Smilin' Through (1932 film)
Encyclopedia
Smilin' Through is a 1932 MGM film based on the play by Jane Cowl
and Jane Murfin, also named Smilin' Through.
The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture
for 1932. It was adapted from Cowl and Murfin's play by James Bernard Fagan, Donald Ogden Stewart
, Ernest Vajda
and Claudine West. The movie was directed by Sidney Franklin
(who also directed an earlier version in 1922) and starred Norma Shearer
, Fredric March
, Leslie Howard
and Ralph Forbes
.
) is a wealthy man with a huge estate. He was set to marry Moonyeen Clare (Norma Shearer
), but on their wedding day she was accidentally killed during the wedding ceremony by her drunken and jealous ex-fiance Jeremy Wayne (Fredric March
), who actually meant to kill John. John has spent the rest of his life in mourning. However, Moonyeen has kept in touch with him from the next life. He runs the estate, and has a private retreat where he communicates with her spirit.
His close friend Dr. Owens (O.P. Heggie
) tells him of Moonyeen's niece Kathleen, whose parents have drowned at sea. He begs John to adopt the child, and he does. Kathleen is five, but as she grows older she looks exactly like the dead Moonyeen (and is also played by Norma Shearer). Her childhood friend Willie (Ralph Forbes
) wants to marry her, but she is interested in Kenneth Wayne (also played by Fredric March), whom she meets in dangerous and romantic circumstances. However, Kenneth is the son of Jeremy, Moonyeen's killer, who disappeared and was never found.
John refuses to let them marry and threatens to disinherit her. She leaves with Kenneth, but he sends her back again because he doesn't want to ruin her life. However, John has been deeply affected by the events and has lost his ability to communicate with his dead wife, who perceives his anger and hatred as having set up a barrier she can't overcome.
Kenneth signs up for the Army and is gone for four years, returning as a disabled war veteran. He hides his condition, claims he no longer cares for Kathleen, and plans to go to America. John finds out the truth from Dr. Owens. He sees that Kenneth really cares for Kathleen and is not like his wastrel father. He tells Kathleen, and she runs off to tell Kenneth she still cares for him. John sits down to play chess with Dr. Owens, but apparently dozes off. Amused, Dr. Owens leaves him so that he can take his nap. John, however, has actually died, and his spirit now rises to join the awaiting spirit of Moonyeen, just as Kathleen is heard returning with Kenneth. John and Moonyeen are finally reunited in death.
Jane Cowl
Jane Cowl was an American film and stage actress and playwright "notorious for playing lacrymose parts". Actress Jane Russell was named in Cowl's honor.-Biography:...
and Jane Murfin, also named Smilin' Through.
The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
for 1932. It was adapted from Cowl and Murfin's play by James Bernard Fagan, Donald Ogden Stewart
Donald Ogden Stewart
Donald Ogden Stewart was an American author and screenwriter.-Life:His hometown was Columbus, Ohio. He graduated from Yale University, where he became a brother to the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity , in 1916 and was in the Naval Reserves in World War I.After the war he started to write and found...
, Ernest Vajda
Ernest Vajda
Ernest Vajda was a Hungarian actor, playwright and novelist, but is more famous today for his screenplays. He co-wrote the screenplay for the film Smilin' Through , based on the hit play by Jane Cowl and Jane Murfin...
and Claudine West. The movie was directed by Sidney Franklin
Sidney Franklin (director)
Sidney Franklin was an American film director and producer. His brother Chester Franklin also became a director during the silent film era best known for helming the early Technicolor film Toll of the Sea....
(who also directed an earlier version in 1922) and starred Norma Shearer
Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s...
, Fredric March
Fredric March
Fredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
, Leslie Howard
Leslie Howard (actor)
Leslie Howard was an English stage and film actor, director, and producer. Among his best-known roles was Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind and roles in Berkeley Square , Of Human Bondage , The Scarlet Pimpernel , The Petrified Forest , Pygmalion , Intermezzo , Pimpernel Smith...
and Ralph Forbes
Ralph Forbes
rightRalph Forbes was an English actor in the American cinema. He was also a noted stage actor....
.
Synopsis
John Carteret (Leslie HowardLeslie Howard (actor)
Leslie Howard was an English stage and film actor, director, and producer. Among his best-known roles was Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind and roles in Berkeley Square , Of Human Bondage , The Scarlet Pimpernel , The Petrified Forest , Pygmalion , Intermezzo , Pimpernel Smith...
) is a wealthy man with a huge estate. He was set to marry Moonyeen Clare (Norma Shearer
Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s...
), but on their wedding day she was accidentally killed during the wedding ceremony by her drunken and jealous ex-fiance Jeremy Wayne (Fredric March
Fredric March
Fredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
), who actually meant to kill John. John has spent the rest of his life in mourning. However, Moonyeen has kept in touch with him from the next life. He runs the estate, and has a private retreat where he communicates with her spirit.
His close friend Dr. Owens (O.P. Heggie
O.P. Heggie
O.P. Heggie was an Australian film and theatre actor working in the United States.-Theatre:Before becoming a film actor, he appeared in numerous Broadway-theatre productions in New York City, New York.-Film:...
) tells him of Moonyeen's niece Kathleen, whose parents have drowned at sea. He begs John to adopt the child, and he does. Kathleen is five, but as she grows older she looks exactly like the dead Moonyeen (and is also played by Norma Shearer). Her childhood friend Willie (Ralph Forbes
Ralph Forbes
rightRalph Forbes was an English actor in the American cinema. He was also a noted stage actor....
) wants to marry her, but she is interested in Kenneth Wayne (also played by Fredric March), whom she meets in dangerous and romantic circumstances. However, Kenneth is the son of Jeremy, Moonyeen's killer, who disappeared and was never found.
John refuses to let them marry and threatens to disinherit her. She leaves with Kenneth, but he sends her back again because he doesn't want to ruin her life. However, John has been deeply affected by the events and has lost his ability to communicate with his dead wife, who perceives his anger and hatred as having set up a barrier she can't overcome.
Kenneth signs up for the Army and is gone for four years, returning as a disabled war veteran. He hides his condition, claims he no longer cares for Kathleen, and plans to go to America. John finds out the truth from Dr. Owens. He sees that Kenneth really cares for Kathleen and is not like his wastrel father. He tells Kathleen, and she runs off to tell Kenneth she still cares for him. John sits down to play chess with Dr. Owens, but apparently dozes off. Amused, Dr. Owens leaves him so that he can take his nap. John, however, has actually died, and his spirit now rises to join the awaiting spirit of Moonyeen, just as Kathleen is heard returning with Kenneth. John and Moonyeen are finally reunited in death.
Cast
- Norma ShearerNorma ShearerEdith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s...
as Kathleen (credited) / Moonyeen (uncredited) - Fredric MarchFredric MarchFredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
as Kenneth Wayne (credited) / Jeremy Wayne (uncredited) - Leslie HowardLeslie Howard (actor)Leslie Howard was an English stage and film actor, director, and producer. Among his best-known roles was Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind and roles in Berkeley Square , Of Human Bondage , The Scarlet Pimpernel , The Petrified Forest , Pygmalion , Intermezzo , Pimpernel Smith...
as Sir John Carteret - O.P. HeggieO.P. HeggieO.P. Heggie was an Australian film and theatre actor working in the United States.-Theatre:Before becoming a film actor, he appeared in numerous Broadway-theatre productions in New York City, New York.-Film:...
as Dr. Owen - Ralph ForbesRalph ForbesrightRalph Forbes was an English actor in the American cinema. He was also a noted stage actor....
as Willie Ainley - Beryl MercerBeryl MercerBeryl Mercer was a Spanish-born American-based actress of the 1920s and 1930s.Born to British parents in Seville, Beryl Mercer was best-known for her motherly roles in film and regularly appeared as a grandmother or cook or maid in some high profile films...
as Mrs. Crouch - Margaret SeddonMargaret SeddonMargaret Seddon was an American film actress. She appeared in 104 films between 1915 and 1951. She was born in Washington, D.C...
as Ellen, the Maid - Forrester HarveyForrester HarveyForrester Harvey was an Irish-born film actor. He appeared in 117 films between 1922 and 1946, including two films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.He was born in County Cork, Ireland and died in Laguna Beach, California....
as Orderly - Herbert BunstonHerbert BunstonHerbert Bunston was a British stage and screen actor. He is probably best remembered for his role as Dr. John Seward in the Broadway and film versions of Dracula....
as Minister (uncredited) - James Bush as Young Party Guest (uncredited)
- Mary CarlisleMary CarlisleMary Carlisle was an American actress and singer. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she was a star of Hollywood films in the 1930s, having been one of thirteen girls selected as "WAMPAS Baby Stars" in 1932. The archetypal blonde, Mary Carlisle was brought to Hollywood at the age of four by her...
as Young Party Guest (uncredited) - Cora Sue Collins as Young Kathleen (uncredited)
- Claude KingClaude KingClaude King is an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for his million selling 1962 hit, "Wolverton Mountain".-Biography:...
as Richard Clare, Moonyeen's Father (uncredited) - David TorrenceDavid TorrenceDavid Torrence was a Scottish-born film actor. His birth name was David Tayson. He appeared in 104 films between 1913 and 1953. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame....
as Gardener (uncredited)
See also
- Smilin' Through (1922 film)Smilin' Through (1922 film)Smilin' Through is a 1922 silent film based on the 1919 play of the same name, written by Jane Cowl and Jane Murfin . The film starred Norma Talmadge, Harrison Ford, and Wyndham Standing. It was co-written and directed by Sidney Franklin, who also directed the more famous 1932 remake at MGM...
- Smilin' Through (1941 film)Smilin' Through (1941 film)Smilin' Through is a 1941 MGM musical film based on the 1919 play of the same name by Jane Cowl and Jane Murfin.The film was a remake of a previous 1932 version by MGM and was the third and final film version of the play. It starred Jeanette MacDonald, Brian Aherne and Ian Hunter...
- Smilin' Through (play)
- Smilin' Through (song)Smilin' Through (song)"Smilin' Through" is a popular ballad with lyrics and music by Arthur A. Penn.-History:The song "Smilin' Through" was first published in 1919 by M. Witmark and Sons...