''Beware of Pity'' is a 1946 British
romantic drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by
Maurice Elvey
Maurice Elvey (11 November 1887 – 28 August 1967) was one of the most prolific film directors in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year. He a ...
and starring
Lilli Palmer
Lilli Palmer (; born Lilli Marie Peiser; 24 May 1914 – 27 January 1986) was a German actress and writer. After beginning her career in British films in the 1930s, she would later transition to major Cinema of the United States, Hollywood produ ...
,
Albert Lieven
Albert Lieven (born Albert Fritz Liévin; 22 June 1906 – 22 December 1971) was a German actor.
Early life
Lieven was born in Hohenstein, East Prussia (Olszynek, Poland). His father was the head physician of the Tuberculosis sanatorium H ...
and
Cedric Hardwicke
Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (19 February 1893 – 6 August 1964) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly 50 years. His theatre work included notable performances in productions of the plays of Shakespeare and Shaw, and ...
. It is based on
the novel of the same name by
Stefan Zweig
Stefan Zweig (; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist, and biographer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular write ...
. A
paraplegic
Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek ()
"half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...
young baroness mistakes compassion for love. The film's costumes were designed by
Cecil Beaton
Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the theat ...
. It was made by
Two Cities Films
Two Cities Films was a British film production company. Formed in 1937, it was originally envisaged as a production company operating in the two cities of London and Rome which gave the company its name.
The driving forces behind the company were ...
at
Islington Studios
Islington Studios, often known as Gainsborough Studios, were a British film studio located on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, London between 1919 and 1949. The studi ...
. The film was not a great popular success outside the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
.
Plot
The film opens with a
framing device
Framing may refer to:
* Framing (construction), common carpentry work
* Framing (law), providing false evidence or testimony to prove someone guilty of a crime
* Framing (social sciences)
* Framing (visual arts), a technique used to bring the focus ...
set in post-
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Britain. When a young man comes to aged Anton Marek (Albert Lieven) for romantic advice, Marek tells him a story from his own past, which leads to a flashback.
In the days leading up to the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Lieutenant Marek is assigned to an
Austro-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
cavalry regiment stationed in a small town. There he meets Baroness Edith de Kekesfalva (Lilli Palmer), a young woman who is a paraplegic as the result of a horse riding accident. Noticing how the young man has cheered up his depressed daughter, Baron Emil de Kekesfalva (
Ernest Thesiger
Ernest Frederic Graham Thesiger, CBE (15 January 1879 – 14 January 1961) was an English stage and film actor. He is noted for his performance as Doctor Septimus Pretorius in James Whale's film ''Bride of Frankenstein'' (1935).
Biography
E ...
) asks him to spend time with her. Marek finds her company pleasant enough and agrees.
The baron has consulted many renowned doctors in vain; none hold out any hope for his daughter's recovery. Finally, in desperation, he has turned to hardworking, dedicated Dr. Albert Condor (
Cedric Hardwicke
Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (19 February 1893 – 6 August 1964) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly 50 years. His theatre work included notable performances in productions of the plays of Shakespeare and Shaw, and ...
), who at least refuses to give up. Condor notices a great improvement in Edith's attitude, which he accurately ascribes to her falling in love with Marek. Marek remains unaware of Edith's feelings for him.
One day, Marek tells the family about a promising treatment in Switzerland, despite Condor's warning to wait until he has had a chance to investigate. Condor later informs him that it cannot help Edith, but by then the damage is done. With the hope of being able to walk again unassisted, Edith reveals her love for Marek. Guilt-ridden, the young man pretends to love her and agrees to marry her after she is cured.
However, when rumors of the engagement leak out, Marek angrily denies them to his questioning, disapproving fellow officers. When he is confronted by his commanding officer, Marek admits the truth. To minimize the scandal, his commander immediately arranges his transfer to another unit far away.
Marek goes to see Condor before he leaves, but the doctor is away. Instead, Condor's blind wife Klara (
Gladys Cooper
Dame Gladys Constance Cooper, (18 December 1888 – 17 November 1971) was an English actress, theatrical manager and producer, whose career spanned seven decades on stage, in films and on television.
Beginning as a teenager in Edwardian musi ...
) speaks with him. She gets him to recognize that he may love Edith after all. He tries to telephone Edith, but the lines are barred from civilian use because of the
assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated on 28 June 1914 by Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip. They were shot at close range whil ...
that same day. Marek must take the train to report for duty with his new unit, but Klara assures him she will see Edith and clear things up.
When Klara visits Edith, she finds her alone on the rooftop terrace of her family's mountainside mansion. Edith has heard about Marek's public denial of their engagement and no longer trusts anyone. With Klara powerless to stop her, she wheels herself to the edge and flings herself over to her death.
Cast
*
Lilli Palmer
Lilli Palmer (; born Lilli Marie Peiser; 24 May 1914 – 27 January 1986) was a German actress and writer. After beginning her career in British films in the 1930s, she would later transition to major Cinema of the United States, Hollywood produ ...
as Baroness Edith de Kekesfalva
*
Albert Lieven
Albert Lieven (born Albert Fritz Liévin; 22 June 1906 – 22 December 1971) was a German actor.
Early life
Lieven was born in Hohenstein, East Prussia (Olszynek, Poland). His father was the head physician of the Tuberculosis sanatorium H ...
as Lt. Anton Marek
*
Cedric Hardwicke
Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (19 February 1893 – 6 August 1964) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly 50 years. His theatre work included notable performances in productions of the plays of Shakespeare and Shaw, and ...
as Dr. Albert Condor
*
Gladys Cooper
Dame Gladys Constance Cooper, (18 December 1888 – 17 November 1971) was an English actress, theatrical manager and producer, whose career spanned seven decades on stage, in films and on television.
Beginning as a teenager in Edwardian musi ...
as Mrs. Klara Condor
*
Linden Travers
Florence Lindon-Travers, known professionally as Linden Travers (27 May 1913 – 23 October 2001Ronald Bergan ), was a British actress.
Life and career
Travers was born in Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham, the daughter of Florence (née ...
as Ilona Domansky, Edith's companion
*
Ernest Thesiger
Ernest Frederic Graham Thesiger, CBE (15 January 1879 – 14 January 1961) was an English stage and film actor. He is noted for his performance as Doctor Septimus Pretorius in James Whale's film ''Bride of Frankenstein'' (1935).
Biography
E ...
as Baron Emil de Kekesfalva
*
Emrys Jones as Lt. Joszi Molnar
*
Ralph Truman
Ralph du Vergier Truman (7 May 1900 – 15 October 1977) was an English actor, usually cast as either a villain or an authority figure. He possessed a distinguished speaking voice. He was born in London, England.
Truman originally studied at t ...
as Maj. Sandor Balinkay
*
Fritz Wendhausen
Fritz Wendhausen(7 August 1890, Wendhausen – 5 January 1962, Königstein im Taunus) was a German actor, screenwriter and film director. He is also credited as Frederick Wendhausen and F.R. Wendhausen. In 1938 he emigrated to Britain from Nazi ...
as Josef, a Kekesfalva family servant (as Frederick Wendhausen)
*
John Salew
John Rylett Salew (1902 (some sources state 1 January 1897)14 September 1961) was an English stage film and TV actor. Salew made the transition from stage to films in 1939, and according to Allmovie, "the manpower shortage during WWII enabled ...
as Col. Franz Bubencic
*
Freda Jackson
Freda Maud Jackson (29 December 1907 – 20 October 1990) was an English stage actress who also worked in film and television.
Early life and career
Jackson was born in Nottingham in 1907. She made her stage debut on 1 January 1934 at the ...
as Gypsy, a fortune teller who foretells a happy future for Edith
*
Gerhard Kempinski Gerhard Kempinski (1904–1947) was a German-born actor.
Partial filmography
* ''The Day Will Dawn'' (1942)
* ''We'll Smile Again'' (1942)
* ''Lady from Lisbon'' (1942)
* '' Thursday's Child'' (1943)
* ''Beware of Pity'' (1946)
* '' Spring Song'' ( ...
as Mayor Jan Nivak
Reception
In
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
,
Bosley Crowther
Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...
concluded, "the interminable backing and filling and huffing and puffing that goes on in this film adds up to modern-day tedium". ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
'' wrote, "having learnt his trade in the
silent era
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...
, director Maurice Elvey can't resist overplaying the melodrama, but the cast - particularly doctor Cedric Hardwicke and his blind wife, Gladys Cooper - keeps things on track".
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...
called it "maudlin but effective."
TCM wrote, "the film was a failure at the box office in England and stateside critics like Bosley Crowther described it as "tortured" and "tedious". The poor reception nearly permanently stalled Elvey's career: he didn't work again until ''
The Third Visitor'' (1951)."
References
Bibliography
* Harper, Sue. ''The Rise and Fall of the British Costume Film''. British Film Institute, 1994.
External links
*
*
*
Review of filmat ''Variety''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beware Of Pity
1946 films
1946 romantic drama films
1940s historical romance films
British romantic drama films
British historical romance films
British black-and-white films
Films about paraplegics or quadriplegics
Films based on Austrian novels
Films based on works by Stefan Zweig
Films directed by Maurice Elvey
Films set in Vienna
Films set in Austria
Films set in England
Films set in the 1910s
Films set in the 1940s
Two Cities Films films
Islington Studios films
1940s English-language films
1940s British films