Impatience of the heart (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Impatience of the heart |
| Original title | Beware of pity |
| Country of production | Great Britain |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1946 |
| length | 109 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Maurice Elvey |
| script |
Elizabeth Baron W. P. Lipscomb Marguerite Stern |
| production | Maurice Elvey W. P. Lipscomb Filippo Del Giudice |
| music | Nicholas Brodszky |
| camera | Derick Williams |
| cut | Grace Garland |
| occupation | |
| |
Impatience of the Heart (Original title: Beware of Pity ) is a British drama film directed by Maurice Elvey from 1946 with Lilli Palmer , Albert Lieven , Cedric Hardwicke , Gladys Cooper and Linden Travers in the lead roles. The film was produced by Two Cities Films for the Rank Organization based on the novel of the same name by Stefan Zweig .
action
The film begins in England with a narrative flashback to World War II . When a young man comes to the elderly Marek Anton to get romantic advice on matters of the heart, Marek tells him a story from his own past.
In the days up to the First World War , Lieutenant Marek and his Austro-Hungarian cavalry regiment were stationed in a small town. There he meets Baroness Edith von Kekesfalva, a young woman whose paraplegia is the result of a riding accident. When the Baron Emil de Kekesfalva noticed how the young lieutenant was cheering up his depressed daughter, he asked him to keep his daughter company.
The baron has already consulted many renowned doctors in vain, but none of them wanted to give their daughter any hope of a promising recovery. In his desperation, the baron finally turned to the busy but dedicated Dr. Albert Condor, who promised not to give up hope. Condor notices a big improvement in Edith's demeanor when she falls in love with Marek. But Marek has no idea of Edith's feelings for him.
One day, Marek tells the family about a promising treatment in Switzerland, despite Condor's warnings not to be able to force happiness. With the deceptive hope of being able to walk again later without assistance, Edith reveals her love for Marek. Plagued by guilt, the young lieutenant claims to love her and marry her.
However, when rumors about the impending engagement spread, Marek denied his army comrades. When confronted with the rumors by his commander, Marek confesses the truth. In order to minimize the scandal, his supervisor orders the immediate transfer to another distant unit.
Marek wants to see Condor to say goodbye before he leaves, but the doctor is away. Instead, Condor's blind wife, Klara, speaks to him. She can get Marek to admit that he loves Edith after all. He is now trying desperately to reach Edith by phone, but all lines are overloaded because of the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria . Marek reluctantly has to board the train to take up work at his new unit, so Klara promises him that she wants to sort things out with Edith.
When Klara visits Edith, she finds her alone on the roof terrace of the manor house, on the edge of the mountainside. Edith has already heard of Marek's public denial of her engagement and the young woman - inwardly shaken to the core - has finally lost faith and hope in herself and humanity. Klara is helpless and powerless when the paraplegic Edith, in desperation, throws herself out of the wheelchair over the edge of the roof terrace to her death.
Reviews
“A [...] paralyzed baroness dies when she discovers that a lieutenant of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy has agreed to an engagement with her only out of pity, but denies her in front of his comrades. A melodrama set on the eve of the First World War that reproduces the psychological novel by Stefan Zweig in an all too smooth staging. Actually remarkable. "
Production notes
The film constructions come from Alex Vetchinsky . Charles Williams was the musical director . Sound engineer was BC Sewell. Len Garde was responsible as a makeup artist. The costumes were provided by Cecil Beaton and Matilda Etches. Theo Lageard was the production manager. The film was set in Cheddar Gorge , Cheddar, Somerset , England .
Impatience of the Heart was Lilli Palmer's last film in England for the time being. In the same year (1946) she left for Hollywood .
Web links
- Beware of Pity in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Impatience of the heart in cinema