''Heartbreak'' (aka ''Love and War'') is a 1931 American

Pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

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

Alfred L. Werker Alfred L. Werker (December 2, 1896 – July 28, 1975) was a film director whose work in movies spanned from 1917 through 1957. After a number of film production jobs and assistant directing, Werker co-directed his first film, ''Ridin' the Wind ...

and starring

Charles Farrell Charles David Farrell (August 9, 1900 – May 6, 1990) was an American film actor of the 1920s silent era and into the 1930s, and later a television actor. Farrell is probably best recalled for his onscreen romances with actress Janet Gaynor ...

Madge Evans Madge Evans (born Margherita Evans; July 1, 1909 – April 26, 1981) was an American stage and film actress.Obituary ''Variety'', April 29, 1981. She began her career as a child performer and model. Biography Child model and stage actress B ...

and

Paul Cavanagh William Grigs Atkinson (8 December 1888 – 15 March 1964), known professionally as Paul Cavanagh, was an English film and stage actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1928 and 1959. Life and career Cavanagh was born in Felling, ...

. The film was set primarily in Italy as an exotic locale but was actually filmed in California with the

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains ( es, Sierra de San Gabriel) are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Tr ...

east of the

Los Angeles Basin The Los Angeles Basin is a sedimentary basin located in Southern California, in a region known as the Peninsular Ranges. The basin is also connected to an anomalous group of east-west trending chains of mountains collectively known as the Tr ...

, standing in for the

Italian Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

. The popularity of

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

films on

World War I 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 ...

such as ''Heartbreak'' was still strong, but by 1934, was perceptibly waning.

Plot

In the years before the United States' involvement in World War I, John Merrick (

) and Jerry Somers (

John Arledge Johnson Lundy Arledge (March 12, 1907 – May 15, 1947) was an American film and stage actor. Biography He played dozens of supporting roles in the Hollywood movies of the 1930s–1940s, including the tractor driver who destroys a house in ''Th ...

), attachés to the American embassy in Vienna, attend an elaborate fundraiser at the aristocratic Walden home where John meets the lovely Countess Vilma Walden (

) and romance blooms. Vilma's twin brother, Count Carl Walden (

Hardie Albright Hardie Hunter Albright (born Hardie Hunter Albrecht; December 16, 1903 – December 7, 1975) was an American actor. Early years Albright was born on December 16, 1903, in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, to traveling vaudeville performers. He made his ...

), a combat veteran, along with Vilma and Carl's father (

Claude King Claude King (February 5, 1923 – March 7, 2013) was an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for his million selling 1962 hit, "Wolverton Mountain". Biography King was born in Keithville in southern Caddo Parish south ...

) asks John when Americans will fight against Austria. Kapitan Wolke (

), a family friend, emerges as a rival for the affections of Vilma. A heated confrontation takes place between John and Wolke. When the United States goes to war, John requests a post at the Italian front where Carl is stationed. John returns to the Walden home and breaks the news to Vilma, Vilma then promises to return to the pool by the house, each day until John's reflection appears beside her own. After duty in France, John is transferred to the Italian front where he faces an enemy squadron, led by Wolke and his "second-best" flier, Carl. In the air over the Italian Alps John spots Wolke's aircraft and shoots it down, landing nearby to try to rescue the pilot. John is astonished to discover that the pilot is actually Carl, who had borrowed Wolke's aircraft for the mission. John is overcome with grief and announces that he is through with killing. After refusing to join his squadron on a flight against the enemy, John steals an aircraft and flies to the Walden house behind enemy lines. He confesses to Vilma that he killed Carl and begs her forgiveness, but she refuses. For his desertion, John is court-martialed with Jerry, his defense attorney, unsuccessfully defending him. Despondent and apathetic, he is found guilty and receives a dishonorable discharge and a sentence of hard labor. Peace finally comes and John goes to visit the Walden estate, now turned into a home for war orphans. As Vilma sits by the pool, she sees John's reflection beside hers, and the reunited couple embrace.

Cast

as John Merrick *

as Countess Vima Walden *

as Kapitan Wolke *

as Count Carl Walden *

as Jerry Sommers *

as Count Walden *

John St. Polis John M. St. Polis (born John Marie Sainpolis; November 24, 1873 – October 8, 1946) was an American actor. Biography St. Polis was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Before starting his film career, he made a name for himself on the Broadway ...

as U.S. Ambassador *

Albert Conti Albert De Conti Cadassamare (29 January 1887 – 18 January 1967), professionally billed as Albert Conti, was an Austrian-Hungarian-born Italian-American film actor. Life Born in the village of Gorizia (now, part of Italy), Conti achieved mode ...

as Liaison Officer *

Theodore von Eltz Theodore von Eltz (November 5, 1893 – October 6, 1964) was an American film actor, appearing in more than 200 films between 1915 and 1957. He was the father of actress Lori March. Von Eltz was a Yale University professor's son. After 12 ...

as Military Prosecutor *

Wilson Benge George Frederick "Wilson" Benge (1 March 1875 – 1 July 1955) was an English actor who mostly featured in American films from the silent days. He appeared in over 200 films between 1922 and 1955. Along with actors Charles Coleman and Rob ...

as Butler (uncredited)

Production

In August 1931,

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

rented the three modified

Nieuport 28 The Nieuport 28 C.1, a French biplane fighter aircraft flown during World War I, was built by Nieuport and designed by Gustave Delage. Owing its lineage to the successful line of sesquiplane fighters that included the Nieuport 17, the Nieu ...

s for ''Heartbreak''; a

Travel Air 4000 The Travel Air 2000/3000/4000 (originally, the Model A, Model B and Model BH were open-cockpit biplane aircraft produced in the United States in the late 1920s by the Travel Air Manufacturing Company. During the period from 1924–1929, T ...

was also leased."Aviation Films - H: 'Heartbreak'."
''Aerofiles.com'', 2019, Retrieved: July 4, 2019. A Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 is also in German markings as Wolke's aircraft.Farmer 1984, p. 313. Garland Lincoln and Frank Clarke did the flying in the aerial battles over the San Gabriel Mountains east of the Los Angeles Basin. 1931 - Embassy Theater Ad - 16 Nov MC - Allentown PA

1931 - Embassy Theater Ad - 16 Nov MC - Allentown PA

Reception

Aviation film historian Stephen Pendo, in ''Aviation in the Cinema'' (1985) noted ''Heartbreak'' was premiered at the Roxy Theater in New York, and when brief, noteworthy flying sequences took place, "... this portion of the aerial action took place on a large screen."Pendo 1985, p. 113. Aviation film historian James Farmer in ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation'' (1984) noted that ''Heartbreak'' has "...excellent flying sequences."

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Farmer, James H. ''Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation'' (1st ed.). Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: TAB Books 1984. . * Paris, Michael. ''From the Wright Brothers to Top Gun: Aviation, Nationalism, and Popular Cinema.'' Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1995. . * Pendo, Stephen. ''Aviation in the Cinema''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. . * Solomon, Aubrey. ''The Fox Film Corporation, 1915 - 1935: A History and Filmography''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2011. . * Wynne, H. Hugh. ''The Motion Picture Stunt Pilots and Hollywood's Classic Aviation Movies''. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1987. .

External links

* * * {{Alfred L. Werker 1931 films 1930s war drama films American aviation films American war drama films Films directed by Alfred L. Werker Fox Film films American black-and-white films 1931 drama films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films