Irresistible French circus boy Richard Barthelmess (as Pierre Radier) is a bareback rider in more ways than one, after impregnating pretty Jean Muir (as Joanna Ryan). Although Mr. Barthelmess is willing to marry Ms. Muir, she decides to wed a more financially stable suitor. Alcoholic mother Marjorie Rambeau (as "Madame Azais"), who lost her left arm to a favorite circus leopard, saw this coming; of dubious origin, Ms. Rambeau tells son Barthelmess he was the illegitimate son of a wealthy lover. Barthelmess wants to become wealthy, too...
Predicting, "Someday, I'm going to be rich," he leaves the circus and eventually becomes a millionaire businessman. As the decades pass, Barthelmess continues to have affairs with well-heeled blondes, like Florence Eldridge (as Leah Ernst) and Verree Teasdale (as Claire Benston). This causes brunette wife Dorothy Burgess (as Hazel Flint) much distress. Barthelmess also keeps contact with his son by Muir, and helps the boy grow from poor Mickey Rentschler into pampered William Janney (as Pierre Croy). All may be in store for tragedy
Despite the presence of accomplished actor Barthelmess and acclaimed director G.W. Pabst, "A Modern Hero" is a muddled melodrama; the former is miscast, and the latter misguided. This was Barthelmess' penultimate Warner Bros. film; the studio let him go after this and the forthcoming "Midnight Alibi" (1934) failed to draw the crowds necessary to continue to employ the studio's high-paid star. "A Modern Hero" is also notable as Mr. Pabst's only Hollywood sound film. It has moments.
***** A Modern Hero (4/21/34) G.W. Pabst ~ Richard Barthelmess, Jean Muir, Marjorie Rambeau, William Janney
Predicting, "Someday, I'm going to be rich," he leaves the circus and eventually becomes a millionaire businessman. As the decades pass, Barthelmess continues to have affairs with well-heeled blondes, like Florence Eldridge (as Leah Ernst) and Verree Teasdale (as Claire Benston). This causes brunette wife Dorothy Burgess (as Hazel Flint) much distress. Barthelmess also keeps contact with his son by Muir, and helps the boy grow from poor Mickey Rentschler into pampered William Janney (as Pierre Croy). All may be in store for tragedy
Despite the presence of accomplished actor Barthelmess and acclaimed director G.W. Pabst, "A Modern Hero" is a muddled melodrama; the former is miscast, and the latter misguided. This was Barthelmess' penultimate Warner Bros. film; the studio let him go after this and the forthcoming "Midnight Alibi" (1934) failed to draw the crowds necessary to continue to employ the studio's high-paid star. "A Modern Hero" is also notable as Mr. Pabst's only Hollywood sound film. It has moments.
***** A Modern Hero (4/21/34) G.W. Pabst ~ Richard Barthelmess, Jean Muir, Marjorie Rambeau, William Janney