The Broken Melody

1934 1h 20m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

⭐

5.8

IMDB

★7.0TMDB · 4★5.8IMDB · 119

DramaMusic

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A composer goes to Devil's Island for killing his wife's lover, then writes an opera about it.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

John Garrick
Paul Verlaine
Margot Grahame
Simone St. Cloud
Merle Oberon
Germaine Brissard
Austin Trevor
Pierre Falaise
Charles Carson
Colonel Dubonnet
Conway Dixon
His Friend
Harry Terry
Henri
Andreas Malandrinos
Brissard

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Bernard Vorhaus
Writers: Vera Allinson, Michael Hankinson, H. Fowler Mear
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

80 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

92 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Bernard Vorhaus, shot by Sydney Blythe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by W.L. Trytel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jack Harris shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

John Garrick and Margot Grahame and Merle Oberon carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0024917 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Bernard Vorhaus directs. Sydney Blythe behind the camera. W.L. Trytel scores. Jack Harris cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

180 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
292 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Bernard Vorhaus, shot by Sydney Blythe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by W.L. Trytel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Jack Harris shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7John Garrick and Margot Grahame and Merle Oberon carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt0024917 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 4 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Sydney Blythe
Original score: W.L. Trytel
Editing: Jack Harris
Runtime: 80 min · 1h 20m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Broken Melody (1934)
IMDB rating: 5.8/10 · 119 votes

Also by

Bernard Vorhaus

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-13
★ 5/10
Recounted by way of an after-show theatre conversation by someone who thinks he recognises one of the actors, this is the rather run of the mill tale of "Paul Verlaine" (a marionette-like John Garrick) who works in a Parisian café with "Germaine Brissard" (Merle Oberon). One night "Simone St. Cloud" (Margot Grahame) - a big star of the stage stops by and next thing she and Garrick are in love, married and have a baby... All of this inspires him to write a musical, but Lloyd Webber he isn't; it flops and she dumps him. He takes revenge by killing his successor in her life and is dispatched to the harsh Devil's Island. He does his time; gets back to Paris and tries to get it all back on track with his old friend Oberon who looks every inch the vulnerable, "Olive Oyl" type, but doesn't feature anywhere near enough to rescue his really rather dreary melodrama. For some reason, the alliterative "Vagabond Violinist" was it's title here in the UK; perhaps to create more mystique around the film - well it doesn't really add anything, sorry....

Production companies