Today We Live (1933)

During WWI, two officers, one a pilot and the other in the navy, compete for the same beautiful young woman.

Directors:

Howard Hawks, Richard Rosson

Writers:

William Faulkner (story), Edith Fitzgerald (screenplay),

Stars:

Joan Crawford, Gary Cooper, Robert Young

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joan Crawford	...	Diana
Gary Cooper	...	Bogard
Robert Young	...	Claude
Franchot Tone	...	Ronnie
Roscoe Karns	...	McGinnis
Louise Closser Hale	...	Applegate
Rollo Lloyd	...	Major
Hilda Vaughn	...	Eleanor

Storyline

The two lovers are living together and are not married as they hesitantly explain to her brother. They had made a promise as children to get married when they grew up, but they "didn't wait." It's an important plot point as it drives Cooper's actions when he discovers that Crawford and Young are living in sin.

---

Plot Keywords:

army | pipe smoking | romantic rivalry | presumed dead | torpedo | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 April 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Vida É o Dia de Hoje

Filming Locations:

March Field, Riverside, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$659,710 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Variety reported in its review that director Howard Hawks used footage from the movie Hell's Angels for the big bomber expedition sequence, the main dogfight, and the head-on collision of two airplanes.

---

Goofs

Although the story takes place in England, during the World War I period (1916), 'Joan Crawford''s hairstyles and clothes are all strictly contemporary, including some very striking Adrian creations that were the very trademark of the time and place when it was being filmed (Hollywood, 1933.)

---

Quotes

Bogard: [Concerned about McGinnis' drinking] You better start drinking water.
McGinnis: Water? Water? Have you forgotten the Johnstown Flood? The poor women! The children!

---

Connections

Featured in Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star (2002)

---

Soundtracks

"THE YOUNG OBSERVER"
(uncredited)
Variant of traditional 'My Bonnie'
Lyrics by David Snell
Sung by Roscoe Karns and others

User Reviews

You'll Live Through It

In the one and only film Gary Cooper and Joan Crawford made together, unless you count their joint cameo in It's A Great Feeling, it's one very old fashioned wartime soap opera set in the United Kingdom during World War I and then in France.

Howard Hawks maybe was the wrong director for this film. It might have been better handled by someone like Frank Borzage or George Cukor where they might have made the tender romantic lines believable. I don't think anyone would have believed Joan Crawford as British. Elegant she does look however in those gowns she was famous for in her early films.

Joan shouldn't be blamed for not sounding British. The story involves a mixture of British and American characters. But in checking out the entire cast list, I found only three of them were actually born across the pond and another born in Australia. Where was the fabled Hollywood British colony in this film.?

Gary Cooper is an American aviator who takes over Joan's estate following the death of her father. She's already involved with fellow countryman Robert Young who's in His Majesty's Navy. Also around is her brother Franchot Tone who gives the best performance in the film. As we all know this was Tone's first film with the woman who became his wife in a couple of years.

The romance is pure soap opera with Joan going back and forth from Cooper to Young and back. You know that someone is going to have to do the decent thing. If you're interested you can watch the film for who does.

Courtesy of Hawks's earlier masterpiece and from Mr. Howard Hughes came some nice aerial footage from Hell's Angels. Aviation enthusiasts if there willing to sit through the drama will get a real treat with all the vintage World War I aircraft.

It's too bad Cooper and Crawford did not get something better. Of course Gary later worked with Howard Hawks on Sergeant York and Ball of Fire. Now those are films not to be missed.