AllMovie

Long before actress Dita Parlo was brought to Hollywood as "the new Garbo," she enjoyed a substantial film career in Europe. In Melodies des Herzens (Melody of the Heart), Parlo is cast as Julia Balog, a pretty peasant girl who lands a housemaid's job in the Big City. Swept off her feet by handsome soldier Janos Garas (Willy Fritsch), Julia secretly draws up plans to help him save up enough money to buy a horse -- the first step towards buying a farm. Fired by her employer for "wasting"her time with Janos, Julia gets a singing job at a seedy nightclub. Angered that his sweetheart is being ogled by the dirty old men in the nightclub audience, Janos walks out on her, agreeing to marry the girl picked out for him by his parents. Rather than explain that she was merely working in the nitery to help pay for Janos' horse, Julia tearfully buys the nag on her own, leaves it tethered outside her former boyfriend's house, and heads for the river, intending to end it all. Only the very last scene does the viewer find out if tragedy can be averted.