Barrymore and Claudette Colbert (I) in The Secret Heart (1946)

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10 photos | 1 video

Complete, Cast awaiting verification

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	Claudette Colbert	...	Lee Addams
	Walter Pidgeon	...	Chris Matthews
	June Allyson	...	Penny Addams
	Lionel Barrymore	...	Dr. Rossiger
	Robert Sterling	...	Chase N. Addams
	Marshall Thompson	...	Brandon Reynolds
	Elizabeth Patterson	...	Mrs. Stover
	Richard Derr	...	Larry Addams
	Patricia Medina	...	Kay Burns
	Eily Malyon	...	Miss Hunter
	Ann Lace	...	Penny as a Child
	Dwayne Hickman	...	Chase as a Child
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
	King Baggot	...	Man at Graduation Ceremony (uncredited)
	Jeanne Beeks	...	Customer (uncredited)
	Barbara Billingsley	...	Saleswoman (uncredited)
	Ruth Brady	...	Saleswoman (uncredited)
	Chester Clute	...	Old Man (uncredited)
	Hume Cronyn	...	Dinner Party Guest (uncredited) (voice)
	Frank Darien	...	Mr. Wiggins (uncredited)
	Boyd Davis	...	Sheriff (uncredited)
	Drew Demorest	...	Cab Driver (uncredited)
	Donald Dewar	...	Pageboy (uncredited)
	John Webb Dillion	...	Conductor (uncredited)
	Hal Hackett	...	Dinner Party Guest (uncredited) (voice)
	Harry Hayden	...	Minister (uncredited)
	Leyland Hodgson	...	Purser (uncredited)
	Anna Q. Nilsson	...	Dr. Rossiger's Secretary (uncredited)
	Alexander Pollard	...	Butler (uncredited)
	Virginia L. Randolph	...	Salesgirl (uncredited)
	Clinton Rosemond	...	William (uncredited)
	Jeffrey Sayre	...	Dance Extra (uncredited)
	Wyndham Standing	...	Butler (uncredited)
	Audrey Totter	...	Dinner Party Guest (uncredited) (voice)
	Dick Winslow	...	Photographer (uncredited)

Directed by

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Robert Z. Leonard

Written by

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Whitfield Cook	...	(screenplay) and
Anne Morrison Chapin	...	(screenplay)

Rose Franken	...	(original story and adaptation) and
William Brown Meloney	...	(original story and adaptation)

Produced by

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Edwin H. Knopf

...

producer

Music by

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Bronislau Kaper

Cinematography by

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George J. Folsey

...

director of photography (as George Folsey)

Editing by

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Adrienne Fazan

Art Direction by

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Edward C. Carfagno	...	(as Edward Carfagno)
Cedric Gibbons

Irene	...	costume supervisor
Eugene Joseff	...	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department

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Bronislau Kaper	...	music adaptor: musical score
Robert Franklyn	...	composer: additional music (uncredited) / orchestrator (uncredited)
Lennie Hayton	...	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Wally Heglin	...	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1946) (United States) (theatrical)
Regal Films (1947) (Canada) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1947) (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1947) (Australia) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1947) (Sweden) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1948) (Norway) (theatrical)
Warner Home Video (2014) (United States) (DVD) (dvdr)

Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary	Brillant pianist Larry Addams allows his frustrated ambitions to ruin his life and commits suicide, leaving his wife, Lee, and two small children, Penny and Chase, under the stigma of disgrace. Lee takes over and devotes her life to paying off Larry's debts and raising her two step-children. Prior to her marriage, Lee had turned down the proposal of Chris Matthews, wealthy ship builder and college friend of Larry's, but he had remained as a true friend to both. On the night of the suicide, Lee and Chris had attended a dinner party together and, horrified and shocked at the death, Lee sends Chris away, and for ten years does everything possible for the children to make up for the loss of their father. Bewildered by some of the strange stories concerning her father, the grown-up Penny (June Allyson) questions Lee and her brother Chase. Later, Penny meets and falls in love with Chris, not realizing he is the man Lee gave up. Written by Les Adams Plot Summary
Plot Keywords	stepmother-stepdaughter-relationship new-england manipulative-female possessive-female psychotic-woman See All (73) »
Taglines	You'll share the intimate secrets of an amazing love affair! (original poster) See more »
Genres	Drama Romance
Parents Guide	Add content advisory for parents »
Certification	Finland:K-16 Norway:A United Kingdom:A United Kingdom:PG (video rating) United States:Not Rated (DVD Rating) United States:Approved United States:TV-PG (TV Rating)

Additional Details

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Also Known As	Coeur secret (France) Geheimnis des Herzens (Germany) Desconfianza (Spain) Apolytrosis (Greece) In fondo al cuore (Italy) See more »
Runtime	97 min
Country	United States
Language	English
Color	Black and White
Aspect Ratio	1.37 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix	Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Filming Locations	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA See more »

Box Office

Budget

$1,735,000 (estimated)

Did You Know?

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Trivia	While filming The Secret Heart (1946) together, Claudette Colbert and co-star June Allyson became such great friends in real life that Colbert was made godmother to Allyson's daughter Pamela. See more »
Goofs	In the close-up of the newspaper story about Larry Addams' financial collapse, the second paragraph is about another matter entirely. See more »
Movie Connections	Featured in Coming Attractions: The History of the Movie Trailer (2009). See more »
Soundtracks	I Can't Give You Anything But Love See more »
Quotes	Penny Addams: [she is being called] I won't answer. Chris Matthews: Why not? Penny Addams: Boys frighten me. Chris Matthews: Oh, that's nonsense. Penny Addams: No. They frighten me. Really they do. Chris Matthews: Because you haven't met the right one. Penny Addams: How will I know when I do? Chris Matthews: Oh, as a matter of fact, you'll fall in love. Penny Addams: How will I know? Chris Matthews: You'll know. Penny Addams: How? Chris Matthews: Well, there are three things you cannot hide; love, smoke, and a man riding on a camel. See more »

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