Break of Hearts
Encyclopedia
Break of Hearts is a 1935
RKO film starring Katharine Hepburn
and Charles Boyer
. The screenplay was written by the team of Sarah Y. Mason and Victor Heerman, with Anthony Veiller
, from a story by Lester Cohen, specifically for Hepburn.
Boyer played Franz Roberti, the passionate and eminent musical conductor while Hepburn was Constance Dane, an aspiring but unknown composer. She wants to see his concert, but it is all sold out. When she sneaks into his rehearsal he is smitten by her devotion and gets his orchestra to get it right as they play just for her. Constance marries Franz: he says she is "a most exciting creature" and she has been in love with him for a long time (i.e., "since late this afternoon").
Not long after they get married Constance finds Franz having dinner with a female friend. So Constance responds by going out with her own friend, Johnny Lawrence (John Beal
). Johnny wants to marry Constance, but she cannot forget her husband. Franz has been hitting the bottle and pretty much throwing away his career, although exactly which of his many sins is driving him to drink is not really clear. Fortunately, Constance has been working on her concerto.
The best part of this film, directed by Philip Moeller
, comes at the beginning before Franz and Constance get together. The rehearsal sequence has a certain charm, but Franz's interest in Constance is never really believable. The story does have some parallels with A Star Is Born
but the result is one of Hepburn's least successful efforts at RKO.
Originally Break of Hearts was intended as a vehicle for Hepburn and John Barrymore
. The film was promoted by RKO's advertising department with the catch phrase: "The star of a million moods together with the new idol of the screen." (Francis Lederer
actually was first signed-up lead, but the producers replaced him with Charles Boyer
.)
1935 in film
-Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...
RKO film starring Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
and Charles Boyer
Charles Boyer
Charles Boyer was a French actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found success in movies during the 1930s. His memorable performances were among the era's most highly praised romantic dramas,...
. The screenplay was written by the team of Sarah Y. Mason and Victor Heerman, with Anthony Veiller
Anthony Veiller
Anthony Veiller was an American screenwriter and film producer. The son of the screenwriter Bayard Veiller and the English actress Margaret Wycherly, Anthony Veiller wrote for 41 films between 1934 and 1964.-Career and Awards:Veiller was twice nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay...
, from a story by Lester Cohen, specifically for Hepburn.
Boyer played Franz Roberti, the passionate and eminent musical conductor while Hepburn was Constance Dane, an aspiring but unknown composer. She wants to see his concert, but it is all sold out. When she sneaks into his rehearsal he is smitten by her devotion and gets his orchestra to get it right as they play just for her. Constance marries Franz: he says she is "a most exciting creature" and she has been in love with him for a long time (i.e., "since late this afternoon").
Not long after they get married Constance finds Franz having dinner with a female friend. So Constance responds by going out with her own friend, Johnny Lawrence (John Beal
John Beal (actor)
-Life and career:Beal was born James Alexander Bliedung in Joplin, Missouri. He originally went to New York to study art but a chance to understudy in a play made him change his mind. He began acting in the 1930s, opposite Katharine Hepburn , among others; one of his notable screen appearances was...
). Johnny wants to marry Constance, but she cannot forget her husband. Franz has been hitting the bottle and pretty much throwing away his career, although exactly which of his many sins is driving him to drink is not really clear. Fortunately, Constance has been working on her concerto.
The best part of this film, directed by Philip Moeller
Philip Moeller
Philip Moeller was an American stage producer and director, playwright and screenwriter, born in New York where he helped found the short-lived Washington Square Players and then with Lawrence Langner and Helen Westley founded the Theatre Guild.He was educated at New York University and Columbia...
, comes at the beginning before Franz and Constance get together. The rehearsal sequence has a certain charm, but Franz's interest in Constance is never really believable. The story does have some parallels with A Star Is Born
A Star Is Born (1937 film)
A Star Is Born is a 1937 Technicolor romantic drama film produced by David O. Selznick and directed by William A. Wellman, with a script by Wellman, Robert Carson, Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell. It stars Janet Gaynor as an aspiring Hollywood actress, and Fredric March as an aging movie star who...
but the result is one of Hepburn's least successful efforts at RKO.
Originally Break of Hearts was intended as a vehicle for Hepburn and John Barrymore
John Barrymore
John Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
. The film was promoted by RKO's advertising department with the catch phrase: "The star of a million moods together with the new idol of the screen." (Francis Lederer
Francis Lederer
Francis Lederer was a film and stage actor with a successful career, first in Europe, then in the United States.-Europe:...
actually was first signed-up lead, but the producers replaced him with Charles Boyer
Charles Boyer
Charles Boyer was a French actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found success in movies during the 1930s. His memorable performances were among the era's most highly praised romantic dramas,...
.)