Sweet Dreams (1985 film)

Infobox_Film
name = Sweet Dreams


caption = Theatrical release poster
director = Karel Reisz
writer = Robert Getchell
starring = Jessica Lange
Ed Harris
producer = Bernard Schwartz
music = Charles Gross
cinematography = Robbie Greenberg
editing = Malcolm Cooke
distributor = TriStar Pictures
released = October 2, 1985
runtime = 115 min.
country = United States
language = English
amg_id = 1:48096
imdb_id = 0090110

"Sweet Dreams" is a 1985 biographical film which tells the life story of country music singer Patsy Cline.

The movie was written by Robert Getchell and directed by Karel Reisz. It stars Jessica Lange, Ed Harris, Ann Wedgeworth, David Clennon, James Staley, Gary Basaraba and John Goodman.

The movie was nominated for Academy Award for Best Actress (Jessica Lange). For all the musical sequences, Lange lip-synced to the original Patsy Cline recordings.

Plot summary

Patsy Cline is unhappily married and playing small-time gigs in West Virginia when she meets Charlie Dick, whose charm and aggressive self-confidence catch her attention. In time, Cline leaves her husband to marry Dick, and she gives up music to focus on raising their children. But after Dick goes into the United States Army, Cline begins singing again, and after joining forces with manager Randy Hughes, Cline becomes a rising star on the country music scene.

However, Cline's success fuels her self-confidence, much to Dick's annoyance, and he becomes increasingly abusive (both physically and emotionally) as she attempts to assert her independence. Cline was at the peak of her popularity as one of the first great female stars of country music when she died in a plane crash on March 5, 1963 at the age of 30.

In the movie, the army base which took place in Fort Bragg, North Carolina was actually filmed in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Other scenes were filmed in Nashville, Tennessee, Hagerstown, Maryland and Martinsburg, West Virginia.

Many of the sequences depicted in the film were inaccurate:

* Cline and her brother were not on their way to pick up beer when she nearly lost her life in a 1961 car crash. They were on their way to pick up material for her mother, a seamstress, to make her new stage clothes.
* Cline's husband, Charlie Dick, and their daughter, Julie, have both stated that Dick never hit Cline in front of their daughter. In fact, Dick states that he only slapped Cline once for becoming hysterical. Those related to Cline state that, in the scenes, Cline was portrayed more as a victim than she actually was. "Their fights were always interesting to watch because you always knew Patsy would win" claimed friend Dottie West.
* Cline's plane crashed in the early evening hours into a forest, (not a mountain), in Camden, Tennessee, due to bad weather. Her manager/pilot was not air plane instrument trained and lost control in the weather.
* Cline's mother, the late Hilda Hensely, once stated: "They (the producers) told me that they were going to make a love story. I saw the film once. That was enough."

Main cast

External links

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