Hearts Divided

With their HEARTS DIVIDED by international politics, can a pretty American girl and the brother of the great Napoleon ever find true happiness?

This good-natured romance film has been rather harshly criticized as being bad history, which it is, instead of being appreciated for its simple aim to provide some escapist amusement in the form of a lavish movie starring Marion Davies. In this it succeeds. William Randolph Hearst, Davies' powerful lover, saw to that, and what Hearst wanted he generally got. Although the plot is exceedingly silly at times, the film is still a pleasant entertainment.

At 39, Davies was too old for the part (and older than her costar by seven years), but Hearst liked seeing her in the crinoline & lace roles, and she had little control of the matter. However, as was her custom, Marion charms the viewer with her buoyant spirits, willingness to please and genuine acting skills. She's more than able to hold her own with a talented supporting cast and appears quite happy to be in the arms of young Dick Powell. For his part, Powell needs do little more than exude boyish charm and sing a few times to cover his acting requirements quite nicely.

As Napoleon, the great Claude Rains steals every scene he's in by very quietly underplaying his acting and only hinting at the tremendous power his character wields. Fascinating to watch even under heavy makeup, Rains makes a quality contribution to the film.

The movie's humor is largely handled by a trio of excellent character actors. Droll Arthur Treacher, suspicious Edward Everett Horton & grumpy Charles Ruggles play Marion's erstwhile suitors. Constantly trying to upstage each other, their dialogue provides plenty of chuckles.

Even in minor casting the film excels. Dignified Henry Stephenson and sharp-tongued Clara Blandick play Marion's father and aunt. Walter Kingsford & diminutive Etienne Girardot play the French officials assigned to keep an eye on Mr. Powell. Halliwell Hobbes lends gravity to his small role as Napoleon's Second Consul. Beulah Bondi brightens her single scene as the Bonaparte boys' kindhearted mother. And the magnificent Hall Johnson Choir appears to lift its voice in song for a few moments.

Time has not dealt kindly with Marion Davies. Almost forgotten today, when remembered at all it is usually as a sort of footnote to history or object of scandal. Her life certainly was colorful, and as chatelaine of America's most amazing private estate she did circulate amidst powerful circles. But to remember her as the bimbo blonde mistress of the country's mightiest media baron is patently unfair.

While much of the blame can go to Orson Welles' spoof of Davies in CITIZEN KANE (which he was to admit he regretted towards the end of his life) it must be stated emphatically that Marion was not a no-talent actress with few friends & even fewer brains, whose career was destroyed by her stammer leaving her to spend lonely years in great, hulking empty castles.

In reality, Davies was a bright, vivacious lady who charmed & captivated such diverse guests as George Bernard Shaw & Winston Churchill throughout her 33-year liaison with Hearst. Adored by her friends and a fierce cadre of fans, Davies was renowned for her tireless generosity and charitable good works. Her speech impediment never affected her screen acting and her undeniable talent was evident to any who were willing to assess her performances honesty and look past the scandal.

Davies had to have been embarrassed by the Hearst empire's relentless pushing of her career. She knew this left her open to ridicule & mockery, doubtless contributing to her scarcely concealed alcoholism. But she eventually relinquished her film pursuits in order to care for the aging Hearst, and after his death in 1951 she showed herself to be an astute businesswoman during the remaining ten years of her life.

It is only now, with the passage of much time & the restoration of her old movies, that it is becoming easier to acknowledge the contributions & cinematic expertise of Marion Davies.

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Jérôme Bonaparte (1784-1860) was only 16 when he entered the service of Napoleon as a member of the Consular Guard. After being wounded in a duel he transferred to the French Navy. Leaving his ship in the West Indies, he entered the United States, (Jérôme was not involved in the sale of the Louisiana Purchase to America) where he fell in love with Elizabeth Patterson of Baltimore, Maryland. They were married on Christmas Eve, 1803. After returning to Europe with his wife in 1805, it was discovered that Napoleon had annulled the marriage and forbade Elizabeth to enter any of his domains. This decision was absolutely determinate. Elizabeth was returned to America and Jérôme was married to Princess Catherine of Württemberg and subsequently proclaimed King of Westphalia in 1807, which included a wide territory east of the Rhine in addition to the former province of Westphalia. He abdicated in 1813 when Napoleon's powers began to decline, but he continued to serve as a loyal officer fighting for his brother until the Battle of Waterloo brought total defeat in 1815. Jérôme then retired into self-exile and did not return to France until 1847, when he entered the service of his nephew Napoleon III, the son of his brother Louis. Jérôme would eventually serve as Governor of the Invalides, Marshal of France & President of the Senate.

I must preface by saying I'm a big Marion Davies fan, but this was the least appealing of her films that I've seen. Worth watching, just to see Claude Rains playing Napoleon-he pulls it off beautifully. Dick Powell is okay, but he and Davies together looks stiff and miles apart in age and demeanor. Simply bad casting, as Davies looks much older than Powell, but more sadly,seems to move awkwardly in the past and given her, which detracts from the idea they can be romantic together. This spoils Rains performance,and even the great character actors Edward Everett Horton & Arthur Treacher are wasted in characters that seem to be contrived, just to fill in time. Miss Page Glory is a much better film, and really shows Davies at her best. Too bad about this film, but skip it.

I should make you aware of one thing that most IMDb users are not aware of but which several other users have also noticed. There is a small and devoted group that has given all of Miss Davies' films scores of 10--even her lesser or bad films. I'm not sure why, but these folks appear to think EVERY Davies film is a classic and I have been attacked for daring to dislike some of her films--such as "Cain and Mable". Speaking of "Mable", it was one of the biggest box office losers of its time yet currently 61% of its votes are 10s. Compare this to "The Godfather" at 56%, "Gone With the Wind" at just under 39%, "The Shawshank Redemption" (currently the highest ranked film on IMDb) at just under 60% and "12 Angry Men" at 39%! Critics over the years have been pretty hard on her films--though she definitely did star in a few classics (such as the wonderful "Show People"). My suggestion is that you don't be swayed by the scores alone...as well as the reviews (including mine). See the films and make your own decision.

From the start, I must admit that for me, at least, the film has a major strike against it. The likable Dick Powell co-stars in the film, however, since it was made during his "singing star" period, he spends lots and lots of time singing...and I don't particularly like it in the film. In fact, Powell himself hated all the singing roles he had through the 1930s and loved when they gave him films where he could concentrate on his acting--which was usually very nice. Why they would have Davies starring opposite a singer like Powell is beyond me--it does not play to her strengths--she was certainly NOT a singer but was more adept at light comedy. Now had the female lead been Jeanette MacDonald, this might have worked better! As for the rest of the cast, Davies got some nice support. Likable and very capable supporting actors like Henry Stephenson, Arthur Treacher (oddly, he's NOT starring as a butler here), Claude Rains, Charlie Ruggles and Edward Everett Horton are on hand--adding a lot of nice color to the film.

Oh, and speaking of color, some might feel rightly put off by the slaves in the film. They are pretty happy folks and the white masters are pretty good to them (especially the sweet Davies) and this is pretty tacky. This "happy slave" stereotype is perhaps worse than just ignoring the plight of blacks during the era in which the film was set.

The setting for the film, incidentally, is both in France and the US during the early years at the beginning of the 19th century. Napoleon (Rains) need funds for his many wars and is trying to sell the Louisiana Territory to the Americans. During these negotiations, a French agent and brother to Napoleon (Powell) is in the States--though you really aren't sure why. In his capacity as an agent, he wants to remain incognito, so he poses as a French language teacher and is engaged by Davies' family to tutor her. Her family is quite wealthy--and happen to hate Napoleon.

Naturally, like romances of the day, you know that eventually the two will be in love. However, where it went from there was hard to predict because, amazingly, this weird and seemingly silly plot is actually based on the real life romance between Elizabeth Patterson and Jerome Bonaparte! And, oddly for a romance of the 1930s, it ends most tragically--not sweetly like the audience probably hoped.

So how true is this film? Well, in many ways it's surprisingly close--at least in the first 2/3 of the film. However, the scene with Napoleon convincing Elizabeth to give him up never occurred--as in real life, she tried and tried in vain to keep her Jerome--even though history shows us that he wasn't worth this loyalty (he was a real chuckle-head). I also cringed a bit with the scene between Napoleon and his mommy--it just came off as false and a bit silly. But worst of all was the tacked on happy ending--that never happened in real life!! In reality, Jerome left his pregnant wife and married a German princess!! Oops! This bit of historical liberty is simply unforgivable. How so many people could give this amiable but patently false film a 10 is beyond me.

First thing to do is to forget history (I will not argue with American history,but as far as French history is concerned,well..): No,they did not live happily ever after ,for the marriage was finally broken ,and Jerome had more mistresses than you could count.No,Madame Mère -who briefly appears to sweeten her offspring's relationship- did not probably intervene.

But it does not matter when you deal with Frank Borzage,my favorite American director of the twenties/thirties.To say he gave it his all is diminish this director ,because there was always more to give,another passion to plumb,another open wound that demanded he raises his voice ;no one depicted love (against the whole world) as he did.In consequence ,the best scenes are to be found in the second part of the film:Marion Davis ,"translating" the letter into English in a voice chocked with emotion;the scene on the ship where the unfortunate lovers raises their glasses before the bell ring -this scene is similar to the ones we find in "Humoresque" before the hero goes to war ,and in "Street angel" when Janet Gaynor says goodbye to his love (who does not know it's a farewell celebration).In "Hearts divided" the sequence is too short ,and somewhat ruined by the final scenes although the song and the wall are romantic stuff.

As everything Borzage did ,"Hearts Divided" is a movie which deserves to be watched.I will not rate it as highly as Borzage's true masterpieces ("Seventh Heaven" "Street Angel" "Little man what now?" "A farewell to the arms" "Strange Cargo" or the immortal "Mortal storm") though.

Hearts Divided is a historical romance starring Dick Powell and Marion Davies. The two live during the Napoleonic era when France was trying to sell Louisiana to the Americans and the French Revolution was brewing. Powell and Davies' characters meet accidentally at a horse race and begin a glorious romance almost immediately despite their multiple scuffles. He becomes her tutor for music, French, and fencing. Her family does not approve of their romance because they are distinguished and he is a lowly tutor, but Davies responds to his advances. The two are separated but brought back together and it is discovered that Powell is not an average citizen at all; he is the brother of Napoleon. A wedding is planned but it is Napoleon who does not approve this time.

This film is typical of Marion Davies for it not only has the ability to show off benefactor William Randolph Hearst's many historical items and costumes, she is able to show her natural spunk and joviality. Powell responds in kind with his lighthearted cracks and beautiful smile. The two work well together and shine in their own rights.

There are also a few catchy songs sung by the gorgeous tenor voice of Dick Powell.