Peter Ibbetson
Encyclopedia
Peter Ibbetson is an American
black-and-white
drama film
released in 1935
and directed by Henry Hathaway
.
The picture is based on a novel by George du Maurier
, first published in 1891. In 1917, du Maurier's story was adapted into a very successful Broadway play starring John Barrymore
, Lionel Barrymore
, Constance Collier
and Laura Hope Crews
. The story had also been filmed in 1921, as a silent film called Forever (1921), directed by George Fitzmaurice
and starring the popular Wallace Reid
.
This tale of a love that transcends all obstacles relates the story of two young lovers who are separated in childhood and then drawn together by destiny years later. Even though they are separated in the real life because of a murder, they can be together for years in the dream until one day she does not appear any more because of her death. The movie's transitions between reality and fantasy are captured by the cinematography of Charles Lang
, as discussed in the documentary Visions of Light
(1992).
"So ended the first chapter in the strange foreshadowed life of Peter Ibbetson."
Now an adult Englishman, Ibbetson (Gary Cooper
) is an architect
working in Yorkshire on a restoration job for the British
Duke of Towers (John Halliday
). He falls in love with Mary, Duchess of Towers (Ann Harding
), and she with him. When the duke discovers this, he callously demands they explain themselves. Peter then realizes that Mary is his childhood sweetheart. All these years, Mary has kept, in the dresser beside her bed, the dress she wore at their last childhood meeting.
The Duke becomes jealous and pulls a gun on Ibbetson. Ibbetson manages to kill the Duke in self-defense.
"So Death ended the second chapter. And then, in a prison on the bleak English moors..."
Ibbetson is sentenced to life in prison, and despairs that he will never see Mary again. However, the lovers are reunited in one another's dreams, which connect them spiritually. Peter can leave prison to join Mary in sunlit glades and meadows, but only in his slumbers.
"...and so, many years went by."
Though the years pass, Peter and Mary remain youthful in their dreams. Mary eventually dies of old age, but she goes to her usual dream rendezvous one last time and speaks to Peter from beyond. Then Peter joins her there.
, who liked Henry Hathaway's adaptation of the novel on film, his direction, and the acting. He wrote: "Mr. Hathaway bridges the spiritual gulfs between that rousing super-Western and the fragile dream world of du Maurier's sentimental classic with astonishing success. With his directness and his hearty masculine qualities, he skillfully escapes all the lush pitfalls of the plot and gives it a tenderness that is always gallant instead of merely soft. The photoplay, though it scarcely is a dramatic thunderbolt, possesses a luminous beauty and a sensitive charm that make it attractive and moving. Under Mr. Hathaway's management Miss Ann Harding, who has been losing prestige lately, gives her finest performance, while Gary Cooper fits into the picture with unexpected success."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
released in 1935
1935 in film
-Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...
and directed by Henry Hathaway
Henry Hathaway
Henry Hathaway was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring John Wayne.-Background:...
.
The picture is based on a novel by George du Maurier
George du Maurier
George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier was a French-born British cartoonist and author, known for his cartoons in Punch and also for his novel Trilby. He was the father of actor Gerald du Maurier and grandfather of the writers Angela du Maurier and Dame Daphne du Maurier...
, first published in 1891. In 1917, du Maurier's story was adapted into a very successful Broadway play starring John Barrymore
John Barrymore
John Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
, Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen and radio. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul...
, Constance Collier
Constance Collier
Constance Collier was an English film actress and acting coach.-Life and career:Born Laura Constance Hardie, in Windsor, Berkshire, Collier made her stage debut at the age of 3, when she played Fairy Peasblossom in A Midsummer's Night Dream...
and Laura Hope Crews
Laura Hope Crews
Laura Hope Crews was a leading actress of the American stage in the first decades of the 20th century who is best remembered today for her later work as a character actress in motion pictures of the 1930s...
. The story had also been filmed in 1921, as a silent film called Forever (1921), directed by George Fitzmaurice
George Fitzmaurice
George Fitzmaurice was a film director and producer. Fitzmaurice's career first started as a set designer on stage...
and starring the popular Wallace Reid
Wallace Reid
Wallace Reid was an actor in silent film referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover".-Early life:Born William Wallace Reid in St...
.
This tale of a love that transcends all obstacles relates the story of two young lovers who are separated in childhood and then drawn together by destiny years later. Even though they are separated in the real life because of a murder, they can be together for years in the dream until one day she does not appear any more because of her death. The movie's transitions between reality and fantasy are captured by the cinematography of Charles Lang
Charles Lang
Charles Bryant Lang, Jr., A.S.C. was an American cinematographer.Early in his career he worked with the Akeley camera, a gyroscope-mounted "pancake" camera designed by Carl Akeley for outdoor action shots...
, as discussed in the documentary Visions of Light
Visions of Light
Visions of Light is a 1992 documentary film directed by Arnold Glassman, Todd McCarthy, and Stuart Samuels. The film is also known as Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography....
(1992).
Plot
Gogo is a young boy of English extraction growing up in Paris. He is friendly with the neighbor girl, Mimsey. After his mother dies, Gogo is taken to England by his uncle who gives him an English name based on his mother's maiden name, transforming Gogo into Peter Ibbetson."So ended the first chapter in the strange foreshadowed life of Peter Ibbetson."
Now an adult Englishman, Ibbetson (Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
) is an architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
working in Yorkshire on a restoration job for the British
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Duke of Towers (John Halliday
John Halliday
John Halliday was an American actor of stage and screen, who often played suave aristocrats and foreigners....
). He falls in love with Mary, Duchess of Towers (Ann Harding
Ann Harding
Ann Harding was an American theatre, motion picture, radio, and television actress.-Early years:Born Dorothy Walton Gatley at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, to George G. Gatley and Elizabeth "Bessie" Crabb. The daughter of a career army officer, she traveled often during her early life...
), and she with him. When the duke discovers this, he callously demands they explain themselves. Peter then realizes that Mary is his childhood sweetheart. All these years, Mary has kept, in the dresser beside her bed, the dress she wore at their last childhood meeting.
The Duke becomes jealous and pulls a gun on Ibbetson. Ibbetson manages to kill the Duke in self-defense.
"So Death ended the second chapter. And then, in a prison on the bleak English moors..."
Ibbetson is sentenced to life in prison, and despairs that he will never see Mary again. However, the lovers are reunited in one another's dreams, which connect them spiritually. Peter can leave prison to join Mary in sunlit glades and meadows, but only in his slumbers.
"...and so, many years went by."
Though the years pass, Peter and Mary remain youthful in their dreams. Mary eventually dies of old age, but she goes to her usual dream rendezvous one last time and speaks to Peter from beyond. Then Peter joins her there.
Critical reception
The film was well received by film critics, including Andre Sennwald, in The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, who liked Henry Hathaway's adaptation of the novel on film, his direction, and the acting. He wrote: "Mr. Hathaway bridges the spiritual gulfs between that rousing super-Western and the fragile dream world of du Maurier's sentimental classic with astonishing success. With his directness and his hearty masculine qualities, he skillfully escapes all the lush pitfalls of the plot and gives it a tenderness that is always gallant instead of merely soft. The photoplay, though it scarcely is a dramatic thunderbolt, possesses a luminous beauty and a sensitive charm that make it attractive and moving. Under Mr. Hathaway's management Miss Ann Harding, who has been losing prestige lately, gives her finest performance, while Gary Cooper fits into the picture with unexpected success."
Cast
- Gary CooperGary CooperFrank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
as Peter Ibbetson - Ann HardingAnn HardingAnn Harding was an American theatre, motion picture, radio, and television actress.-Early years:Born Dorothy Walton Gatley at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, to George G. Gatley and Elizabeth "Bessie" Crabb. The daughter of a career army officer, she traveled often during her early life...
as Mary, Duchess of Towers - John HallidayJohn HallidayJohn Halliday was an American actor of stage and screen, who often played suave aristocrats and foreigners....
as The Duke of Towers - Ida LupinoIda LupinoIda Lupino was an English-born film actress and director, and a pioneer among women filmmakers. In her 48-year career, she appeared in 59 films and directed seven others, mostly in the United States. She appeared in serial television programmes 58 times and directed 50 other episodes...
as Agnes - Douglass DumbrilleDouglass DumbrilleDouglass Dumbrille was a Canadian actor and one of the Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood.-Life and career:...
as Col. Forsythe - Virginia WeidlerVirginia WeidlerVirginia Weidler was an American child actress, popular in Hollywood films during the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life and career:...
as Mimsey (Mary, age 6) - Dickie Moore as Gogo (Peter, age 8)
- Doris Lloyd as Mrs. Dorian
- Gilbert EmeryGilbert EmeryGilbert Emery was the stage name of Gilbert Emery Bensley Pottle, an American actor who appeared in over 80 movies from 1921 to his death in 1945.- Early years :...
as Wilkins - Donald MeekDonald MeekDonald Meek was a Scottish-born American character actor. He first worked as a stage actor and later became a film actor, starring in several movies including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Little Miss Broadway, and State Fair. Before becoming an actor, he fought in the Spanish-American War and...
as Mr. Slade - Christian Rub as Major Duquesnois
- Elsa Buchanan as Madame Pasquier
- Marguerite NamaraMarguerite NamaraMarguerite Namara was a classically trained American lyric soprano whose varied career included serious opera, Broadway musicals, film and theater roles, and vocal recitals, and who counted among her lifelong circle of friends and acquaintances many of the leading artistic figures of the first...
(uncredited) as Madame Ginghi - Leonid KinskeyLeonid KinskeyLeonid Kinskey was a Russian-born movie and television actor who enjoyed a long career. Kinskey is best known for his role as Sascha in the film Casablanca ....
(uncredited) as Quarrelsome Prisoner
Awards
Nominations- Academy AwardsAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
: Oscar; Best Original Music ScoreAcademy Award for Original Music ScoreThe Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
, Irvin Talbot (head of departmment); score by Ernst Toch; 1936.
In other media
- An operaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, Peter IbbetsonPeter Ibbetson (opera)Note: This article is about the opera. For the 1935 film of the same name, see Peter Ibbetson.Peter Ibbetson is an opera in three acts by American composer Deems Taylor from a libretto by Constance Collier and Deems Taylor based on the 1891 novel by George du Maurier. Taylor's music is attractive,...
with music by Deems TaylorDeems TaylorJoseph Deems Taylor was a U.S. composer, music critic, and promoter of classical music.-Career:Taylor initially planned to become an architect; however, despite minimal musical training he soon took to music composition. The result was a series of works for orchestra and/or voices...
from a libretto by Constance CollierConstance CollierConstance Collier was an English film actress and acting coach.-Life and career:Born Laura Constance Hardie, in Windsor, Berkshire, Collier made her stage debut at the age of 3, when she played Fairy Peasblossom in A Midsummer's Night Dream...
and Deems Taylor, based on the same 1891 novel by George du MaurierGeorge du MaurierGeorge Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier was a French-born British cartoonist and author, known for his cartoons in Punch and also for his novel Trilby. He was the father of actor Gerald du Maurier and grandfather of the writers Angela du Maurier and Dame Daphne du Maurier...
. It was performed at the Metropolitan OperaMetropolitan OperaThe Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
55 times from 1931 to 1935.
- Orson WellesOrson WellesGeorge Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
' Campbell Playhouse program performed a one-hour radio adaptation, broadcast on CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
on September 10, 1939.
- The musical Dream True, by Ricky Ian GordonRicky Ian GordonRicky Ian Gordon is an American composer of songs, stage musicals and opera. The death of his lover from AIDS inspired Dream True and Orpheus and Euridice...
(music and additional lyrics) and Tina LandauTina LandauTina Landau is an American playwright and theatre director.Born in New York City to film and television producers Edie and Ely Landau, Landau moved with her family to Beverly Hills, California, where she graduated from Beverly Hills High School before attending Yale University, where she directed...
(book and lyrics), is a loose adaptation of the novel, reset in the United States from the 1940s through the 1980s, with a gay subtext (the Peter and Mary characters are both male). It played at the Vineyard TheatreVineyard TheatreThe Vineyard Theatre is an Off-Broadway non-profit theatre company, located at 108 East 15th Street in Manhattan, New York City, near Union Square. Its first production was in 1981...
in New York in 1999. The cast was led by Jeff McCarthyJeff McCarthy-Television:He made guest star appearances on television shows such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Ed, Designing Women, Cheers, Freddy's Nightmares, Matlock, and In the Heat of the Night. McCarthy was the voice of the Chuck Jones' creation, Michigan J. Frog, for the WB television network...
, Daniel Jenkins, and Judy KuhnJudy Kuhn-Life and career:Kuhn was born in New York City and grew up in Bethesda, Maryland. She attended Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C.She entered Oberlin College in 1976. Although she was very interested in singing and theater, she began Oberlin in the College, not the Conservatory. After taking...
.
External links
- Peter Ibbetson at American Movie Classics