Harmony Lane

The stirring and tragic story of America's greatest composer, Stephen Foster, is faithfully recounted in this lavish period drama. As a young man studying for the ministry, he was mesmerized by the sound of the choirs in the Southern Baptist churches. A string of masterpieces of American music flowed from his pen - "Old Folks At Home," "Oh! Susanna," "Camptown Races," "Jeannie With The Light Brown Hair" among them. Yet copyright laws were such that while many printers made fortunes printing his music, Foster could barely support his wife and young daughter. When his wife divorced him, Stephen Foster turned to drink. While his songs grew in popularity across the young nation, Foster's life continued to spiral downward.

Fine production values grace Mascot Picture's intriguing account of this iconic American. A young William Frawley plays minstrel boss E.P. Christy. Frawley, after a journeyman character actor career in film, achieved stardom on the small screen at the age of 64 when he was cast as Fred Mertz on the TV classic "I Love Lucy."

• drama