Heart Beat is a 1980 American romantic drama film written and directed by John Byrum, based on the autobiography by Carolyn Cassady. The film is about seminal figures in the Beat Generation. The character of Ira, played by Ray Sharkey, is based on Allen Ginsberg. The film stars Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, and John Heard.
The movie received generally mixed reviews, although the soundtrack was met with critical acclaim. According to Box Office Mojo, its worldwide gross receipts were $954,046, making the movie a box office disappointment.
Plot The film explores the love triangle of real-life characters Neal Cassady, Jack Kerouac, and Carolyn Cassady in the late 1950s and the 1960s. It chronicles Kerouac writing his seminal novel On the Road, and its effect on their lives.
Cast Nick Nolte as Neal Cassady Sissy Spacek as Carolyn Cassady John Heard as Jack Kerouac Ray Sharkey as Ira (based on Allen Ginsberg) Ann Dusenberry as Stevie Margaret Fairchild as Mrs. Kerouac John Larroquette as TV Talk Show Host David Lynch as Painter Tony Bill as Dick Don Brodie as Dispatcher
Production It was one of the first movies from the newly formed Orion Pictures.Orion: A Humanistic Production Kilday, Gregg. Los Angeles Times 5 Jan 1979: f13.
The film was produced by Orion Pictures, but was released by Warner Bros. Warner Bros. disliked the film and didn't consider it commercial enough. A marketing memo issued a strategy—"Punt." The film was dumped into theaters with little fanfare, despite the earlier excitement generated by Orion's pre-production announcements and the much ballyhooed casting of Nick Nolte as his star was rising after role in the television smash hit "Rich Man, Poor Man."
Beat Legend William S. Burroughs visited the set one day, and wrote about it in Rolling Stone magazine, feeling "the past hung in the air" due to the realism in the film. When sitting with Nick Nolte who played Neal, Burroughs "felt Neal sitting there in his cheap 1950s suit with the sleeves pulled up."(source: 'Literary Outlaw - The Life and Times of William S. Burroughs'.)
Critical reception Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 2½ out of 4 stars and praised certain aspects of the film:
Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.
Musical score and soundtrack
The score was composed by Jack Nitzsche, and included the song "I Love Her, Too" with lyrics by John Byrum and Buffy Sainte-Marie and sung by Aaron Neville. The soundtrack prominently featured saxophonist Art Pepper and other West Coast jazz musicians, with the soundtrack album released on the Capitol label.Nitzsche On The Silver Screen accessed October 28, 2016Art Pepper catalog accessed October 28, 2016
Track listing All compositions by Jack Nitzsche except where noted. "On the Road" – 3:16 "Carolyn's Theme" – 1:53 "Adagio for Strings" – 1:58 "Three Americans" – 1:19 "Jack's Theme" – 1:39 "The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise" (Ernest Seitz, Gene Lockhart) – 2:10 "I Love Her Too" (Jack Nitzsche, Buffy Sainte-Marie, John Byrum) – 3:50 "Carolyn" – 3:18 "Jam" – 2:28 "Neal's Theme" – 1:55 "901" – 3:01 "Heart Beat" – 1:42
Personnel Art Pepper – alto saxophone solos (tracks 1, 4, 5 & 9–11) Conte Candoli – trumpet Bud Shank – alto saxophone, flute Bob Cooper – tenor saxophone, oboe Pete Jolly – piano Max Bennett – bass Shelly Manne – drums Shorty Rogers – arranger Bob Enevoldsen – trombone Tommy Tedesco – guitar Frank Capp – drums Emil Richards – percussion Aaron Neville – vocals (track 7) Les Paul and Mary Ford – guitar and vocals (track 6) Unidentified Orchestra conducted by Alan Broadbent
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