Smilin' Through (1932)

The adoptive father of a young woman is horrified to learn she plans to marry the son of the man who accidentally killed her aunt years before.

Director:

Sidney Franklin

Writers:

Jane Cowl (play), Jane Murfin (play)

Stars:

Norma Shearer, Fredric March, Leslie Howard

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Norma Shearer	...	Kathleen / Moonyeen Clare
Fredric March	...	Kenneth Wayne / Jeremy Wayne
Leslie Howard	...	Sir John Carteret
O.P. Heggie	...	Dr. Owen
Ralph Forbes	...	Willie Ainley
Beryl Mercer	...	Mrs. Crouch
Margaret Seddon	...	Ellen
Forrester Harvey	...	Orderly

Storyline

John has led a solitary life for thirty years since the death of Moonyeen Clare. But now Owens, a close friend, insists that he care for his niece, Kathleen, orphaned when her parents were lost at sea. Kathleen is five, but the years pass and now she is a young woman who is the image of Moonyeen. Willy wants Kathleen for his wife, but Sparks fly when she meets Kenneth Wayne one dark and stormy night. John is horrified for it was Wayne's father who shot Moonyeen dead on her wedding day and John has never found him or forgiven the family. When Ken goes off to war, John forbids any marriage and Ken agrees, while Kathleen does not. When Ken returns four years later when the war is over, he is crippled. He conceals his condition and makes plans to leave for America.

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Plot Keywords:

romantic rivalry | tragic death | unrequited love | ghost | world war one | 

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Taglines:

Exquisite romance!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 September 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

Con la Sonrisa en los Labios

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$851,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cinematographer Lee Garmes left during production and Charles G. Clarke took over, but did not receive screen credit.

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Goofs

The bulk of the story takes place during the WWI era, 1915-1919, but all of Norma Shearer's clothes, hats, and hairstyles are strictly in the 1932 mode, the year the film was made, a typical practice of the era.

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Quotes

Kathleen: It has been fun, hasn't it?
Kenneth Wayne: Oh, it's been swell!

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Crazy Credits

As M-G-M would later do with "The Wizard of Oz", no mention at all is made of any of the actors having dual roles. Thus, the characters "Moonyeen" and "Jeremy Wayne" are not even mentioned in the credits, although the characters are drastically important to the story.

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Connections

Version of Smilin' Through (1941)

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Soundtracks

Waltz Rose
(uncredited)
Music by J.S. Zamecnik (as Lionel Baxter)

User Reviews

Smiling Through the Years

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