Beware of Pity

A young soldier comes to see Lt. Marek about a girl he knows who has been injured in a bomb blast, and he's not sure how to handle her. The story then moves into flashback mode, as Marek tells the soldier his own tale.

Lilli Palmer is the beautiful young baroness, who has been injured in a fall from her beloved horse, and can not walk - this, a young Marek finds out, when he asks her to dance at a party, and she can not even stand up unaided. Feeling sorry for her, he befriends her and soon she begins to fall for him, a feeling which he does not totally reciprocate. Not wanting to hurt her pride, as her love for him is the only thing keeping her hopeful that she may one day walk again, he agrees to marry her. But then she finds out that he is doing everything only through pity, and Marek finds out that she has heard - and in his race to save her from killing herself, he also realises that he truly is in love with her afterall.

A young soldier comes to see Lt. Marek about a girl he knows who has been injured in a bomb blast, and he's not sure how to handle her. The story then moves into flashback mode, as Marek tells the soldier his own tale.

Lilli Palmer is the beautiful young baroness, who has been injured in a fall from her beloved horse, and can not walk - this, a young Marek finds out, when he asks her to dance at a party, and she can not even stand up unaided. Feeling sorry for her, he befriends her and soon she begins to fall for him, a feeling which he does not totally reciprocate. Not wanting to hurt her pride, as her love for him is the only thing keeping her hopeful that she may one day walk again, he agrees to marry her. But then she finds out that he is doing everything only through pity, and Marek finds out that she has heard - and in his race to save her from killing herself, he also realises that he truly is in love with her after all! But - will he make it in time to tell her this?..

Albert Lieven is efficient here as the Austrian officer "Marek" who meets the glamorous "Baroness Edith" (Lilli Palmer) at a lavish dance. Asking her for a waltz, he soon discovers that she has been paralysed. The two chat and remain in touch over the coming months where she falls well and truly in love. Thing is, he doesn't quite reciprocate and when she accidentally discovers this, she runs away, distressed and alone, and her thoughts turn to suicide. The title is quite apt here - it illustrates the dangers of, however innocently, leading someone on with gestures of affection and kindness when they don't have the necessary reality filters to appreciate the distinction between fondness and amour. It's set just before the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, so has many of the opulent settings of the Hapsburg court as a backdrop - the costumes and settings all look grand. There is also an interesting sub-plot with dedicated doctor "Kondor" (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) and his blind wife "Klara" (a lovely, nuanced effort from Gladys Cooper) with the latter proving a vital conduit for the young man to realise just what his relationship with "Edith" really means... It's rather wordy this, and there are maybe just too many characters that rather diffuse the narrative a little too much - but if you enjoy historical melodrama with a fine period score from Nicholas Brodsky then you ought to enjoy this rather superior drama with a conscience.

The beautiful Lilli Palmer stars with Albert Lieven and Sir Cedric Hardwicke in "Beware of Pity" from 1946, based on a novel by Stefan Zweig.

Someone suggested that this film would have been better had it been done by Warner Brothers and starred Paul Henried and Bette Davis. It's an interesting and correct thought. They would have brought warmth to the characterizations which seem lacking here.

An older soldier, Anton Marek (Lieven) tells a younger one a story from his own youth. One night at a party, he asks a Baroness (Palmer) to dance, before realizing that she is unable to walk due to paralysis.

Embarrassed and feeling sorry for her, he attempts to make it up to her by visiting from time to time, not realizing that she is falling in love with him.

Afraid of hurting her feelings, he does not discourage her, nevertheless, her assumptions trouble him because she is so fragile and overprotected by her family.

The message here is mixed and for some reason, the movie doesn't draw one in, though the story is sad. On the one hand, this man is being asked to attach himself to someone he doesn't love, with a belief that in the future love will grow. And on the other hand, he should rip off the band-aid early on.

Gladys Cooper has a supporting role as the attending doctor's blind wife, and she gives a good performance.

Lilli Palmer is radiant if by today's standards a little over the top. Sir Cedric Hardwicke is excellent as the woman's doctor.

It's a shame this film wasn't in color as the scenery looked as if it would have been beautiful.

I read this novel after listening to Wes Anderson refer to it as one of the inspirations for his movie The Grand Budapest Hotel. I was blown away by the story, and Zweig. I figured no one, not even today could hope to capture the emotional dissonance of such a great story by Zweig but then I found this 1946 film somehow and I think it did a very good job at portraying the characters and their management of the storyline. The screenplay was simple and alike movies of the day the emphasis was on the expression of the actors. Lilly was fabulous and justly pitiful. It's a very simple story that is tragic and the movie captured it well. I'm so glad I found it.