Romance (1930)

Harry (Elliott Nugent), the grandson of a bishop (Gavin Gordon), wants to marry an actress, but when the bishop finds out, he tries to dissuade Harry by sharing a part of his own life when he was still Rector Tom Armstrong. The bishop tells Harry about falling in love with a prima donna named Rita Cavallini (Greta Garbo). Rita falls in love with Armstrong as well, but eventually confesses that she was the mistress of wealthy Cornelius Van Tuyl (Lewis Stone) until she met Armstrong. After her final performance, Van Tuyl tries to get her to return to him, but she refuses. When Armstrong learns that she saw Van Tuyl, he goes to her and denounces her, but then pleads with her to spend her last night with him. She begs him not to treat her like other men have, and begins praying. Armstrong comes to his senses and leaves, never seeing Rita again. However, the bishop's story does not change Harry's mind about marrying an actress. Later, Armstrong reads about Rita's death in a newspaper.