Cited as Ernst Lubitsch's darkest film, the post-World War One movie, January 1932's "Broken Lullaby," is about a French soldier, Paul Renard (Phillip Holmes), who carries a guilt of killing a German attempting to surrender. He's so depressed about his mistake he decides to reveal to the deceased parents in Germany he was their son's killer. Things get a bit complicated when he meets the late soldier's fiancee, Fraulein Elsa (Nancy Carroll).
Originally released as 'The Man I Killed," it was met by a tepid response from the New York City preview audience. Cutting the heavy drama by 15 minutes didn't quite improve its appeal. But a modern-day reassessment of Lubitsch's only talkie non-comedy has raised the opinion on the ambitious movie. Film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum praised "Broken Lullaby" as "one of the most piercing and cinematically supple of all of Lubitsch's films."
Originally released as 'The Man I Killed," it was met by a tepid response from the New York City preview audience. Cutting the heavy drama by 15 minutes didn't quite improve its appeal. But a modern-day reassessment of Lubitsch's only talkie non-comedy has raised the opinion on the ambitious movie. Film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum praised "Broken Lullaby" as "one of the most piercing and cinematically supple of all of Lubitsch's films."