''Unfinished Symphony'' is a 1934 British-Austrian

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Willi Forst Willi Forst, born Wilhelm Anton Frohs (7 April 1903 – 11 August 1980) was an Austrian actor, screenwriter, film director, film producer and singer. As a debonair actor he was a darling of the German language, German-speaking film audiences, as ...

and

Anthony Asquith Anthony Asquith (; 9 November 1902 – 20 February 1968) was an English film director. He collaborated successfully with playwright Terence Rattigan on ''The Winslow Boy'' (1948) and '' The Browning Version'' (1951), among other adaptations ...

and starring

Mártha Eggerth Marta Eggerth (17 April 1912 – 26 December 2013) was a Hungarian actress and singer from "The Silver Age of Operetta". Many of the 20th century's most famous operetta composers, including Franz Lehár, Fritz Kreisler, Robert Stolz, Oscar Str ...

Helen Chandler Helen Chandler (February 1, 1906 – April 30, 1965) was an American film and theatre actress, best known for playing Mina Seward in the 1931 horror film ''Dracula''. Career Chandler attended the Professional Children's School in New Yor ...

Hans Jaray Hans Jaray (1906–1990) was an Austrian actor and playwright. He also wrote and directed several television films. Jaray starred as a leading man in a number of 1930s films, such as the Schubert biopic '' Gently My Songs Entreat'' (1933).Bergfeld ...

, and

Ronald Squire Ronald Launcelot Squire (25 March 1886 – 16 November 1958) was an English character actor. Biography Born in Tiverton, Devon, England, the son of an army officer, Lt.-Col. Frederick Squirl and his Irish-born wife Mary (Ronald's surname 'Squ ...

. The film is based on the story of

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

who, in the 1820s left his symphony unfinished after losing the love of his life. The film's alternate German-language version was called '' Gently My Songs Entreat''. This title refers to the first line of the

Lied In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...

"Ständchen" (Serenade) from Schubert's collection ''

Schwanengesang ''Schwanengesang'' (Swan Song), 957, is a collection of 14 songs written by Franz Schubert at the end of his life and published posthumously: # Liebesbotschaft (text: Ludwig Rellstab) # Kriegers Ahnung (Rellstab) # Frühlingssehnsucht (Rellst ...

'', "the most famous serenade in the world", performed by Mártha Eggerth in the film.

Cast

as Caroline Esterhazy *

Cecil Humphreys Cecil Humphreys (1883–1947) was a British film and theatre actor who played in 46 films between 1916 and 1948, mostly in supporting roles as doctors, aristocrats, and generals. Among his best-known roles were Judge Linton, in the 1939 version ...

Antonio Salieri Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian composer and teacher of the classical period (music), classical period. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subje ...

as Emmie Passenter *

as Count Esterhazy *

Esmé Percy Saville Esmé Percy (8 August 1887 – 17 June 1957) was an English actor and director, widely associated with the plays of Bernard Shaw; he also appeared in forty films between 1930 and 1956. He studied acting in Paris with Sarah Bernhardt ...

as Huettenbrenner *

Eliot Makeham Harold Elliott Makeham (22 December 1882 – 8 February 1956) was an English film and television actor. Career Makeham was born in London, England. Between 1931 and 1956, Makeham appeared, primarily in character roles, in 115 films and in 11 t ...

as Joseph Passenter * Paul Wagner as Lieutenant Folliot * Hermine Sperler as Princess Kinsky * Beryl Laverick as Mary Esterhazy * Brember Wills as Esterhazy's Secretary

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote, "with a happy unconcern for dismal historical truths, the agreeable little musical film at the Roxy pursues the history of Franz Schubert's glorious B Minor symphony along the silken paths of romance...Hans Jaray's performance reveals Schubert as a gentle and sad-faced youth, inordinately sensitive and at the same time filled with modest confidence in his genius. The well-known German actress and singer, Marta Eggerth, is the lovely aristocrat who laughed at the wrong time, and she helps the photoplay considerably with the warmth and skill of her interpretations of the Schubert songs. Helen Chandler pouts agreeably as the unhappy pawnshop maiden who loved the composer though his heart belonged to another. Despite its mediocre and sometimes wretched photography, ''Unfinished Symphony'' provides a politely winning background for the immortal lieder of the great composer."

References

External links

* {{Franz Schubert 1934 films British historical musical films Austrian historical musical films Austrian biographical drama films British biographical drama films Films directed by Anthony Asquith Films directed by Willi Forst 1930s English-language films Austrian multilingual films 1930s musical drama films Films about classical music and musicians Films about composers 1930s biographical drama films Wiener Film British musical drama films Films set in the 1820s Cultural depictions of Franz Schubert Cultural depictions of Antonio Salieri 1930s historical musical films Austrian musical drama films 1934 multilingual films British multilingual films 1934 drama films 1930s British films 1930s German films Films with screenplays by Benn Levy English-language biographical drama films English-language musical drama films English-language historical films