Surrender (1931) DVD-R

Starring Warner Baxter, Leila Hyams, Ralph Bellamy, C. Aubrey Smith,
Alexander Kirkland
Directed by William K. Howard

Print: black/white
Runtime: 69 min.
Genre: drama
Print Quality: B

Surrender is yet another triangular romance set against the backdrop of
WWI. French POW Dumaine (Warner Baxter) is sequestered near the
castle of a prideful Prussian nobleman, Count Reinmacher (C. Aubrey
Smith), who lives for the day that his four sons will march triumphantly
into Paris. Axelle (Leila Hyams), the daughter of one of the sons, makes
periodic goodwill visits to the prison compound, and by-and-by she falls
in love with Dumaine. Things take a dirty-work-at-the-crossroads turn
when Captain Elbing (Ralph Bellamy), the martinet prison commandant,
likewise develops an interest in Axtelle. Though Surrender hasn't been
seen in years, outtakes from the film -- in which the dignified C. Aubrey
Smith swears like a sailor after blowing his lines -- have long been on the
public-domain video market. The film was based on Axelle, a play by
Pierre Benoit, previously filmed in France.