Beware of Pity (1946)

A man asks a pretty young woman for a dance and discovers that she has been paralyzed in a fall from a horse and can't walk. Taking pity on her, he begins spending more and more time with ... See full summary »

Director:

Maurice Elvey

Writers:

Stefan Zweig (novel), Elizabeth Baron,

Stars:

Lilli Palmer, Albert Lieven, Cedric Hardwicke

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lilli Palmer	...	Baroness Edith de Kekesfalva
Albert Lieven	...	Lt. Anton Marek
Cedric Hardwicke	...	Dr. Albert Condor
Gladys Cooper	...	Mrs. Klara Condor
Linden Travers	...	Ilona Domansky
Ernest Thesiger	...	Baron Emil de Kekesfalva
Emrys Jones	...	Lt. Joszi Molnar
Gerhard Kempinski	...	Mayor Jan Nivak
Ralph Truman	...	Maj. Sandor Balinkay
John Salew	...	Col. Franz Bubencic
David Ward	...	Capt. Ferencz Herczeg
Anthony Dawson	...	Lt. Blannik
Godfrey Parker	...	Count Ferdinand Salm
Peter Cotes	...	Kosma (orderly)
Fritz Wendhausen	...	Josef (as Frederick Wendhausen)

Storyline

A man asks a pretty young woman for a dance and discovers that she has been paralyzed in a fall from a horse and can't walk. Taking pity on her, he begins spending more and more time with her. They gradually become friends, and she soon finds herself falling in love with him. Not wanting to hurt her feelings, he doesn't let her know that, although he's fond of her, he doesn't really love her. Unfortunately, she inadvertently finds out his true feelings and, distraught, flees from him, intending to kill herself.

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Plot Keywords:

love | disability | based on novel

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 July 1946 (UK)

Also Known As:

Ungeduld des Herzens

Filming Locations:

Cheddar Gorge, Cheddar, Somerset, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Two Cities Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

Soldier Albert Lieven takes pity on crippled Lilli Palmer

The movie makers tried hard to make "Beware of Pity" a believable tragedy and one that pulls at our heart strings, but they didn't succeed. The script has problems delivering characters that we accept as real, due in part to a lack of dramatic action and incident that seem real and bring out the characters. Perhaps because of that, the acting and direction fall flat, even though the effort to bring the story to life is apparent. It's because it's apparent that we do not accept it as real. The actors appear to be TRAPPED in the movie.

If this story had been shipped off to Warner Brothers, they probably could have brought it off. Add a Steiner score, substitute Bette Davis for Lilli Palmer and Paul Henreid for Albert Lieven, but mostly make it more emotional and less stiff and restrained, more melodramatic. Change the script so that we can buy into the characters and their interactions.

"Beware of Pity" is not terrible, but we are asked to accept a very naive soldier as a central character, a fussy doctor, a baron and an immobile daughter who is waited on hand and foot and seems self-centered. It's hard to develop empathy for these people, not without some incidents we see on the screen that engage us with them.