Break of Hearts

Two of the most distinguishable voices in film history Charles Boyer and Kate Hepburn find romance in this rather ineffective romantic melodrama involving a famous conductor and a struggling composer. It's a rather tepid Intermezzo.

World famous conductor and womanizer Franz Roberti drops by an old friend's and meets Constance Dane a music teacher and aspirant composer. He's pleasant to her but no more. When she can't get a ticket to his sold out show she sneaks into a rehearsal and creates a scene that first annoys and then charms Roberti. They go out and Roberti lays out his Casanova MO to her but much to his surprise finds himself falling in love and marrying her. They globe trot on their honeymoon and all is well until she discovers he has returned to his old ways and decides to leave him. Crestfallen they almost reconcile but she rejects him and he takes to drink sabotaging his career.

The early scenes between the pair falling in love has a charming energy as Boyer's dark eyed intensity and magnificent inflection charm Hepburn's bedazzled beauty. But once the honeymoon ends and Constance books the film descends into a mawkish affair it can't climb out of with both leads becoming a touch too strident.

Philip Moeller's direction is flat and uninspired as he relies heavily on Hepburn close-ups and Boyer's roving eye to make his point. Advancing the story choppily and with little form in the process the glossy sets and lavish costumes lack the sweep they deserve with Moeller's camera movements tentative at best.

The most ironic moment in the film is when Hepburn launches into discourse on how she will look out for the sodden Roberti eerily reflecting her relationship with Spence a decade away.

Alright, so it is clichéd, sappy, and, compared to today's standards, overacted and self-important...but so is Love. Two lost souls find their other half, and foolishly loose all. Max Steiner's theme given to Constance as her "song of love" is gorgeous. Hepburn is youthful enthusiasm and radiance, and manages a pretty strong portrayal of weakness for such a strong lady. Boyer can speak centuries of emotion with those incredible eyes. For anyone who feels deeply about music, this movie isn't so far-fetched--and it's great with popcorn! (This from a lover of depression era costuming--try to ignore the clown-collars they put poor Kate in after she is married--she looked better poor!) So it's a 1930's chick-flick. Relax and step back to a time when love was worth sacrificing everything for.

Katharine Hepburn and Charles Boyer star in "Break of Hearts," a 1935 film that, despite not being particularly good, has some relevance to today's tabloid news.

Boyer is a Tiger Woods-Jesse James type - he's a conductor who marries a young fledgling composer, is caught cheating on her, and she leaves him. Then he hits the skids.

Predictable '30s drama. Both Boyer and Hepburn are ridiculously young and very attractive. Boyer is quite charming and moody as the conductor. Considering their respective careers, this is really just a blip on the radar.

This love story was actually good. Philip Moeller did not make this movie what it could have been. A better director such as George Cukor (who was familiar with Hepburn) would have made the scenes much more enjoyable. Katharine Hepburn does a good job of the aspiring composer and Charlie Boyer as the Great Franz Roberti, conductor. The two both have too much pride instead of talking things over, which is relatable. It's also surprising how Hepburn and Boyer got away with slamming each other with insults of their promiscuity. All in all, it was a good movie for Hepburn to do in her early career, and fans of her will enjoy it.

I honestly went into this movie thinking it would be god awful like the critics said. I guess I'm prejudice when it comes to Katharine Hepburn.

You might say that the way Waterloo Bridge photographed Vivien Leigh is similar to how Hepburn is photographed in Break of Hearts.

Her face and her eyes are aglow in nearly every scene. I don't think she was over acting at all like some have said.

Boyer does a decent job as the famous composer Franz Roberti.

It really isn't a variation of "A Star is Born" like one reviewer has said.

Sure the plot's basically mush, but I still enjoyed seeing Hepburn at the height of her youth.

It's a good film for Hepburn fans at least.