Artivels Undescribable Perfection

GazerRise Fantastic!

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

blanche-2 Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, and Frederic March all shine in "Smilin' Through," from 1932 MGM.The story takes place during the latter part of the 19th Century. It concerns an old man, John (Howard) who has been alone since the death of his fiancé, Moonyen Clare. He sits near her grave often, imagining at times that he can hear her. When a close friend prevails upon him to take in Moonyeen's niece, at first he refuses, and then relents after he meets the child, Kathleen.Kathleen grows into Norma Shearer and remains close to her uncle. Everyone expects her to marry a young man, Willy. One night, she and Willy are caught in a rainstorm and find shelter in an old house. A man, John (March) enters; it was his father's house. He and Kathleen are instantly attracted to one another. When John finds out about the romance, he has a violent reaction and insists that Kathleen never see John again. She says yes, but she can't stay away from him. When John is about to go into the service during World War I, she decides to tell John the truth and marry Robert.What a beautiful, well-acted film. Some of it may seem overly dramatic, but it's a touching story about eternal love, and how those we love are always with us somehow.Really needed a box of tissues for this one. Highly recommended.

MartinHafer This is a wonderful old-time romantic film, though sadly it's been pretty much forgotten today. It's a real shame, because this is one of the best romantic movies of the 1930s--one that should be remembered.The film begins with Sir John Carteret (Leslie Howard) living all alone in his British mansion. He's been alone there with his memories for decades, though why exactly he lives this life of seclusion isn't totally clear. You know that his lady love, Moonyeen (now THAT'S an odd name), had died many years earlier and that he's been pining for her all along. Well, into this morgue-like life appears an old friend, Dr. Owen. Owen is there to tell Carteret that the niece of his dead love is now an orphan and in need of a home--and he brings the child to Carteret to be raised.Years have passed and now this child is a vivacious 22 year-old, Kathleen (Norma Shearer). She and her adopted father are quite happy and fortunately Carteret is less melancholy. Having Kathleen to raise has obviously lifted his spirits. That is, until Kathleen meets Kenneth Wayne (Frederic March). They fall almost instantly in love and everything seems great until Carteret learns of this. Then he reluctantly tells her a sad tale that he's kept to himself all these years. You finally learn what happened to Moonyeen. It seems that on her wedding day with Carteret, a jealous suitor (Kenneth's father) stormed into the wedding and tried to kill Carteret--accidentally killing Moonyeen in the process!! His bitterness about this understandably demands that Kathleen break off her relationship with Kenneth once and for all.Unfortunately, while she and Kenneth tried to call it quits, they were just too much in love. Try as they might, they couldn't ignore that they were head over heels in love. However, Carteret was determined to destroy this relationship at all cost--as he NEVER could forgive Kenneth for his father's heinous act. Where the story goes from there, you'll just have to see for yourself. It becomes a lot more complicated--particularly when Kenneth goes off to war. See this wonderful film for yourself to see how it all unfolds.There are a few silly clichés that prevent it from earning a 10, though this is still an amazing film. Having Moonyeen and Kathleen as well as Kenneth and his father played by the same actors was a silly but accepted cliché back in 1932. While the idea of a son looking exactly like his father is silly, having Kathleen look almost exactly like her aunt is even more ridiculous. Plus, having no British accent whatsoever for Kenneth's dad was also pretty silly (you could understand this with Kenneth, as he was raised in America).As to what there is to like, where do I begin? The film has such a luminous and romantic quality about it start to finish, I just couldn't get over it. Only MGM could have done such a perfect looking film during this era. Shearer is magnificent--and it might just be her best film (even better than THE WOMEN) and Howard and March are also quite good. The characters are lovely--very complex and tender. You just can't help but find yourself sucked into the film--so be sure to have a box of Kleenex nearby. An amazing film.By the way, towards the end, you can sure see that one of the plot twists was later reused in the great love story LOVE AFFAIR (with Iren Dunne and Charles Boyer, 1939) as well as in LOVE AFFAIR's remake, AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER. Wow. Think about seeing LOVE AFFAIR followed by SMILIN' THROUGH--now that would be a terrific double-bill.

badgersdrift I can't add much to the raves already posted. The first song I remember my mother singing to me was "Smiling Through" ("But through all the long years, when the clouds brought their tears, those two eyes of blue came smiling through at me"), and she'd tell me the movie's story. I taught the song to my children and grandchildren, but until recent years there was no way to get a copy of the movie.I thought I wanted the Jeannette MacDonald version because of her beautiful voice, but it was back ordered and only this one was available--lucky for me. It seems to be everyone's favorite of the three.The wedding scene is a masterpiece--understated and heartbreaking, but I'm finally able to handle it. It's that very last scene that gets me every time. Best kind of tears, though: the kind you're "smiling through".Norma Shearer, like Irene Dunne, is not only beautiful to look at but irresistibly likable.

silenceisgolden I just can't tell you how much I adore this film! It was superb in every way! Norma Shearer and Fredric March were wonderful together, the chemistry between these two can be felt, it burns right through the tv screen! I'm not kidding! ;-) It's just lovely, you care about these two, you want them to be together and be happy! That's a sign of good acting on their parts! Leslie Howard is excellent too, don't get me wrong. He just can't beat Fred! Oh Fred Fred Fred! Yes, I like him! Is it obvious? ;-) He's just the most amazing actor! I'm definitely going to buy The Barretts of Wimpole Street now because I think anything with Shearer and March together is worth my money! Or someone elses! ;-)Oh, and Fred and Norma kiss an awful lot too! Lucky gal! haha!