Words and Music

In this charming biographical musical, Mickey Rooney stars as Lorenz Hart, the brilliant lyricist whose life was marked by both creative triumphs and personal struggles. Tom Drake plays Richard Rodgers, his songwriting partner who marries Dorothy Feiner (Janet Leigh) while Hart's own romantic aspirations falter, including a unrequited love with Peggy McNeil. As Hart's demons of depression and self-destructive behavior threaten to derail their partnership, Rodgers' wooing of Dorothy and the pair's eventual success on Broadway offer a poignant counterpoint to Hart's tragic decline.