A Modern Hero

A Modern Hero is a 1934 American pre-Code romance drama film starring Richard Barthelmess and directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst. It is based on the novel with the same title by Louis Bromfield. It was Pabst's only American talking film.[1]

A Modern Hero
Film poster
Directed byGeorg Wilhelm Pabst
Written byLouis Bromfield
Gene Markey
Kathryn Scola
StarringRichard Barthelmess
CinematographyWilliam Rees
Edited byJames Gibbon
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • April 21, 1934 (1934-04-21)
Running time
71 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

When a circus comes to Pentland, Illinois, young Joanna Ryan (Jean Muir) is seduced by trick rider Pierre Radier (Richard Barthelmess). Later, his mother, Madame Azais (Marjorie Rambeau), tells Pierre about his father, one of the richest men in Europe. He, too, was full of ambition. She gave him up, and when she heard of his marriage, she was so distracted that she lost her arm to a leopard in the ring. Joanna's drunken father (J. M. Kerrigan) appears to tell Pierre that Joanna is pregnant and is killed by a train. Pierre offers to marry Joanna, but she has already decided to marry steady local Elmer Croy. She would only hold Pierre back. He gives her money for their child.

Joanna's Aunt Clara (Maidel Turner) arranges for Pierre to see his newborn son and introduces him to her friend, wealthy widow Leah Ernst (Florence Eldridge). Pierre hates the circus life, so when his friend Henry Mueller (Hobart Cavanaugh) asks him to become his partner in a bicycle shop, he jumps at the chance, borrowing the money from Leah. They become lovers.

The shop is a success, but Pierre's ambitions are only whetted. They branch out into automobile repairs. By a stroke of luck, they are testing their model when Homer Flint (Arthur Hohl), the richest man in the state, is “towed” into their shop (by a horse). Flint is interested.

Meanwhile Leah goes to Pierre's mother, now a fortuneteller. Madame Azais tells her that she will not be able to hold Pierre because no woman ever means as much to him as himself. Pierre becomes an American citizen, naming himself Paul Rader. Leah and Paul part friends after she tells him it is over.

Paul becomes a hardworking partner in Flint and Rader Automobiles and Trucks, in Pentland, but Mueller is unhappy and leaves—with no hard feelings—to open his own business. Paul proposes to Flint's daughter, Hazel (Dorothy Burgess), on the way to the golf club. The young boy who wants to caddy for him is his son, Pierre Croy. Paul contacts Joanna and begins a relationship with the boy as a benefactor. Eventually, with his marriage unhappy and childless, Paul asks to adopt Pierre. Joanna flatly refuses but allows Paul to finance Pierre's education at an elite boarding school once Pierre is older. She warns Paul he may spoil the boy.

In 1922, Paul escorts Pierre to school and stops in New York City, where he begins an affair with Lady Claire Benston (Verree Teasdale). Yearning for complete financial independence from Flint, Paul entrusts his entire fortune to a stock speculator.

Pierre spends Christmas in New York with Paul. The boy comes home falling-down drunk. Warning Pierre about the dangers of drinking “when it is in your blood”, Paul reveals that he is his father. The two look forward to a future in business together. Meanwhile a distraught Hazel finds Paul's will leaving everything to his son.

It all comes crashing down. The stock speculator, a swindler, vanishes. Lady Benston wants nothing further to do with Paul, calling him a peasant. Pierre is killed driving a new car given him by his father. When he brings Pierre's body to the grieving family, Joanna refuses to shake his hand. Paul leaves Hazel, who cries that she's glad Pierre is dead. Ruined and heartsick, Paul seeks out his mother. She tells him that he is free of his father's blood; he has finally learned what is real. They can make a fresh start in Europe. Paul kneels, saying, “Maybe some day, I'll be worthy of you.”

Cast
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References
  1. Gussow, Mel. "NY Times: A Modern Hero". The New York Times. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
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