Directed by:
Ernst LubitschScreenplay:
Samson RaphaelsonCinematography:
Victor MilnerComposer:
W. Franke HarlingCast:
Lionel Barrymore, Nancy Carroll, Phillips Holmes, Louise Carter, Lucien Littlefield, Zasu Pitts, Emma Dunn, Antonín Vaverka, Marjorie Main, Tully Marshall (more)Plots(1)
Director Ernst Lubitsch gained international acclaim for his sophisticated romantic comedies, but he also had a talent for more serious themes, as evidenced by this 1932 drama. French musician Paul (Phillips Holmes) joined the Army at the height of WWI. On the field of battle, Paul shot and killed his German friend Walter Holderlin (Tom Douglas), another musician enlisted in his country's army. One year after the Armistice, Paul is still haunted by the memory of Walter's death, and he travels to Germany to locate Walter's father, Dr. Holderlin (Lionel Barrymore). Holderlin, his wife (Louise Carter), and Walter's fiancee, Elsa (Nancy Carroll) are still shattered by the death of their loved one. Paul informs them of his friendship with their son, but cannot bring himself to unveil his responsibility for Walter's death. The Holderlins welcome Paul in friendship, and gradually, he settles into the household, bringing to both parents a new lease on life. Because of his lingering guilt, he feels tempted to run away, but Elsa discovers the truth about Paul and refuses to let him leave. Meanwhile, the presence of a Frenchman drums up hostilities in the Holderlins' village and the local women gossip continually about the developing relationship between Paul and Elsa. Perhaps because moviegoers completely snubbed Broken Lullaby and turned it into a financial detriment for Paramount, Lubitsch returned to lighter themes after this anti-war drama, and it was the last "serious" picture he would make before his death in 1948. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Lionel Barrymore
USA
Best movies:
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
West of Zanzibar (1928)
Captains Courageous (1937)
Nancy Carroll
USA
Best movies:
The Kiss Before the Mirror (1933)
Paramount on Parade (1930)
Hot Saturday (1932)
Phillips Holmes
USA
Best movies:
The Criminal Code (1931)
Dinner at Eight (1933)
Paramount on Parade (1930)
Louise Carter
USA
Best movies:
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Trouble in Paradise (1932)
Lucien Littlefield
USA
Best movies:
Beyond the Rocks (1922)
The Little Foxes (1941)
Why Change Your Wife? (1920)
Zasu Pitts
USA
Best movies:
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Greed (1924)
Life with Father (1947)
Emma Dunn
UK
Best movies:
The Great Dictator (1940)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
The Talk of the Town (1942)
Antonín Vaverka
Austria-Hungary
Best movies:
Long Live with Dearly Departed (1935)
The Man Who Laughs (1928)
The Big Trail (1930)
Marjorie Main
USA
Best movies:
Test Pilot (1938)
The Harvey Girls (1946)
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Tully Marshall
USA
Best movies:
He Who Gets Slapped (1924)
Scarface (1932)
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Through the Ages (1916)
Russ Powell
USA
Best movies:
Modern Times (1936)
The Mysterious Lady (1928)
Flesh and the Devil (1926)
Julia Swayne Gordon
USA
Best movies:
The Viking (1928)
Wings (1927)
It (1927)
George Irving
USA
Best movies:
Love Crazy (1941)
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
A Night at the Opera (1935)
Joan Standing
UK
Best movies:
Greed (1924)
Hell's Angels (1930)
American Madness (1932)
Reinhold Pasch
German Empire
Best movies:
The Mountain Calls (1938)
The Black Room (1935)
Der große König (1942)
George Davis
Netherlands
Best movies:
Song of Love (1947)
He Who Gets Slapped (1924)
The Circus (1928)
Lottie Williams
USA
Best movies:
The Roaring Twenties (1939)
Edge of Darkness (1943)
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
Paul Weigel
Germany
Best movies:
The Great Dictator (1940)
Ninotchka (1939)
Anthony Adverse (1936)
Frank Sheridan
USA
Best movies:
San Francisco (1936)
The Merry Widow (1934)
Black Friday (1940)