User Reviews

Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, and Frederic March all shine in "Smilin' Through," from 1932 MGM.

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, Kenneth (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 Kenneth again. His father was John's mortal enemy and rival for Moonyen. John tells her the whole story. Which is a brutal one. Kathleen is very upset and promises not to see Kenneth again, but she can't stay away from him.

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.

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.

Smilin' Through is about a man played by Leslie Howard who must raise his friend's niece because her parents were killed. Howard, who has just lost his wife, reluctantly agrees.

He begins to realize, over the years, that the girl he is raising (Norma Shearer) is very similar in looks to his deceased wife. Because of this fact, he has a strong relationship with her.

One night, Shearer is off with a friend to an abandoned house. They find that someone else is there. The person who was there (Fredric March) is actually the son of the man who killed Howard's wife. And the abandoned house was where March grew up.

Shearer falls for March and when Howard sees this, he becomes jealous. Tensions rise in this excellent "tearjerker." It's only flaw is that it seems to get a bit overlong for what it's trying to tell right at the very end.

All of the three leads are amazing and should have been nominated for Oscars. Sadly, the only nomination it did get was Picture, which it should have won.

I cannot imagine a movie being classier than this one. The lilting mood of the story is felt all the way through the film until its closing moments. The swell of music followed by the appearance of a 'The End' card, like a surrendered afterthought on the screen, make Smilin' Through seem as if MGM meant to deliver a movie on a cloud in 1932. Fredric March and Norma Shearer's conversations have a sense of 'sway' or dance about them. From her refusal to see his soldier off at the train station then following him there in the very next scene to his simple but imploring, "There's a war on, and I'm in it!", the well-drawn characters demonstrate nobility, humor, and attachment to each other that are poetic in their simplicity. Even an elderly man, as painted by Leslie Howard's portrayal, commits his loving then selfish then last surprising acts with grace. Director, Sidney Franklin motions us into the fold to experience the drama alongside the characters with his special touches: distant gunfire rattling windows, doors shutting on a church shooting while we wait for them to be reopened to discover how the characters are reacting. No leotards or shades of pink are glimpsed here, but surely we have been to a ballet of sorts.

In England, elderly Leslie Howard (as John Carteret) still mourns the death of blonde-trussed teenager Norma Shearer (as Moonyeen Clare). As we see in a flashback to 1868, Ms. Shearer was shot to death by Mr. Howard's alcoholic rival Fredric March (as Jeremy Wayne) while the two exchanged wedding vows. A flashback to 1898 reveals how Howard adopted five-year-old Cora Sue Collins; in 1915, she grows up to be adult Norma Shearer (as Kathleen Sheridan). Presently, Shearer falls in love at first sight with handsome American traveler Fredric March (as Kenneth "Ken" Wayne). As Mr. March happens to be the son of the man who killed his bride, Howard makes Shearer promise to stay away from their new neighbor...

MGM's box office star, named "Quigley Publications" #6 for 1932, acts giddy and girlish in soft focus. Director Sidney Franklin, who helmed both this and the earlier silent film version, does excellent work with windows.

"Smilin' Through" was originally a tremendous hit for popular stage actress Jane Cowl, who wrote the strongly romantic story with Jane Murfin (using the alias "Allan Langdon Martin"). Ms. Cowl starred in only a couple of silent films, unfortunately. Even worse, the 1922 "Smilin' Through" with Norma Talmadge in the leading roles is not available for viewing. There are prints of this film surviving in the U.S. Library of Congress and the Netherlands Film Museum. It was one of Ms. Talmadge's most successful, winning a "Quigley Publications" honor as 1922's best picture, and should be restored. The Shearer version won the 1932 "Photoplay" award. MGM did it again with less success, in a 1941 musical starring Jeanette MacDonald.

Note this version's unaccredited gardener David Torrence played Howard's pal "Owen" in the 1919 stage version; and, the 1941 version's unaccredited doctor Wyndham Standing played Howard's role in the 1922 silent version.

****** Smilin' Through (9/24/32) Sidney Franklin ~ Norma Shearer, Fredric March, Leslie Howard, O.P. Heggie

A bit of melodramatic claptrap that works pretty well due to a trio of top-notch actors and a lot of classy MGM production values.

Norma Shearer is the orphaned niece who is raised by Leslie Howard. Fredric March is the dashing soldier she falls in love with, but Howard is opposed to the marriage because March's father was responsible for the death of Howard's wife. That wife visits him from time to time as a ghost also played by Shearer. There are a lot of moody scenes set in abandoned houses and lush gardens, and the whole thing has a dreamy atmosphere, enhanced by the blurring of lines between memories of the past and the actual present.

As an aside, I'm always fascinated by the treatment of World War I in films from the 1920s and 30s before anyone knew that World War II would come to dominate the cultural discourse later in the century.

"Smilin' Through" was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar in the 1932-33 award year, a year that saw ten nominees for the top prize. It belongs to a small list of films to receive a Best Picture nomination and no others, something that hasn't happened since 1943 but which is made more possible now that the Academy has gone back to nominating up to ten movies every year.

The full list includes: "The Racket" (1927-28); "The Hollywood Revue of 1929" (1928-29); "East Lynne" (1930-31); "Trader Horn" (1930-31); "Grand Hotel" (1931-32, the only film to actually win); "One Hour with You" (1931-32); "The Smiling Lieutenant" (1931-32); "She Done Him Wrong" (1932-33); "Smilin' Through" (1932-33); "Here Comes the Navy" (1934); "The House of Rothschild" (1934); "Ruggles of Red Gap" (1935); "Libeled Lady" (1936); "Grand Illusion" (1938); "One Foot in Heaven" (1941); "The Ox-Bow Incident" (1943).

Grade: B

Sidney Franklin was perhaps MGM's safest director of the '30s, being handed a series of prestige projects and always bringing an unadventurous classiness to them. This one, from a Jane Cowl Broadway war horse, has two sad love stories in different eras, sumptuous photography, and a small, starry cast. Leslie Howard, forced to spend most of the movie behind unflattering I'm-a-70-year-old makeup, lends it dignity, and Norma Shearer and Fredric March deliver a one-two punch of star quality. She was always a little artificial, a little too love-me, but she did have the individuality that spells 1930s movie star. He was usually excellent, and he is here, infusing his noble-soldier persona with a modern immediacy that's the antithesis of her actressy histrionics. Speaking of actressy, I've never been able to tolerate Beryl Mercer, and she's at her most unforgivable here, but at least it's a small part. It's less arthritic and overproduced than the Jeanette MacDonald remake, and if the ending steals from "Viennese Nights" and presages the MacDonald-Eddy "Maytime" right down to the double exposure, it doesn't ruin a still-affecting love story.

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.

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.

Smilin' Through (1932) : Brief Review -

Two eternal romances explained very well with one of the most tragic scenes of the time. Even though the film is titled Smilin', I believe there was hardly anything to smile at. It was more of a tragic romance for its time, or quite possibly all time. I wasn't aware that one of the biggest conflicts from one of the most popular romances, "Love Affair" (1939)-some people know it because of its remake, "An Affair To Remember" (1957)-was actually taken from this Sidney Franklin flick. Even that goes back in time, as Sidney himself remade his own silent film of 1922. Remember that accident thing from Love Affair? Why Terry couldn't see Michel and had to conceal her disability? Well, that was picked right from here-with a gender switch. Smilin Through has multiple layers to the characters and the love story. If I can say so, it was one of the rare films to have the three leading actors in a double role (Leslie Howard was a single character, but divided into two age groups). The film is about Kathleen, who falls in love with a young soldier, Kenneth, but her uncle, Sir John, forbids her because Kenneth's father killed his soon-to-be bride, Moonyean, on their wedding day. Kathleen still goes on to meet and fall in love with Kenneth before he is sent to War for four years. After his return, Kathleen is devastated by his rude behaviour and mourns her lost love. Now here comes redemption for Uncle John, who has been attempting salvation for years to meet his dead love. The screenplay does a nice trick here, as we see a happy ending and a sad ending coming together and leaving us with mixed feelings. Leslie Howard has played a part that other young fellas might have rejected for pride. He put them all to shame. Norma looks lovely, and Fredric is fine in both roles. Franklin did not have to do much except remove some dated chunks, and he did exactly that. A big triumph for a remake, and what a tragic cobweb of love stories it was for its time.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

One of the most wonderful romances to have come from Hollywood in the 30s, Smilin Through stars three legendary actors- Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard and the gorgeous and talented Fredric March- with and without moustache! Also wearing uniform!! If that doesn't make you want to run out and buy all available copies of Smilin Through, you may want to check your pulse. You'll love it, as long as you aren't a cold-hearted beast. Its the cat's mieow. So put on the kettle for some mighty good tea, settle back with Mrs Crouch's sinkers and dumplings and maybe a slender cookie or two, and watch this fabulous romantic movie right now. 100 out of 10!

(1932) Smilin' Through ROMANTIC DRAMA

Adapted from a play by Jane Cowl and Jane Murfin, starring veteran actors Leslie Howard as Sir John Carteret and Norma Shearer whose playing two roles- one, as Moonyean Clare and the other Moonyean's niece, Katherine. Set up is identical to "Wuthering Heights" where the movie has Moonyean Claire and John Carteret slated to be married, and are very much in love. Invoking an accidental shooting involving a third party Jeremy Wayne played by Fredric March ,whose also playing dual roles, Jeremy as the one who accidentally shot and killed Kathleen as a result. Before Kathleen died, it just so happens that she also have a niece whose now a orphan, and Sir John is chosen to be her guardian. Jump to many years later and the third party named Jeremy, the one who accidentally shot and killed Moonyeen also happens to have a son and is coincidentally the same age as the niece, and his name is Kenneth, who even looks identically like his father. Both he and Moonyeen are in love with each other, except that John cannot does not want to give any consent to her marrying him at all for he cannot forgive, nor forget the son of the father who destroyed his love life. Aforementioned, I thought that the movie's set up is somewhat identical to "Wuthering Heights" since Sir John Carteret (Leslie Howard) passionate obsession towards his forever love interest, Moonyean (Norma Shearer) over clouds his judgement, which involves other parties that have nothing to with it. Also similar are the pain and animosity felt from John, as well as Kathleen's ghostly figure image is shown throughout the film to inspire him to do the right thing. This is also the second of three versions that were remade- the others were in 1922 and on 1941. And although I thought the movie still has it's moments, it's still be labelled as not relevant, if it were released by today's standards.

I love a good romantic film, I cannot for example think of anything more moving than the 1939 version of WUTHERING HEIGHTS and so looked forward to seeing this. What a disappointment - this is just awful. I felt I needed some extra insulin to absorb all this sugar-coated nicey, nicey niceness being vomited at me from the screen.

This was actually an absolutely massive hit in 1933 and so in fact was the original back in 1922. These were both times of hardship so maybe unsophisticated gushing sentimental garbage like this was what was needed then? But maybe not - fortunately most films in 1933 weren't like this.

What's it about? Obviously just after the Great War, which is when this was originally written, themes like: love is eternal, love can survive death, we will meet the ones we've lost again were in vogue. From Shakespeare to Hollywood's TITANIC or Bollywood's OM SHANTI OM, these tropes pepper all our films but usually with more substance than with this. This defines the phrase 'style without substance,' it looks nice but that's all you can say about it.

MGM clearly spent a lot of money on making it look good but the story, the dialogue and the acting is all horrible. The script consists of that annoying, theatrical, made-up way of speaking which Hollywood thought English people all spoke at the start of the twentieth century - we were all frightfully poetic and erudite back then weren't we! It all sounds so unnatural. There seemed to be quite a few writers contributing to this - I think they must have been challenging each other to see who could write most nauseatingly.

Sidney Franklin directed this. He did PRIVATE LIVES the previous year - a film which is actually even worse than this - so, he's a name to watch out for and avoid! Ultimate responsibility for this film's "nice" style this rests with Mr Thalberg but since it made a lot of money, he clearly did his job. As a piece of cinema however then Sidney Franklin has not done a good job. Visually it looks good or rather it looks nice, but his actors are terrible. These are three top A-list actors but you'd never guess from watching this. Leslie Howard doesn't seem to want to be there, Frederick March is acting like a TV weatherman doing his first Christmas pantomime and Norma Shearer has forgotten that she's a movie actress. Norma Shearer is especially disappointing because when she's good she's amazing. Her role for example in A FREE SOUL made the previous year is electrifying. Her genius managed to create the most sensuous portrayal of sexual awakening and latent yearning ever seen on screen but she doesn't seem like the same person in this. None of that nuanced stuff here, no twinkle in the eyes with this.

This is the sort of film people who don't like old films would give as an example of why old films are rubbish. If they showed this to someone who had never seen a film from the 1930s before they would never do so again.

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!

I saw this film at the Egyptian Theater in Sioux Falls, SD when I was 7 yrs. old. I can still remember the shooting scene. I cried all the way home. I just watched it today and cried all over again! I didn't realize 'til today what a wonderful actress Norma Shearer was. The photography was great, better than I remember 30's movies being. The chemistry between Norma and Frederic was superb. And ,of course, Leslie Howard always gives a stellar performance. I haven't seen the re-makes, but can't imagine that they could improve upon it. I'm saving this movie for my daughter to see so she can appreciate a fine film from the past, one with an everlasting theme and a great story.

I found this film unbearably corny and dated, even for the period. Norma Shearer never impressed me when she played any sort of a period or costume role, as she became too self-aware and phony. Some actresses, Garbo for one, could slip in and out of costume dramas and more modern roles with believability, but not Norma. The only times I found her to be natural were in her early roles as a young actress when she wasn't playing Mrs. Thalberg.

This one was just a little too old-fashioned and sentimental for my tastes. I had hoped for more, for a pre-code film.

Leslie Howard is generally good in anything he does, and he performs well enough here. But I don't feel a whole lot of chemistry between the pair. And maybe it is the black and white format, but in the portions where Norma is in the blond role, her hair looks more gray than blond, which ages her.

I guess I am not a softy...sorry, I don't mean to be harsh, but just did not like this one very much.

A big hit at the time of it's release, it was nominated for an Academy Award for best picture of that year. It still holds up, thanks to the timeless performance of Norma Shearer.

What a charming film this is. It's definitely for the lover of romance, and if that's the type of film you like, this one is easy to love – it has one strong scene after another, great acting, and that wonderful feeling of how magical, strong, and yet fragile love can be. Norma Shearer's character has been raised by her uncle (Leslie Howard) after being orphaned as a child. Howard himself has suffered the loss of his wife on his wedding day, and has been pining for her ever since. One evening while Shearer is taking shelter in an old mansion with her boyfriend (Ralph Forbes) during a thunderstorm, she happens to meet another man (Frederic March), and the two are instantly drawn to one another. Things get complicated when it's revealed that March's father (also played by March) was the one who caused the death of Howard's wife (also played by Shearer). Also threatening things is March being scheduled to go off to war.

I loved the way the story was told, with a flashback, so that it was a bit like a movie within a movie. It also felt like love playing out across generations, and recurring, with all the same depth of feeling. Some of the scenes evoke a sentimental or poignant feeling – in the cemetery, remembering love lost – and others evoke that wonderful feeling of falling in love. The mansion scene, with that delicious ambiance of cobwebs, a fire, an old portrait, and with Shearer and March toasting one another after he finds an old bottle of port, is fantastic. "Any old port in a storm," he quips. The two have such chemistry together. Their bike ride and time in the teahouse is also sweet, after he had essentially admitted to stalking her ("you're a window-peeper", she teases). Towards the end of that scene Shearer says, almost breathlessly, "Love is ... something you feel. It just happens. You can't do anything about it. If I loved somebody, I'd love him forever", as the camera dissolves on the old woman who has fallen asleep.

I'm usually not big on Leslie Howard, but he was great too, and his scenes with the other character Shearer played were wonderful. He says to her "Wouldn't it be marvelous if every time I opened my eyes for the rest of my life, you were there?" She says: "I will be." And he says: "And always as beautiful as you are tonight?", the last bit echoing March's toast in the mansion. It's all the more touching seeing these kinds of scenes in an old movie where the actors have all passed away, but are captured in these moments, so ephemeral and fleeting, and yet with feeling so strong and dramatic.

Shearer's character's personality is a romantic, and the plot allows her to express her love with such urgency, because March is going away. It is reserved and proper, with almost all of the characters (except March's father / evil March and his drinking problem) having a sense of decorum and grace, and yet these two are allowed to express their love so freely and fiercely ... it's a great combination. As she says when he's going away, "It's no use, I'll always love him. I'm just that sort of a fool. I have no pride", any hopeless romantic can identify.

March's dual role may remind you a bit of his role in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (though this is of course two characters), and as the film plays out, you may also be reminded of "An Affair to Remember". There is real angst here, from those whose love is unrequited for reasons that simply can't be explained – love happens or it doesn't – to those who suffer tragedy. When Shearer and March must part, she says with real passion, "I'm yours and you're mine; I want that to be true before you go" implying marriage and sex, but he demurs, torn.

And yet, how magical it is; the eyes, the smiles, the banter, the embraces. This would be a great movie to curl up in front of with someone you love.

This film is a great Classic love story with Norma Shearer,(Kathleen),"Let Us Be Gay",30, who gives an outstanding acting performance along with Leslie Howard,(Sir John Carteret),"The Petrified Forest",'36, who carries with him a very painful experience through out his entire life which effects his body and soul. Fedric March,(Kenneth Wayne),"The Iceman Cometh",'73, falls in love with Kathleen and finds out that he is not very welcomed by Sir John Carteret. The story has many twists and turns and there are moments when you begin to wonder just how this love story will ever end. The ending is quite surprising and does bring plenty of tears for those who have tender hearts and love a good ending.

In this film, window peeping is a perfectly acceptable part of the early stages of a relationship between 2 people. Indeed, Norma Shearer (Kathleen) seems impressed with the night-time activities of Fredric March (Ken). Ha Ha. The police will have you in jail these days. The film begins with Leslie Howard (Sir John) lamenting the death of his bride Norma Shearer (Moonyeen) many years ago. She appears to him as a ghost to re-assure him that they will always be together. The main storyline emerges with the arrival of Fredric March in what seems to be an abandoned house where Shearer (playing Kathleen) and her suitor Ralph Forbes (Willie) have taken shelter from a storm. It is the spark between March and Shearer that drives the remainder of the story alongside the addition of a secret that is preventing their love from being allowed to blossom.

This film has all three of the main characters playing double roles. Norma Shearer plays both the bride who died and the main character looking for love in the present day; Fredric March plays both the young man looking to enlist in the First World War as well as his father (Jeremy); whilst Leslie Howard plays his character as both an older man and a younger man. The reason for the double roles is that a crucial segment of the film is played in flashback to an earlier time in history - a generation before.

The cast are all good, the story is mysterious, intriguing and keeps you watching and if you are a romantic, then this film is for you. You'll want to cry in places and it has an ending that will remind you of the Ghost and Mrs Muir (1947) although this film obviously did it first. Love conquers all.