Customer Reviews

Smilin Through [VHS]

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I got this movie because I like Fredric March and I also like Norma Shearer. I first saw them together in "The Barrett's of Wimpole Street", where they were just delightful. Neither one disappoint in "Smilin' Through"; if you have never seen March and Shearer work together, you do not know what you are missing. They seemed to be made to play opposite each other; their screen chemistry is obvious and sweet. You can really tell they enjoyed working together; from their very first meeting in the dark, deserted Wayne house, where their eyes meet, you can see the playfulness and "love at first sight" between the characters. Where they are drinking the port and she is telling him the correct way to pronounce "ghastly", the playful sparks are bouncing all over the place. I can't put it into better words except to say they are so sweet in their little love affair and Norma does a great job of expressing her love without being silly or unbelievable. When March has to go to war, you can feel Norma's despair and near hysteria. They kiss goodbye and kiss goodbye and kiss goodbye...four years pass and it's time for him to return home. Norma is at the station waiting for her beloved, dressed in a simple but stunning little outfit. But March never comes out of the train, only Willy, her old beau. March comes later on a later train, and comes out with a bunch of war invalids; as he himself is wounded. He goes to his house,and it so happens Norma sees the lights on and finds him there. She kisses him and kisses him, hugs him and hugs him...it is all so believable; you can feel her joy at being with her beloved again. But he pretends to not want her anymore, saying unkind things and hiding his injury. She leaves crying...but like all 1930's movies (well,most),it has a happy ending. This film is just well done, with a nice romance if you like that sort of thing (and I do), and some good camera work, and of course great acting. Fredric March is one of my favorite actors and he's really swell here, handsome, manly, funloving...Norma is her innocently lovely best, giving many of her famous gazes.Leslie Howard is fine here; I don't care for him much, but here he did a good job. I especially liked him in the little scene with Kathleen (Norma's character) as a little girl. I highly recommend this movie, you won't be disappointed.

This lushly photographed and beautifully acted film is a pure romance, and remains one of the finest films MGM made during the 1930's. Old-fashioned and unabashedly sentimental, this story of love and tragedy repeating itself a generation later would become the model MGM would use successfully for over a decade, until the innocence of the 30's gave way to WWII, and America's romantic view of love began to fade into the sunset.

Lovely Norma Shearer, a fine actress who rivaled Garbo, and was married to great producer Irving Thalberg, graced many of MGM's best productions during this period. She is marvelous in a dual role as Moonyean, and her niece, Kathleen. Fredric March, who was to his generation of actors what Montgomery Clift would become to his, two decades later, is also outstanding in a dual role. The always solid Leslie Howard completes this triangle of love and happiness snatched away tragically, in an instant, but lasting a lifetime.

The graceful and elegant Moonyean (Shearer) was to be married to John Carteret (Howard), who loved her dearly. It is an older and somewhat lost John we see as this film opens, however, his beloved Moonyean trying to reach his spirit and sooth his soul from across that river leading to the netherworld. Murdered at the alter by a jealous suitor, the only thing that has prevented John from letting the bitterness of his ill-fated romance with Moonyean completely destroy him is the arrival of Moonyean's niece, Kathleen, at the age of five. John raises her as his own after the death of Moonyean's sister.

Shearer is subtle and wonderful in contrasting the elegance of Moonyean with the vibrance of the sexy Kathleen, while at the same time her appearance and her fate begin to mirror a tragic past. When Kathleen meets and falls in love with a young soldier named Kenneth (Fredric March), bound for the front in WWI, only his last name can stand in the way of their happiness.

The story is involving and the soft-focus black and white photography adds a richness to the echos of fate being played out. Moonyean must somehow reach John and touch his heart before Kathleen loses her happiness with Kenneth, and John's spirit is so cold he will not be able to join his lover, Moonyean, even in death.

This old-fashioned and sensitive romance fills a void left by modern films, and is a reminder that a love story should be about love. You probably don't own a film of this nature and will certainly want to pick this one up. It is proof there is still a place for both romance, and romantic love in the movies.

Why can't there be movies like this made now? There's a sweetness and decency about old movies that is unsurpassed and this is one of the best.

Norma and Freddie work superbly together here just like they did in The Barretts of Wimpole Street... It's too bad that they didn't do more films together. Norma is the Queen of Gaze and it lends a certain grace and drama to every moment.

The filming was done well also, with several clever cuts and the sparkling dialogue. The running dilemma about proper pronunciation (American vs. British) was quite amusing as well.

I was also glad that Leslie Howard's part was not one which required a lavaflow of poetry and watery intellectualism.

My favourite scene is probably the one in the old Wayne place (say that Southern!) when Ken. and Kath. meet in the presence of wetblanket Wil. - who, by the way, did a superb job in his few onscreen moments... as the guy who just isn't right for Kath.

It seems like there should be a lot I could say about this movie but my mother's probably already said it... so I'll just say see this movie and see it again and again and again. And maybe several more times after that.

*looks out the window* Ghastly weather we're having. I hope the three cows in our front garden will be safe.

Now that you've been warned, by all means, do whatever it takes to see this film.
I first saw Smilin' Through years ago on the big screen at the old Regency theater in NYC; they were sponsoring a retrospective of British and British-themed films. This one was on a double bill with Random Harvest, and I still remember everyone's crying their eyes out at its conclusion--men included (that bill contained a WEALTH of tear-jerking). Stellar performances by the entire cast and a Hollywood-style taste of an England that evaporated at the end of the First World War, this class act of a motion picture is appropriate for the entire family, provided that a box of tissues is available. The old cliche has never been more true: they don't make 'em like this anymore but then, how could they? We haven't any contemporary equivalents of Howard, March, and Shearer. Now, WHERE'S THE DVD? The VHS is mastered from old source material which is crying out for restoration.

If you are fans of Howard, Shearer or March you will love this film. There is no doubt in my mind. Unless, of course, you aren't a romantic at heart! Then you might find it too sentimental or if you are a guy you might think this a womans film. Maybe it is. I'm a woman and I loved it! These three are all favorites of mine and they all did a splendid job of acting! Esp. Fredric March. Does this man ever fail to impress? God, he's amazing in this role! Pay close attention to him in the scene after he gets back from the war and Norma meets him at his fathers empty mansion. So intense!

Anyway, if you like these three actors check this out! You won't be disappointed! It's in my list of favorites now! ;-)

A tender romance to which the star brings a genuine sweetness and sympathy. Made with taste and skill, the picture is at all times delightful; the production is a sensitive and beautiful one replete with exquisite settings and rich photography. The actual plot and "feeling" of this movie reminds me - and more than just a little - of DuMaurier's (George, not his granddaughter, Daphne!) PETER IBBETSON. The 1941 remake with Jeanette MacDonald and Gene Raymond is adequate in a rather artificial way; it lacks the spontaneity, freshness and charm of this first version. Norma Shearer was a far better actress than some of her latter - day detractors are willing to admit. Shearer, who won the AA the previous year for her scintillating performance in THE DIVORCEE, was lovely and affecting as the tragic Moonyean Clare, who, in the year 1868, marries her beloved - played by Howard - only to be met with a strange quirk of fate via her jealous suitor (played by Fredric March). This is one of Norma Shearer's best performances and she looks beautiful in this excellent original film version of the Jane Cowl-Jane Murfin stage play which was first filmed as a silent in 1922 with Norma Talmadge as Moonyean Clare. Leslie Howard is excellent as John Carteret, as is O.P. Heggie (what a name!) but kudos should also be given to Sidney Franklin, whose depthful and discerning directorial style shows Shearer to her best advantage and to the great photographer Lee Garmes (SHANGHAI EXPRESS) for his ethereally inspired cinematography.

The 1932 version of "Smilin' Through", starring Norma Shearer, Fredric March and Leslie Howard is what old style Hollywood romance is all about. This stories innocent grace and purity of intention is something which is sadly lacking in modern pictures which is a pity as it gives this particular film an almost uniquely surreal appeal that is hard to define. Despite the First World War featuring in the story, time and place take a definite back seat in the proceedings to the two generations of people who experience love and loss and all that goes with them. Indeed it is hard to really date the film as the settings, in particular the wild garden where much of the action takes place have a strange "other world" feel about them that links the story with no place anyone would really be able to identify.

Chosen as Norma Shearer's big 1932 release,"Smilin' Through" had already been a smashing success on screen for another famous Norma ,....Talmadge who starred in an earlier version in 1922. It marked a distinct change of pace for Norma Shearer from her earlier "women of the world", performances in films such as "A Free Soul", and "The Divorcee". A totally underrated and sadly a largely forgotten actress today Norma Shearer here reveals just what she is capable of in a dramatic performance as she plays the dual role of Moonyeen, the tragic fiancee of Leslie Howard's Sir John Carteret who is killed on her wedding day by a drunken and jealous ex love Jeremy Wayne (March), and his own niece Kathleen who grows up in Sir John's house and who in turn falls in love with Kenneth Wayne the son of Moonyeen's killer. "Smilin' Through", deals with the interactions of the two generations of characters as the reclusive and embittered Sir John angrily rejects any acceptance of the fact that the son of the man who ruined his personal happiness all those years ago is now in love with his precious niece who is his whole reason for living. It takes many trials and an almost total estrangement between Kathleen and Sir John, conducted while Kenneth is off in the armed forces before Sir John finally sees the futility of a lost and unfulfilled love and decides to put aside the past so as not to ruin Kathleen's chance at happiness. He finally gives Kenneth and Kathleen his blessing and finds that he also is now at peace with those around him including his patient and loving friend Willie Ainley (Ralph Forbes). This acceptance of the value of true love over hate is also the solution to his own unhappy life as it finally releases him from the sad life he has been living and allows him to regain the great love of his life as the spirit of Moonyeen appears to escort him to the hereafter.

This strong fantasy element to the story is the whole basis for the beautiful appeal of "Smilin' Through". Norma Shearer is equally appealing as the spirit of Moonyeen and young Kathleen and she is matched all the way by talented Fredric March in the dual roles of the drunken Jeremy Wayne and as his earnest young son Kenneth who lives under the cloud of his father's terrible deed. Leslie Howard has rarely been better than in his role of the embittered Sir John Carteret and alot of the mannerisms of his other 1930's roles are absent here as he delivers a strong, totally believable performance. The settings of the story as mentioned earlier play a strong part in conveying the "other world", atmosphere of this story. Very few people are in the cast and the main settings of the story whether they be Sir John's wild garden, or the abandoned Wayne mansion where Kenneth and Kathleen first meet help give it a strange feel that removes this love story and it's characters from anything the audience would really know. Even World War 1 is dealt with in the story from a distance as illustrated in the rattling window panes in both the house and the coffee shop where Kathleeen and Kenneth meet. It is as though any real world activities are a long way away and that keeps "Smilin' Through", on a different plain than other wartime love stories of that period or any other.

Possibly viewed by many as very sentimental and unreal I find "Smilin' Through", a beautifully constructed story about lost love and the effect one generation has on the actions and emotions of another. The sterling performances by the leads make this a memorable effort from MGM in the early 1930's and I feel it contains some of the best work done by Norma Shearer during this period. All lovers of true romance could not help but be moved by this at times tragic and often arresting story and the fantasy element of lost loves watching over their still earth bound partners is guaranteed to move you. I highly recommend you spend some time with this great story and see how romance was handled back when Hollywood still had a real heart for such things.

Smilin' Through is the story of a man who was engaged to be married but lost his fiancée the day of the wedding. Leslie Howard plays this troubled man who lives for the day of his death just so that he may be reunited with his love. However, one day Norma Shearer's character comes to his home, his parentless niece needing someone to care for her. He takes her in and grows very fond and protective of her. On a stormy night, she and a friend who wants to be her beau stumble upon a house that hasn't been lived in for 50 years, right around the time of her uncle's fiancée's death. In comes the son of the owner, a dashing young man played by Frederich March. He catches Shearer's eye and the two begin to fall in love. When Shearer tells her uncle, he becomes quite disturbed and tells her the story of his fiancée. It seems that March's father was a jealous man in love with Howard's love; he shot her in a fit of rage on her wedding day and left her to die. Shearer promises never to see March again despite the fact that she loves him. March keeps calling on her confused, and Shearer finally sees him to tell him her plight. But she breaks her promise and the two fall even deeper in love until March is sent to war, to almost certain death.

Although Shearer is regarded as a nuisance in most of her films, she is a bright spot and an asset to this film. Her acting is wonderful and not a bit whiney or childish. Her character is vivacious and deeply in love. She looks beautiful as both the niece in 20s garb (although set during WWI) and the fiancée in mid to late 1800s regalia; her love for her characters' two men is devastatingly heartfelt. One wonders whether she sang the title song or not; it sounds dubbed and unlike the voice one would expect from Shearer.

Leslie Howard is wonderful both as the stubborn old man and his younger romantic counterpart. One wonders why he ever thought he was too old for the part of Ashley in Gone With the Wind seven years later; this film proves that he is better with younger parts because of the youthful sparkle behind his eyes. He is charming and beautifully sleek. His aged makeup is at times obviously fake and is a slight hindrance to the believability of the film.

The love story of yesteryear is happy and fun to watch. One particularly adorable moment occurs when Howard leans down to give Shearer a tiny kiss on the nose and she asks for an encore. The couple seems so genuine and blissful dreaming of their future together. This makes it all the more sad when they are parted.

The most wonderful thing about this film is how beautifully it was photographed. The scenery is dazzling, the lighting soft and moody. It was filmed at many unique and artistic angles.

Smilin' Through is Hollywood's ultimate romantic melodrama. The decades-spanning story encompasses a love triange, haunted mansions, young sweethearts, murder, war, separation, ghosts and forgiveness. The film's sublime images of love, frienship and death have never been equaled, and it is surely one of the most artistic productions to emerge from M-G-M's incredible studio.

Long ago, at her wedding to Sir John Carteret, Moonyeen Clare was accidentally shot and killed by her jealous childhood sweetheart Anthony Wayne, who intended to shoot the groom. Now, bitter and alone, Sir John's only comfort comes from sitting near Moonyeen's grave, "talking" to his lost true love. A bright spot arrives in his life in the form of Moonyeen's young orphaned niece, Kathleen, who comes to live with her uncle after the tragic drowning of her mother and father. Slowly, the two become inseparable, and Kathleen grows up to be the spitting image of her long-dead aunt.

One dark and stormy night, Kathleen meets a young American, named Kenneth, who has come to England to fight in the First World War. His father, it turns out, was Anthony Wayne, the jilted suitor who killed her aunt many years before. However, neither Kathleen nor Kenneth know the dark secret of their families' pasts, and the two quickly begin to fall in love.

When Sir John finds out about the budding romance, he is both devastated and outraged. He finally recounts for Kathleen, via a glorious flashback sequence, the tragic events surrounding his would-have-been marriage. Seeing her beloved uncle's grief, Kathleen reluctantly agrees to stop seeing Kenneth. However, with only precious weeks remaining before his imminent departure to the front, Kathleen breaks her promise, and the two eventually continue their clandestine courtship.

There is a great deal more that happens in this unabashedly romantic and magical drama, which is completely compelling from beginning to end. And in addition to the captivating story itself is the brilliant way it is told by the actors and artists who produced the film.

The three stars, Norma Shearer, Fredric March and Leslie Howard, are all pitch-perfect here, giving what may very well be their finest performances. Shearer and March are both required to play dual roles, which is one of the film's finest touches. Shearer plays Kathleen in the film's modern portions and Moonyeen during the flashback sequence. March plays both Anthony Wayne, the drunken, jealous murderer, and his son Kenneth. Howard is equally phenomenal. Although he only gets one character to play, he has the challenge of portraying him at three different stages of his life: When the film starts, he is a middle-aged bachelor suddenly forced to care for an orphaned child. As the film progresses, he ages into an embittered old man stuck in his ways. And during the flashback sequence, he portrays the love-struck, romantic young groom punch drunk on his beautiful bride's charms. In quite a memorable supporting performance as Sir John's lifelong friend Doctor Owen, O.P. Heggie creates a loyal and supporting companion.

Sidney Franklin, the director, shows extraordinary creativity here as well, especially considering that in 1932, most directors set up a stationary camera and let the action unfold before it. There is much fluidity, very clever touches and stunning use of light and shadows. The film's brilliantly evoked atmosphere is also due in large part to Lee Garmes brilliant camerawork, which includes some beautiful examples of double exposure. These all make the film feel very modern, not at all clunky and quite accessible for modern audiences.

As always, Adrian created a stunning array of costumes for Shearer. Cedric Gibbons, M-G-M's resident art director, created the brilliant sets. Margaret Booth's smooth editing is also a fine asset.

Popular upon its release, and nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1932, Smilin' Through ought to be regarded as one of the essential Golden Age romanctic pictures. For some reason, however, the film is largely forgotten and ignored, like many of Shearer's films. It is quite a shame, but for those lucky enough to know this film, it provides endless joy. It is quite a testament to an era of filmmaking the likes of which will never be seen again.

this is one of my very favorite movies! The whole cast is wonderful! Since everyone has already raved about Norma and Frederick's performances, I'm going to rave about Leslie's. There is a scene, in the flashback, where we see the night before the fatal wedding. John and Moonyean sneak away and have a lighthearted, romantic conversation. The dialogue may sound corny coming out of someone else's mouths ( "wouldnt it be wonderful if every time I opened my eyes, you were there?" or "after tonight, there'll be no more partings, no more goodbyes, will there my sweet?") but coming from Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer's mouths, we dont cringe. In fact, we all sincerely go "AW!" he is so adorable in that scene, that when Moonyean is shot, and he is holding her and we see the depths of despair and anguish in his eyes, our heart breaks for him!

He is equally fabulous as the older John- a bitter, yet affectionate uncle who still is haunted by his lost love. One watches this film and believes in it so whole heartedly, that it makes one want to just jump right into the period!

If you enjoy romance, happy endings, and a good tear jerker, then this is it! This movie has comedy, pathos and above all HEART!

enjoy!