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Beloved Enemy

Alternate Title: Love Under Fire Director: H. C. Potter (Dir) Release Date: 25 Dec 1936 Production Date: 13 Aug--mid-Oct 1936			Print this page Display Movie Summary

Cast:	Merle Oberon	(Helen Drummond)
	Brian Aherne	(Dennis Riordan)
	Karen Morley	(Cathleen O'Brien)
	Henry Stephenson	(Lord Athleigh)
	David Niven	(Gerald Preston)
	Jerome Cowan	([Tim] O'Rourke)
	Donald Crisp	([Liam] Burke)
	Ra Hould	(Jerry [O'Brien])
	Granville Bates	(Ryan)
	R. J. Kelly	(Rooney)
	Leo McCabe	(Connor)
	Pat O'Malley	([Patrick] Callahan)
	Jack Mulhall	(Casey)
	Claude King	(Colonel Loder)
	Wyndham Standing	(Thornton)
	Robert Strange	(Perrins)
	Lionel Pape	(Crump)
	John Burton	(Hall)
	Leyland Hodgson	(Hawkins)
	Frank Roan	(Murphy)
	Wally Maher	(Humphries)
	Theodore von Eltz	(Sean O'Brien)
	David Torrence	(Alroyd)

Summary:

In 1921 Dublin, rebel leader Dennis Riordan avoids arrest because the English do not have his description. When Lord Athleigh comes to Dublin to find a peaceful solution to "the troubles," he and his daughter Helen are saved from assassination by Riordan, who rebukes his men for not giving them a chance. At the police station, Riordan gives his own name, but is let go because they think he is joking. The next day, Helen takes an injured Irish boy home. The mother, Cathleen O'Brien, mistrusts her because her husband was killed by the English, but she soon recognizes Helen's kindness. Riordan also goes to Cathleen's, then offers to escort Helen home. She fails to realize the significance of his name, and they begin to fall in love. He wants to meet her the next day at a livestock market, but when she learns that her father's health is suffering due to concern over the rebel "Dennis Riordan," she reveals their meeting. The next day Riordan narrowly escapes capture, but refuses to believe that Helen is to blame. His friend O'Rourke is sure, however, and chastises him for agreeing to meet her again. Helen remorsefully confesses her guilt and they realize how strong yet hopeless their love is. Helen has been followed by soldiers who try to capture Riordan again, but he escapes, then vows to O'Rourke that he will never see Helen again. She does the same when her father takes her home to England. Lord Athleigh believes that war is inevitable, but is convinced by Helen to arrange for a peace conference and truce. Riordan and his men go to England, but their talks are stalemated until Helen secretly visits Riordan and convinces him that compromise is preferable to war. After a treaty is signed, Riordan returns to Ireland, but Helen soon follows when she learns that he will be killed by Irish radicals. After giving a speech in Dublin, Riordan is badly wounded by O'Rourke, but tells Helen that with peace they can now find happiness.

Production Company:	Howard Productions, Inc.
Distribution Company:	United Artists Corp.
Director:	H. C. Potter	(Dir)
	Eddie Bernoudy	(Asst dir)
Producer:	Samuel Goldwyn	(Prod)
	George Haight	(Assoc prod)
Writer:	John Balderston	(Scr)
	Rose Franken	(Scr)
	William Brown Meloney	(Scr)
	David Hertz	(Addl dial)
Photography:	Gregg Toland	(Photog)
Art Direction:	Richard Day	(Art dir)
Film Editor:	Sherman Todd	(Film ed)
Costumes:	Omar Kiam	(Cost)
Music:	Alfred Newman	(Mus dir)
Sound:	Oscar Lagerstrom	(Sd rec)
Production Misc:	Harry Perry	(Loc mgr)
	Robert Coburn	(Still photog)
Country:	United States

Copyright Claimant	Copyright Date	Copyright Number	Passed By NBR:
Samuel Goldwyn	4/1/1937 dd/mm/yyyy	LP6807	Yes

PCA NO:	2902
Physical Properties:	b&w:
	Sd:	Western Electric Sound System


Genre:	Drama

Subjects (Major):	Duty
	English in foreign countries
	Ireland
	Romance

Subjects (Minor):	Arrests
	Assassination
	Escapes
	Fathers and daughters
	Police
	Speeches
	Treaties

Note:	Actor Wally Maher's first name is misspelled "Walley" in the onscreen credits. Love Under Fire was the working title of the picture. According to a news item in HR , Samuel Goldwyn had signed the St. Luke's Choristers to perform in a wedding sequence for the film, however, there was no wedding in the viewed print and no reviews mention such a scene. According to reviews and an article in NYT , the original release version of the film ended with the character Dennis Riordan's death, but a different, happier ending had been filmed at the same time. The viewed print and, according to modern sources, other prints that have survived, all have the "happy" ending. The exact point at which the ending was changed in national prints has not been determined, but contemporary information indicates that the picture was initially released with the unhappy ending and was shortly thereafter replaced by the other version. NYT , which noted that exhibitors "had their choice" of which versions to show, also noted that the first version showed the suicide of the character Tim O'Rourke, while the second version deleted it, perhaps as a concession to the Roman Catholic organization, the Legion of Decency. Although modern sources have made comparisons between Dennis Riordan and the assassinated Irish leader Michael Collins, a disclaimer at the beginning of the film states: "This story is not taken from history. Rather, it is legend inspired by fact and all characters are fictional." Beloved Enemy marked the motion picture debuts of stage director H. C. Potter and actor Jerome Cowan. Actress Madeleine Carroll performed in a Lux Radio Theatre version of the story on 27 Dec 1937.

Bibliographic Sources:	Date	Page
Daily Variety	10 Dec 36	p. 3.
Film Daily	12 Dec 36	p. 3.
Hollywood Reporter	12 Aug 36	p. 4.
Hollywood Reporter	17 Aug 36	p. 7.
Hollywood Reporter	20 Aug 36	p. 4.
Hollywood Reporter	12 Oct 36	p. 7.
Hollywood Reporter	19 Oct 36	p. 3.
Hollywood Reporter	9 Dec 36	p. 3.
Motion Picture Daily	10 Dec 36	p. 10.
Motion Picture Herald	7 Nov 36	p. 34.
Motion Picture Herald	19 Dec 36	p. 54.
MPSI	Jan 37	p. 34.
New York Times	Dec 36	p. 15.
Variety	30 Dec 36	p. 10.

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The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.



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