Break of Hearts
(1935)
78 or 80 mins | Drama | 31 May 1935
Director:
Philip MoellerWriters:
Sarah Y. Mason, Victor Heerman, Anthony Veiller, Lester CohenCinematographer:
Robert De GrasseProduction Designer:
Van Nest PolglaseProduction Company:
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.Break of Hearts, which was originally titled The Music Man, was Theatre Guild director Philip Moeller's second and last film and was the second and last time he collaborated on directing with film editor Jane Loring. The film was also the third consecutive film that Katharine Hepburn made with writers Sarah Y. Mason and Victor Heerman. According to an Oct 1933 FD news item, John Cromwell was originally slated to direct Hepburn, Gregory Ratoff and John Barrymore in the picture. Charles Boyer replaced Francis Lederer, who was fired after a few days of filming because of "differences of opinion" with the director, according to HR and RKO production files. DV claimed that Lederer felt that Hepburn was "getting all the breaks in camera angles" and that he was playing "second fiddle." Modern sources state that Lederer, who was recommended for the part by Heerman and Mason after they saw him play a musician in a stage production, infuriated Hepburn because he was "rude" and "slow" to learn his lines and then infuriated assistant director Eddie Killy when he refused to shoot a particular set-up because it showed his "bad" side. Killy and Hepburn took their complaints to studio head J. P. MacDonald, who then fired Lederer, according to modern sources. Lederer had completed only one scene, which was subsequently reshot with Boyer. RKO borrowed Boyer from Walter Wanger's production company.
According to HR production charts, Inez Palange was a cast member, but her participation in the final film cannot be confirmed. A number of music hall interiors were shot on ...
Break of Hearts, which was originally titled The Music Man, was Theatre Guild director Philip Moeller's second and last film and was the second and last time he collaborated on directing with film editor Jane Loring. The film was also the third consecutive film that Katharine Hepburn made with writers Sarah Y. Mason and Victor Heerman. According to an Oct 1933 FD news item, John Cromwell was originally slated to direct Hepburn, Gregory Ratoff and John Barrymore in the picture. Charles Boyer replaced Francis Lederer, who was fired after a few days of filming because of "differences of opinion" with the director, according to HR and RKO production files. DV claimed that Lederer felt that Hepburn was "getting all the breaks in camera angles" and that he was playing "second fiddle." Modern sources state that Lederer, who was recommended for the part by Heerman and Mason after they saw him play a musician in a stage production, infuriated Hepburn because he was "rude" and "slow" to learn his lines and then infuriated assistant director Eddie Killy when he refused to shoot a particular set-up because it showed his "bad" side. Killy and Hepburn took their complaints to studio head J. P. MacDonald, who then fired Lederer, according to modern sources. Lederer had completed only one scene, which was subsequently reshot with Boyer. RKO borrowed Boyer from Walter Wanger's production company.
According to HR production charts, Inez Palange was a cast member, but her participation in the final film cannot be confirmed. A number of music hall interiors were shot on location at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, according to production files. Music numbers in the film included excerpts from Antonín Dvorák's Ninth Symphony, From the New World, and Robert Schumann's piano piece "Träumerie" from Kinderscenen. According to FD, Leopold Stokowski, then the conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, wrote music "especially" for the film. However, he is not credited on screen or in reviews. Modern sources also state that Hepburn interviewed musicians in preparation for her role. Modern sources list Jason Robards and Egon Brecher as cast members and credit Mel Berns with makeup.
Brought together by their old music teacher, Professor Thalma, successful playboy orchestra conductor Franz Roberti and struggling composer Constance Dane fall in love and marry. Although Constance knows about Franz's prior love affairs, she is shocked when she runs into her husband and another woman in the Ritz dining room after having overheard the woman discussing Franz with a friend in the powder room. Embarrassed, though innocent, Franz lies to Constance about the situation, which humiliates her to the point of leaving. Under a false name, Constance takes a job auditioning new compositions at a music publishing house, while Franz, too proud to go after his wife, leaves for Europe on a tour. After collapsing with exhaustion at work, Constance is cared for by Franz's old friend, Johnny Lawrence, who has secretly loved her for months. Fresh from Europe, a still mournful Franz accidentally meets Constance at a wild New Year's Eve party and immediately proposes that they reunite. Constance rejects the suggestion, implying that she is now as "experienced" as he in matters of love. Ravaged by jealous melancholy, Franz turns to drink and, after falling off his podium during a benefit concert, is fired from his conducting post. Soon after, Constance travels to Reno for a divorce and is about to marry Johnny when Professor Thalma begs her to see Franz one last time. Finding him haggard and drunk in a cafe, Constance plays the piano piece she had written as a tribute to their love and inspires him for a moment before he collapses. After telling Johnny goodbye, Constance dedicates herself to healing Franz, who soon returns to ...
Brought together by their old music teacher, Professor Thalma, successful playboy orchestra conductor Franz Roberti and struggling composer Constance Dane fall in love and marry. Although Constance knows about Franz's prior love affairs, she is shocked when she runs into her husband and another woman in the Ritz dining room after having overheard the woman discussing Franz with a friend in the powder room. Embarrassed, though innocent, Franz lies to Constance about the situation, which humiliates her to the point of leaving. Under a false name, Constance takes a job auditioning new compositions at a music publishing house, while Franz, too proud to go after his wife, leaves for Europe on a tour. After collapsing with exhaustion at work, Constance is cared for by Franz's old friend, Johnny Lawrence, who has secretly loved her for months. Fresh from Europe, a still mournful Franz accidentally meets Constance at a wild New Year's Eve party and immediately proposes that they reunite. Constance rejects the suggestion, implying that she is now as "experienced" as he in matters of love. Ravaged by jealous melancholy, Franz turns to drink and, after falling off his podium during a benefit concert, is fired from his conducting post. Soon after, Constance travels to Reno for a divorce and is about to marry Johnny when Professor Thalma begs her to see Franz one last time. Finding him haggard and drunk in a cafe, Constance plays the piano piece she had written as a tribute to their love and inspires him for a moment before he collapses. After telling Johnny goodbye, Constance dedicates herself to healing Franz, who soon returns to his beloved orchestra.
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