The Man I Killed (1932)
"Broken Lullaby" (original title)

A young French soldier in World War I is overcome with guilt when he kills a German soldier who, like himself, is a musically gifted conscript, each having attended the same musical ... See full summary »

Director:

Ernst Lubitsch

Writers:

Maurice Rostand (play), Reginald Berkeley (adaptation),

Stars:

Lionel Barrymore, Nancy Carroll, Phillips Holmes

Cast

Cast overview:
Lionel Barrymore	...	Dr. H. Holderlin
Nancy Carroll	...	Fraulein Elsa, Walter's Fiancée
Phillips Holmes	...	Paul Renard
Louise Carter	...	Frau Holderlin
Lucien Littlefield	...	Herr Walter Schultz
Tom Douglas	...	Walter Holderlin, German soldier killed by Paul
Zasu Pitts	...	Anna, Holderlin's Maid
Frank Sheridan	...	Priest
George Bickel	...	Herr Bresslauer, Dress Shop Owner
Emma Dunn	...	Frau Miller
Reinhold Pasch	...	Fritz's Father
Rodney McLennan	...	War Veteran (as Rodney McLennon)

Storyline

A young French soldier in World War I is overcome with guilt when he kills a German soldier who, like himself, is a musically gifted conscript, each having attended the same musical conservatory in France. The fact that the incident occurred in war does not assuage his guilt. He travels to Germany to meet the man's family.

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Plot Keywords:

guilt | german | french | french soldier | german soldier | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 January 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der fremde Sohn

Filming Locations:

Paramount Ranch - 2813 Cornell Road, Agoura, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$889,154 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

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Soundtracks

"Quand Madelon"
(1914) (uncredited)
Music by Camille Robert
Lyrics by Louis Bousquet

User Reviews

An excellent examination of post-war Germany's remorse over how militarism plunged the country into a war that killed so many of its sons, and how a former enemy become one of those "sons."

This early-sound film appeared fourteen years after the end of the "Great War." Lionel Barrymore, as Dr. Holderlin, the father of Walter, a German soldier killed in that war, provides a stirring metaphorical introspection into the militaristic bravado that inspired so many young Germans to march, and caused so many to die. Dr. Holderlin's comments at his "Stammtisch" (a cafe table reserved for town notables) are, for the time, surprisingly deep and revealing. He confesses he was caught up in the romance and pageantry of flags, trumpets and columns of uniformed young men marching off to meet the enemy. He believes he, together with others who shared those views, was as much responsible for his son's death as the enemy.

But it turns out the enemy, in the form of Paul, the French soldier who killed Barrymore's son, is as remorseful as the good doctor. Paul and Walter knew each other before the War. Paul's guilt that he was the cause of Walter's death drove Paul to Germany in an attempt at closure. There he met Walter's family and Elsa, Walter's sweetheart. Everyone's guilt and grief create in Paul a kind of eerie substitute for Walter. The film ends with Paul playing on the violin a lullaby similar to those Walter had played before the War.

*Broken Lullaby* is an excellent anti-war film, much in the *All Quiet on the Western Front* genre. It is unfortunate that it has not over the years received the critical attention it deserves.