Your Cheatin ' Heart ( film ) - wikipedia Your Cheatin ' Heart ( film ) Your Cheatin ' Heart Directed by Gene Nelson Produced by Sam Katzman Written by Stanford Whitmore Starring George Hamilton Susan Oliver Red Buttons Music by Fred Karger Cinematography Ellis W. Carter Edited by Ben Lewis Production company Four - Leaf Productions Distributed by Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer Release date November 4, 1964 ( 1964 - 11 - 04 ) Running time 99 min Country United States Language English Box office $2,500,000 ( US / Canada rentals ) Your Cheatin ' Heart is a 1964 musical directed by Gene Nelson, starring George Hamilton as country singer Hank Williams. It co-stars Susan Oliver and Red Buttons. Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Production 3 Versions 4 Cast 5 Production 5.1 Development 5.2 Casting 5.3 Shooting 6 Release 7 DVD 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Plot summary A young Hank Williams is trying to earn money by pitching a snake - oil cure - all to the gullible, capping his spiel by picking up his guitar and singing. In the crowd is The Drifting Cowboys, a group of touring country - western musicians who happen to be passing through. They invite Williams to join their group, and music history is made. Production The film was made with the assistance of Williams ' widow Audrey and featuring the songs ( `` Long Gone Lonesome Blues '', `` I Ca n't Help It '', and `` Hey, Good Lookin ' '' ) lip - synched by Hamilton but sung by Hank Williams, Jr. The end scene ( when the audience is notified that Williams has died while on the way there ) portrays an actual event, as one audience member stands up unprompted and begins to sing `` I Saw the Light ''. Others stand up quickly and join him, as the spotlight shines on the stage where Hank should be. This was similar to what actually happened after Williams died, as Hawkshaw Hawkins and several musicians began singing `` I Saw the Light '', and the crowd joined in, thinking at first that the announcement was an act, but when Hawkins and company began singing, the crowd realized it was no act. Versions The film was originally released in 1964 in black and white, and has the distinction of being the final MGM musical film to be produced in black and white. The film was colorized by Turner Entertainment in 1990. The colorized version made its debut over SuperStation WTBS on January 1, 1991, the 38th anniversary of Hank Williams, Sr. 's death. Cast George Hamilton as Hank Williams Susan Oliver as Audrey Williams Red Buttons as Shorty Younger Arthur O'Connell as Fred Rose Shary Marshall as Ann Younger Rex Ingram as Teetot Chris Crosby as Sam Priddy Rex Holman as Charley Bybee Hortense Petra as Wilma, the Cashier Roy Engel as Joe Rauch Donald Losby as Young Hank Williams Kevin Tate as Boy Fishing Production Development MGM 's music division owned the rights to the Hank Williams songbook. In 1956, it was announced the studio would make the movie with producer Joe Pasternak, employing Jeff Richards and June Allyson in the lead roles. Then Elvis Presley was considered as a possible star, to make his follow - up movie for MGM following Jailhouse Rock. However, Colonel Tom Parker refused. Paul Gregory became attached as producer and wanted Steve McQueen for the lead. MGM then offered the role to Nick Adams, but he turned it down as well. According to George Hamilton, MGM then `` revised their concept of the film as quickie drive - in fare that might sell some records in the South and maybe to some crossover Beverly Hillbillies fans. '' They assigned their film to producer Sam Katzman who specialized in low budget fare. Casting Parker was friendly with George Hamilton, who had been a fan of Williams ' music since his youth, knew every song Williams had written and could also play the guitar. Hamilton was under contract to MGM but says the studio `` did n't see their stock company preppy playboy playing a drug addict honky - tonk crooner ''. Parker introduced Hamilton to Hank Williams ' ex-wife Audrey. The two got along well and Audrey lobbied on Hamilton 's behalf. Hamilton said, `` Audrey wanted the movie to happen, especially to make her son, Hank Williams Jr., a singing star the same way she had pushed Big Hank to stardom. '' The idea was that Williams Jr would dub the singing in the movie and release the soundtrack album under his name ; Hamilton wanted to perform the songs himself -- `` that was the key to the character '' -- but knew the only way he would get the part was to agree to be dubbed. With Audrey 's support, Hamilton got the part, his signing being announced in November 1963. Paula Prentiss was at one stage attached as female star. Shooting Filming started April 1964. Hamilton says Sam Katzman ran a tight ship. `` Jungle Sam cracked the whip, whacked the cane and the whole film was in the can right on time. But he gave me free rein creatively and our director... brought in something memorable, and even Sam knew it. '' Release According to Hamilton, `` the movie made me a hero in the South, but because it was a small film, it did n't get the exposure it deserved in the rest of the country. '' Among the film 's fans were Colonel Tom Parker and Hamilton 's later girlfriends Lynda Bird Johnson and Alana Hamilton. DVD Your Cheatin ' Heart was released on DVD November 9, 2010, by Warner Archive as a MOD ( Manufacture On Demand ) disc via Amazon ( Black and White version ). The colorized version has never been released on any form of home video, but DVD - Rs of it frequently show up on websites specializing in bootlegs of rare movies. See also List of American films of 1964 References Jump up ^ This figure consists of anticipated rentals accruing distributors in North America. See `` Big Rental Pictures of 1965 '', Variety, January 5, 1966 p 6 Jump up ^ Hank Williams, Jr. interviewed on the Pop Chronicles ( 1969 ) Jump up ^ Frank Ross to Sponsor Joan Caulfield on TV ; Garmes Produces ' Fear ' Scheuer, Philip K. Los Angeles Times ( 1923 - Current File ) ( Los Angeles, Calif ) November 7, 1956 : C11. Jump up ^ ' Cheatin ' Heart ' Named for Presley ; Holden 's Rival British Favorite Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times ( 1923 - Current File ) ( Los Angeles, Calif ) August 12, 1957 : C11. Jump up ^ Looking at Hollywood : Plan Film About ' Your Cheatin ' Heart ' Composer Hopper, Hedda. Chicago Daily Tribune ( 1923 - 1963 ) ( Chicago, IL ) November 18, 1959 : b5. Jump up ^ Hamilton p 180 Jump up ^ Hamilton p 187 Jump up ^ Hamilton Portrays Singer But Only Mouths Songs Los Angeles Times ( 1923 - Current File ) ( Los Angeles, Calif ) November 17, 1964 : C9. ^ Jump up to : Hamilton p 181 Jump up ^ Riddle Sound Is Ring - a-Dingy By Eddie Gallaher. The Washington Post, Times Herald ( 1959 - 1973 ) ( Washington, D.C ) November 17, 1963 : G9. Jump up ^ Looking at Hollywood : Paula Prentiss Lands Big Film Role Hopper, Hedda. Chicago Tribune ( 1963 - Current file ) ( Chicago, IL ) March 16, 1964 : b3. Jump up ^ `` Film to Start '' Los Angeles Times ( 1923 - Current File ) ( Los Angeles, Calif ) April 22, 1964 : C18. Jump up ^ Hamilton p 182 ^ Jump up to : Hamilton p 183 George Hamilton & William Stadiem, Do n't Mind If I Do, Simon & Schuster 2008 External links Your Cheatin ' Heart on IMDb Your Cheatin ' Heart at AllMovie Films directed by Gene Nelson Hootenanny Hoot ( 1963 ) Kissin ' Cousins ( 1964 ) Your Cheatin ' Heart ( 1964 ) Harum Scarum ( 1965 ) Wake Me When the War Is Over ( 1969 ) Films produced by Sam Katzman Victory Studios Hot Off the Press ( 1935 ) Bars of Hate ( 1935 ) The Fighting Coward ( 1935 ) Danger Ahead ( 1935 ) The Phantom of the Range ( 1936 ) Shadow of Chinatown ( 1936 ) Taming the Wild ( 1936 ) Rio Grande Romance ( 1936 ) Kelly of the Secret Service ( 1936 ) Put on the Spot ( 1936 ) Two Minutes to Play ( 1936 ) Silks and Saddles ( 1936 ) Amateur Crook ( 1937 ) Orphan of the Pecos ( 1937 ) Brothers of the West ( 1937 ) Cheyenne Rides Again ( 1937 ) Lost Ranch ( 1937 ) Flying Fists ( 1937 ) Blake of Scotland Yard ( 1937 ) Million Dollar Racket ( 1937 ) Sky Racket ( 1937 ) Mystery Range ( 1937 ) Feud of the Trail ( 1937 ) Blake of Scotland Yard ( 1937 ) Six - Gun Trail ( 1938 ) Lightning Carson Rides Again ( 1938 ) Texas Wildcats ( 1939 ) Code of the Cactus ( 1939 ) Outlaws ' Paradise ( 1939 ) Trigger Fingers ( 1939 ) The Fighting Renegade ( 1939 ) Straight Shooter ( 1939 ) Other 1930s Alias John Law ( 1935 ) The Rogues Tavern ( 1936 ) 1940s Invisible Ghost ( 1941 ) Zis Boom Bah ( 1941 ) Bowery at Midnight ( 1942 ) Black Dragons ( 1942 ) The Corpse Vanishes ( 1942 ) The Ape Man ( 1943 ) Spotlight Scandals ( 1943 ) Crazy Knights ( 1944 ) Voodoo Man ( 1944 ) Three of a Kind ( 1944 ) Return of the Ape Man ( 1944 ) Trouble Chasers ( 1945 ) Hop Harrigan America 's Ace of the Airways ( 1946 ) Betty Co-Ed ( 1946 ) Little Miss Broadway ( 1947 ) Last of the Redmen ( 1947 ) Sweet Genevieve ( 1947 ) Two Blondes and a Redhead ( 1947 ) Racing Luck ( 1948 ) I Surrender Dear ( 1948 ) Triple Threat ( 1948 ) Mary Lou ( 1948 ) Glamour Girl ( 1948 ) The Prince of Thieves ( 1948 ) Chinatown at Midnight ( 1949 ) Barbary Pirate ( 1949 ) The Mutineers ( 1949 ) Manhattan Angel ( 1949 ) 1950s State Penitentiary ( 1950 ) Revenue Agent ( 1950 ) Last of the Buccaneers ( 1950 ) Chain Gang ( 1950 ) Tyrant of the Sea ( 1950 ) Captain Video ( 1951 ) The Magic Carpet ( 1951 ) Hurricane Island ( 1951 ) When the Redskins Rode ( 1951 ) Purple Heart Diary ( 1951 ) A Yank in Korea ( 1951 ) Last Train from Bombay ( 1952 ) Blackhawk : Fearless Champion of Freedom ( 1952 ) A Yank in Indo - China ( 1952 ) The Golden Hawk ( 1952 ) Brave Warrior ( 1952 ) California Conquest ( 1952 ) Voodoo Tiger ( 1952 ) Thief of Damascus ( 1952 ) The Pathfinder ( 1952 ) Slaves of Babylon ( 1953 ) Prisoners of the Casbah ( 1953 ) Jack McCall, Desperado ( 1953 ) Target Hong Kong ( 1953 ) Last of the Redskins ( 1953 ) Flame of Calcutta ( 1953 ) Serpent of the Nile ( 1953 ) Siren of Bagdad ( 1953 ) Sky Commando ( 1953 ) Conquest of Cochise ( 1953 ) Prince of Pirates ( 1953 ) The 49th Man ( 1953 ) Mission Over Korea ( 1953 ) Fort Ti ( 1953 ) Masterson of Kansas ( 1954 ) The Law vs. Billy the Kid ( 1954 ) The Saracen Blade ( 1954 ) Jesse James vs. the Daltons ( 1954 ) The Iron Glove ( 1954 ) Charge of the Lancers ( 1954 ) Drums of Tahiti ( 1954 ) The Miami Story ( 1954 ) The Battle of Rogue River ( 1954 ) The Gun That Won the West ( 1955 ) New Orleans Uncensored ( 1955 ) Chicago Syndicate ( 1955 ) The Crooked Web ( 1955 ) Inside Detroit ( 1955 ) Teen - Age Crime Wave ( 1955 ) Duel on the Mississippi ( 1955 ) The Gun That Won the West ( 1955 ) Adventures of Captain Africa, Mighty Jungle Avenger ! ( 1955 ) Seminole Uprising ( 1955 ) Pirates of Tripoli ( 1955 ) The Houston Story ( 1956 ) Miami Exposé ( 1956 ) Blackjack Ketchum, Depserado ( 1956 ) Rumble on the Docks ( 1956 ) The Werewolf ( 1956 ) The Man Who Turned to Stone ( 1956 ) Uranium Boom ( 1956 ) Utah Blaine ( 1957 ) The Man Who Turned to Stone ( 1957 ) The Giant Claw ( 1957 ) Zombies of Mora Tau ( 1957 ) The Night the World Exploded ( 1957 ) Escape from San Quentin ( 1957 ) The Tijuana Story ( 1957 ) The World Was His Jury ( 1958 ) Going Steady ( 1958 ) Crash Landing ( 1958 ) Life Beings at 17 ( 1958 ) The Last Blitzkrieg ( 1959 ) Juke Box Rhythm ( 1959 ) The Flying Fontaines ( 1959 ) Lock Up Your Daughters ( 1959 ) 1960s The Enemy General ( 1960 ) The Wizard of Baghdad ( 1960 ) Tallahassee 7000 ( 1961 ) ( TV series ) Pirates of Tortuga ( 1961 ) The Wizard of Baghdad ( 1961 ) The Wild Westerners ( 1962 ) Get Yourself a College Girl ( 1964 ) Kissin ' Cousins ( 1964 ) Your Cheatin ' Heart ( 1964 ) Harum Scarum ( 1965 ) Hot Rods to Hell ( 1967 ) Riot on Sunset Strip ( 1967 ) The Fastest Guitar Alive ( 1967 ) The Love - Ins ( 1967 ) For Singles Only ( 1968 ) A Time to Sing ( 1968 ) The Young Runaways ( 1968 ) Serials Shadow of Chinatown ( 1936 ) Blake of Scotland Yard ( 1937 ) Who 's Guilty ? ( 1945 ) Jungle Raiders ( 1945 ) Brenda Starr, Reporter ( 1945 ) Chick Carter, Detective ( 1946 ) Son of the Guardsman ( 1946 ) Jack Armstrong ( 1947 ) The Sea Hound ( 1947 ) Brick Bradford ( 1947 ) The Vigilante ( 1947 ) Tex Granger ( 1948 ) Congo Bill ( 1948 ) Superman ( 1948 ) The Adventures of Sir Galahad ( 1949 ) Batman and Robin ( 1949 ) Bruce Gentry ( 1949 ) Pirates of the High Seas ( 1950 ) Atom Man vs. Superman ( 1950 ) Cody of the Pony Express ( 1950 ) The Mysterious Island ( 1951 ) Roar of the Iron Horse ( 1951 ) Son of Geronimo : Apache Avenger ( 1952 ) The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd ( 1953 ) The Lost Planet ( 1953 ) Riding with Buffalo Bill ( 1954 ) Gunfighters of the Northwest ( 1954 ) Perils of the Wilderness ( 1956 ) Blazing the Overland Trail ( 1956 ) Jungle Jim series Jungle Jim ( 1948 ) The Lost Tribe ( 1949 ) Mark of the Gorilla ( 1950 ) Captive Girl ( 1950 ) Pygmy Island ( 1950 ) Fury of the Congo ( 1951 ) Jungle Manhunt ( 1951 ) Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land ( 1952 ) Voodoo Tiger ( 1952 ) Savage Mutiny ( 1953 ) Valley of the Headhunters ( 1953 ) Killer Ape ( 1953 ) Jungle Man - Eaters ( 1954 ) Cannibal Attack ( 1954 ) Jungle Moon Men ( 1955 ) Devil Goddess ( 1956 ) East Side Kids East Side Kids ( 1940 ) Boys of the City ( 1940 ) That Gang of Mine ( 1940 ) Pride of the Bowery ( 1940 ) Flying Wild ( 1941 ) Bowery Blitzkrieg ( 1941 ) Spooks Run Wild ( 1941 ) Mr. Wise Guy ( 1942 ) Let 's Get Tough ! ( 1942 ) Smart Alecks ( 1942 ) ' Neath Brooklyn Bridge ( 1942 ) Kid Dynamite ( 1942 ) Clancy Street Boys ( 1943 ) Ghosts on the Loose ( 1943 ) Mr. Muggs Steps Out ( 1943 ) Million Dollar Kid ( 1944 ) Block Busters ( 1944 ) Bowery Champs ( 1944 ) Follow the Leader ( 1944 ) Mr. Muggs Rides Again ( 1945 ) Docks of New York ( 1945 ) Come Out Fighting ( 1945 ) The Teen Agers Junior Prom ( 1946 ) Freddie Steps Out ( 1946 ) High School Hero ( 1946 ) Vacation Days ( 1947 ) Rock musicals Rock Around the Clock ( 1956 ) Cha - Cha - Cha Boom ! ( 1956 ) Calypso Heat Wave ( 1957 ) Do n't Knock the Rock ( 1957 ) Twist Around the Clock ( 1961 ) Do n't Knock the Twist ( 1961 ) Hootenanny Hoot ( 1963 ) When the Boys Meet the Girls ( 1965 ) Hold On ! ( 1966 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Your_Cheatin%27_Heart_(film)&oldid=822560199 '' Categories : 1964 films English - language films 1960s biographical films 1960s musical films American biographical films American films American musical films Biographical films about singers Country music films Films set in the 1930s Films set in the 1940s Films set in the 1950s Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer films Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 27 January 2018, at 02 : 29. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who played hank williams sr in the movie
Answer: George Hamilton