In war-torn London, in 1919, Red Cross nurse Doris Kendall meets Captain Barry Craig, an American Army Air Corps officer, and soon falls in love with him. On the night before he is to ship out, Barry proposes marriage, but Doris refuses him, saying that if they marry, she will be sent back to America. Instead, the couple spends the night together and says a hopeful but sad goodbye the next morning. Soon after, Doris receives a letter from Leslie Darrow, Barry’s friend, which states that Barry is missing in action and assumed dead. Devastated, Doris finds comfort in her longtime admirer and former patient, Sir Wilfred Drake, who invites her to recuperate at his aunt Agatha and uncle James’s country estate. Later, on Armistice Day, Wilfred declares his love and proposes to Doris, who rejects him because she is pregnant by Barry. In spite of Doris’ protests, Wilfred insists that they marry, and Doris finally agrees. Soon after the baby is born, Doris, now Lady Drake, receives a phone call from Barry, who has just arrived from France where he had been recovering from a serious war injury. Numb with surprise, Doris goes to see Barry and soon discovers that her love for him still thrives. For the sake of her child, Doris rejects Barry’s plea that they run away together and returns to Wilfred. That night, Wilfred, sensing Doris’ revived passion, rails against her and decides to divorce her, taking complete custody of the child. Two years later, Doris, who is now living in a roominghouse, receives permission from Wilfred to visit her son. On her way to the estate, Doris meets Barry, who has heard of her divorce, and once again, she rejects him. When she arrives at Wilfred’s, however, she finds her son dead and her husband gutted by guilt. After wandering the streets on the verge of suicide, Doris finally ends up in the loving, faithful arms of Barry. More on Wikipedia
Watch Born to Love (1931)
