Smilin' Through (1932)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Sidney Franklin

Writers:

Jane Cowl (play)
James B. Fagan (dialogue)

Release Date:

24 September 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Exquisite romance!

Plot:

John has lead a solitary life for thirty years since the death of Moonyeen Clare. But now Owens, a close friend...

Plot Keywords:

Guardian | WWI | Ghost | Unrequited Love | Injury

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Norma Shearer	...	Kathleen (credited) / Moonyeen (uncredited)
Fredric March	...	Kenneth Wayne (credited) / Jeremy Wayne (uncredited)
Leslie Howard	...	Sir John Carteret
O.P. Heggie	...	Dr. Owen
Ralph Forbes	...	Willie Ainley
Beryl Mercer	...	Mrs. Crouch
Margaret Seddon	...	Ellen, the Maid
Forrester Harvey	...	Orderly

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Cinematographer Lee Garmes left during production and Charles G. Clarke took over, but did not receive screen credit.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The bulk of the story takes place during the WWI era, 1915-1919, but all of Norma Shearer's clothes, hats, and hairstyles are strictly in the 1932 mode, the year the film was made, a typical practice of the era.

Movie Connections:

Version of Smilin' Through (1941)

Soundtrack:

Smiles

Soaringly triumphant

Sir John (Leslie Howard) is devastated and disgusted as his niece Kathleen (Norma Shearer), a young woman living with him since her parents died in her infancy, falls in love with Kenneth (Fredric March), the son of the man who, in a jealous rage, killed Sir John's bride to be on their wedding day. As Kenneth is about to join his company at the front in World War I, Kathleen is torn between her filial duty towards her uncle and her love for Kenneth.

Sidney Franklin's film is the quintessential tearjerker, one that I have dreamed of watching all my adult life, and tonight I finally managed. Not many films outlast those sorts of expectations, I found recently that 'Sevent Heaven' was relatively feeble-minded, not the film I had been looking forward to.

'Smilin' Through' triumphs though, soaringly so. The film is not only sumptuous in decor and cinematography, but has a real heart and real intelligence. I loved the way that almost every scene takes place in a garden with burgeoning flora, drooping flowers, heavy with romantic regret and sexual portent. One could almost smell the dizzy perfume of the plants. And I admired the way that Sidney Franklin distinguishes so clearly and yet not demonstratively between the way that young love professes itself in the 1860's, the time of John's and Moonyeen's courtship, and the war years with Kathleen's and Ken's romance. Franklin, in his direction, subtly underlines the tender dewy-eyed romanticism of the old days, "misty, water-colored mem'ries" indeed, with Kathleen perpetually wearing her wedding gown, even in her scenes as a ghost. And in the modern story we have an altogether more practical couple, acting in the context of a world war, with the far-away guns and canons sending rumblings through the village, sending windows and panes rattling. Kathleen in the modern story is more earthy and doesn't, in this pre-Code Hollywood picture, disguise how she is longing for her sexual union with Ken: "By the time I'm through with you, you won't be able to fight anyway", she claims.

The acting is a chapter unto itself. I was never a fan of Leslie Howard's, and although it must be said that his part is probably the least interesting in the film, he conveys an endearing boyishness in the 1860's scenes, easy-going and infectious. Fredric March strikes up a marvelous rapport with Norma Shearer, sending off sparks of a loose energy that seem almost improvised, certainly captivating. Their scenes today should even today serve as must-see footage for acting students. March shows glimpses of the impressive character actor he was to become, and Shearer is luminous and entirely lovable, great performances.

The perfect genre piece, destined to give you the most delicious heartache.