Swanee River

Swanee River

84 mins | Drama, Thriller, Music | Dec. 29, 1939

Swanee River is a 1940 American biopic about Stephen Foster, a songwriter from Pittsburgh who falls in love with the South, marries a Southern girl, then is accused of sympathizing when the Civil War breaks out. Typical of 20th Century Fox biopics of the time, the film is more fictional than factual biography.

Swanee River

84 mins | Drama, Thriller, Music | Dec. 29, 1939

Swanee River
Swanee River is a 1940 American biopic about Stephen Foster, a songwriter from Pittsburgh who falls in love with the South, marries a Southern girl, then is accused of sympathizing when the Civil War breaks out. Typical of 20th Century Fox biopics of the time, the film is more fictional than factual biography.
IMDb rating 6.1
Producers 20th Century Fox
Original title Swanee River
Directors Sidney Lanfield
Writers Philip Dunne, John Taintor Foote

Cast

Don Ameche

as Stephen Foster

Andrea Leeds

as Jane McDowell Foster

Al Jolson

as Edwin P. Christy

Felix Bressart

as Henry Kleber

Chick Chandler

as Bones

Russell Hicks

as Andrew McDowell

Diane Fisher

as Marion Foster

George P. Breakston

as Ambrose

Nella Walker

as Mrs. McDowell

Mae Marsh

as Mrs. Jonathan Fry (uncredited)

George Reed

as Old Joe, McDowell's Coachman

Richard Clarke

as Tom Harper

Al Herman

as Tambo

Charles Trowbridge

as Mr. Foster

George Meeker

as Henry Foster

Leona Roberts

as Mrs. Foster

Charles Tannen

as Morrison Foster

Clara Blandick

as Mrs. Griffin

Harry Hayden

as Erwin

Esther Dale

as Temperance Woman

Herbert Ashley

as Detective

Matthew 'Stymie' Beard

as Negro Boy

Georgie Billings

as Office Boy

James Blaine

as Bartender

Georgia Caine

as Ann Rowan

Les Clark

as Specialty

Dora Clement

as Nurse

Ruth Clifford

as Bit Role

Hal K. Dawson

as Drunken Man on Riverboat

Dorothy Dearing

as Bit Role

Harry Denny

as Guest

Harry Depp

as Dresser

Claire Du Brey

as Woman in Cafe

Edward Earle

as Master of Ceremonies

Jesse Graves

as Butler

Kay Griffith

as Bit Role

Charles Halton

as Pond

John Hamilton

as Doctor

Eleanor Hansen

as Bit Role

Tommy Hicks

as Fat Boy

Robert Homans

as Sheriff

Jean Houghton

as Guest

Selmer Jackson

as Army Medical Examiner

Gladden James

as Hotel Clerk

Robert Emmett Keane

as Drunken Agitator

Wright Kramer

as Doctor

Edward LeSaint

as Jonathan Fry, Justice of the Peace

George Magrill

as Agitator

Bruce Mitchell

as Jailer

Bert Moorhouse

as Attendant

James C. Morton

as Bartender

Forbes Murray

as Critic

David Newell

as Guest

William Newell

as Bill, Stagehand

George O'Hanlon

as Ticket Taker

Arthur Rankin

as Clerk

Herbert Rawlinson

as Army Officer

Tom Seidel

as Bellboy

Larry Steers

as Man on Riverboat

Harry Strang

as Boat Captain

Harry Tenbrook

as Jim, Saloon Waiter

Harry Tyler

as Pianist

Bruce Warren

as Orchestra Leader

Billy Wayne

as Agitator

Cecil Weston

as Landlady

Lloyd Whitlock

as Critic