A Lady Surrenders

this lovely and stylish film, shows the highly underrated talents of Ms. Margaret Lockwood. She is the Pianist, with a secret, who falls in love with a man, also hiding a secret. she makes the biggest sacrifice for him, "when you love somebody set them free." the cast is incredibly likeable, and good acting all round

In giving Love Story 6 stars I am very conscious that I am judging it by today's standards rather than the standards of 1944 when the film was released. Soppy and melodramatic it may be, but nevertheless there there is a lot to enjoy and appreciate in it. I was particularly interested in the Cornish setting, with some quite spectacular coastal scenery which is well photographed in black and white. Margaret Lockwood is excellent as dying pianist Lissa, but I'm afraid I found Stewart Granger very hard to swallow. Someone else described him here as wooden and supercilious and I can only agree. The supporting cast are all very good and in the background of the story is WW2, which at the time of the film's release was still in full swing. As a piece of romantic escapism I can imagine it would have been very popular with British audiences who were carrying on with a stiff upper lip and enduring terrible privations and the constant fear of death,,either their own or that of loved ones. The music, Herbert Bath's Cornish Rhapsody, is memorable and very well played. Something of a curiosity, it is well worth a look.

Had heard of this movie, more particularly with concern to its music but my first opportunity to actually watch it was last night when ABC showed it as a early hours of the morning item, which coincided with a does of my insomnia.

One shudders to think that Hollywood may have done with this, as the premises of the skyline would so easily lend to laying on the melodrama and clichéd sentiment with a trowel. Thankfully, British understatement, be it in direction and performance, makes this an effective and tasteful exercise.

The musical motif, the Cornish Rhapsody, is possibly being the most famous legacy of this film. It was one of a number of series of rather similar quasi- piano concertos from British films of that era that found a place in the musical memory. The most noted of these being the Warsaw Concerto. I was interested to read an earlier post stating that it was Harriet Cohen who played the piece, as I did have a thought that it may have been a job for Eileen Joyce.

this is the first film i saw more then 50 years ago..it was the first british film shown in montreal after the war in 1945...I would like to see this film again..but it is not showing on t.v.and they dont'have it in the video store..the music I have never forgot..a memorable film ..a great love story ..it made me a fan of stewart granger..margaret lockwood and patricia roc.

I have no doubt that the title of this film was changed due to the popularity of the Ryan O'Neal/Ali McGraw film of a later generation. But Love Story has certainly stood the test of time no matter what you call it.

A couple of the most beautiful women of the British cinema, Margaret Lockwood and Patricia Roc of the World War II era, compete for the affections of Stewart Granger. Granger and Lockwood have some secrets that they are withholding from each other. Granger is an RAF flier on leave because his eyes were injured during a bomb explosion and he is going blind. But an untried and tricky operation might save him. Lockwood had a bout of rheumatic fever which has left her with a weakened heart that won't get any better. She's a famous concert pianist who discovers she's slowly dying when she's examined after trying to enlist in the service for war work.

They meet at a seaside resort where Granger has gone back to his old trade of mining engineer looking for valuable molybdenum deposits for the war effort. In the end everybody's secrets do come out including a couple that Lockwood's rival Patrica Roc has.

Almost as much a character in the film as the players is the seaside area of Cornwall. Miles from any large city where population and war industry made it a target of the Luftwaffe, the seaside of Cornwall has never been more beautifully photographed. You'll not hear a shot or a bomb, the only explosion involved is during a key sequence in an old mine. Granger's keeping his secrets and some think he's a slacker not being in the war, but he proves he has the right stuff.

Love Story really cements Granger's star status in British cinema and at the end of the decade he's in Hollywood. Lockwood and Roc both had some American film credits but never attained the international status Granger did. Love Story on the other side of the pond ranks with films like Love Letters, Casablanca, and I'll Be Seeing You as great World War II romantic dramas.