That is the question that leads us into the character of a crippled Austrian Baroness (Lilli Palmer), a beauty who became unable to walk after falling off her horse. When a young officer (Albert Lieven) is introduced to her, he is smitten by her beauty, but when he realizes that she is crippled, she becomes devastated and goes into a state of panic. They meet again, and in a calmer state of mind, she explains why she was so overwrought by the incident. Her doctor and companion worry that the pity he feels for her will send her into a deeper depression and towards suicide, but they find that when she is in a calm state of mind, they really have a lot in common. But it's apparent that Palmer has been more damaged mentally than physically as she becomes consumed with the idea that his affections for her are not genuine, and she refuses to live with pity even though he genuinely comes to love her.
Like great tragedies of fiction, "Beware of Pity" is somewhat slow moving and somber, but opens some interesting clues to the human psyche. The people around Palmer have also been greatly affected by her physical and mental state, and it isn't until Lieven meets her doctor's blind wife (the wonderful Gladys Cooper) that he begins to see things from a clearer perspective. Cooper's character offers a different insight into a stronger woman who is aware that her husband did marry her out of pity, but her own strength of character helped make her less dependent on him and able to give Lieven a perspective into the troubled Palmer.
This is an acting triumph for Lieven, Palmer, and Cooper. Palmer resembles Rita Hayworth facially and is heartbreakingly real. Her character reminded me of the Fosca character in the Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical "Passion", although Fosca is physically unattractive in addition to her ill health. Lieven, first seen in World War II times telling his tale to a younger officer in the same situation, is greatly understated in his role. Palmer gets the juicier moments as an actor, but together, the two share some remarkable scenes. Palmer shows both sides of the Baroness, and as she becomes more disturbed as Lieven's love for her grows, she is amazing. Cooper comes on an hour into the film, and from there, she is missed every time she is off screen. She is the heart and soul of the film, a woman who has refused to allow her blindness dominate her life. When she tells Lieven that it is the physically handicapped and less attractive people who learn to know what real love is, you truly feel the sentiments of what she is saying. The emotions of that scene are hard to describe in a brief review, but once you see it, you'll greatly understand the sentiment behind her words.
Most British films of this era are sometimes hard for Ameican audiences to get into because the pacing is not up to what Hollywood films of the era were presenting. But in the case of this one, the slowness of the first quarter of the film builds sensibly to an emotional drama where each piece of this complex puzzle explodes into its dramatic conclusion.
Like great tragedies of fiction, "Beware of Pity" is somewhat slow moving and somber, but opens some interesting clues to the human psyche. The people around Palmer have also been greatly affected by her physical and mental state, and it isn't until Lieven meets her doctor's blind wife (the wonderful Gladys Cooper) that he begins to see things from a clearer perspective. Cooper's character offers a different insight into a stronger woman who is aware that her husband did marry her out of pity, but her own strength of character helped make her less dependent on him and able to give Lieven a perspective into the troubled Palmer.
This is an acting triumph for Lieven, Palmer, and Cooper. Palmer resembles Rita Hayworth facially and is heartbreakingly real. Her character reminded me of the Fosca character in the Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical "Passion", although Fosca is physically unattractive in addition to her ill health. Lieven, first seen in World War II times telling his tale to a younger officer in the same situation, is greatly understated in his role. Palmer gets the juicier moments as an actor, but together, the two share some remarkable scenes. Palmer shows both sides of the Baroness, and as she becomes more disturbed as Lieven's love for her grows, she is amazing. Cooper comes on an hour into the film, and from there, she is missed every time she is off screen. She is the heart and soul of the film, a woman who has refused to allow her blindness dominate her life. When she tells Lieven that it is the physically handicapped and less attractive people who learn to know what real love is, you truly feel the sentiments of what she is saying. The emotions of that scene are hard to describe in a brief review, but once you see it, you'll greatly understand the sentiment behind her words.
Most British films of this era are sometimes hard for Ameican audiences to get into because the pacing is not up to what Hollywood films of the era were presenting. But in the case of this one, the slowness of the first quarter of the film builds sensibly to an emotional drama where each piece of this complex puzzle explodes into its dramatic conclusion.