Surrender (1931 film)

Surrender is a 1931 American PreCode film directed by William K. Howard, written by S.N. Behrman, and starring Warner Baxter, Leila Hyams, Ralph Bellamy, C. Aubrey Smith and Alexander Kirkland. It is based on Axelle, a novel by Pierre Benoit.

Ebbing soon puts Dumaine and the other prisoners to work at the unpleasant task of burial detail. When Dumaine, Fichet and other prisoners escape by overpowering the guards, they break into the Reichendorf castle and take refuge there, but are soon discovered by Axelle and taken back to the prison. One day, after noticing billows of smoke coming from the castle, Dumaine heroically rushes into the castle and puts out a kitchen fire. In gratitude for his valor, Ebbing commissions Dumaine, an electrical engineer by profession, to wire the castle. Dumaines new assignment puts him in close contact with Axelle, and they soon become friends. After one month, Axelle begins to trust Dumaine and suggests that he remove his prison number from his uniform.When news reaches Germany that Dietrich has led his regiment in victorious battle against the French, an end to the war is predicted. Axelle is overjoyed at the news, but Dumaine, whose loyalties still remain with France, is upset. Back at the prison, Dumaines fellow inmates resent Dumaines privileged status at the castle, and plan a breakout without him. Soon after Dietrich returns from the battlefront, he discovers his fiance in the arms of Dumaine, and learns that Ebbing, too, is trying to woo Axelle, so he decides to return to the front. When the jealous Ebbing learns of Dumaines affair with Axelle, he sends the Frenchman to be executed despite Axelles pleas to spare him. Ebbing later has a change of heart, however, and decides to call off the execution. News of the Armistice and the end of the war brings with it orders to suspend all disciplinary action against prisoners of war, and Ebbing, who sees no further use for himself as a military leader, commits suicide. With the battlelines suddenly erased, Dumaine and Axelle resume their romance with a kiss. ........

Source: Wikipedia