Catene del passato

Don't bother comparing this version of an old play with others. This one has Jeanette MacDonald and Brian Aherne and is splendid all on its own. A Word War II era look at the past it resonates with a thousand charming moments. She is lovely and even Gene Raymond charms. I think the special mood of this film may be that all of these faces are gone now and yet with us, part of those of us who watch and feel that vibration of the past lovers, the war in background and the sadness of our loss of that time and those faces, voices, memories. For me a pleasure enhanced with every viewing. A special thank your to Mr. Aherne who will always be a favorite of mine and hopefully others who have watched that expressive and quite beautiful but very masculine face. Definitely recommended.

1932's "Smilin' Through" was one of the best films of its day....delightful and exquisitely produced. However, Hollywood of the 30s and 40s loved to remake films...and so it was inevitable that they'd remake the movie and I just finished watching the 1941 version. Sadly, the remake is in no way superior...and in a few ways it's not up to the original. Of course it's very watchable...the basic story is marvelous. But my recommendation is that you stick with the earlier version.

Instead of discussing the plot as I normally would do, I'll skip it since the film is pretty much identical to the first version. The biggest thing I didn't like about this second version is that because it starred Jeanette MacDonald, MGM insisted it had to be jam-packed with her singing...singing that was unnecessary and tended to drag the film down in the process. It became more of a musical than a romance as a result. Additionally, it makes the same mistake the original did...it used the cliche of having folks playing multiple roles. You are to expect that a man's son is identical to the father in every way...silly of course. But you ALSO are expected to accept that a niece looks completely identical to her aunt...which is way beyond silly.

So my thoughts are that you watch this 1941 version if you must, though you'd be much better off seeing the original and being done with it!

By the way, if you care, the lovers in the film were played by Jeanette MacDonald and Gene Raymond--who were married in real life.

"Smilin' Through" was the only film that Jeanette MacDonald made with her husband, Gene Raymond. He looked so similar to her usual co-star Nelson Eddy that they were often mistaken for one another. Raymond did play leading roles in many 1930s films, but was not a musical star like Nelson Eddy. This film, a remake of a 1932 B/W starring Norma Shearer but this time featuring MacDonald's glorious singing, is an intriguing melodrama in the best sense of the word, and it probably would have been more famous if it did not debut on December 7, 1941. The US movie-going public had other things on their minds that day (and for nearly four years to come). A lush color musical with pacifist overtones was not among them.

Jeanette MacDonald was one of MGM's biggest stars of the 1930's, but by 1941, her glory days were coming to a close. Her last couple of films had not generated all that much excitement from the critics or the box office. So instead of purchasing vehicles for her, they reached into the past and re-made a past hit, which was the 1932 Norma Shearer tear-jerker, "Smilin' Through." This time, they added songs and Technicolor.

It seems to be a general consensus on the board that this version is the inferior of the Norma Shearer-Leslie Howard-Fredric March version previously done by MGM a decade before. Without having seen that one, my guess is that is probably correct because those are all better players.

I was surprised to learn that originally Jeanette was given her choice of leading men as she was in San Francisco and picked Gable and Tracy for their parts. For Smilin' Through she originally had as her choices James Stewart and Robert Taylor. Then both dropped out and Jeanette had to settle for the B team.

The Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy joint biography by Sharon Rich which is the source of that information doesn't say which parts Taylor and Stewart were to play. But it's sure interesting to speculate who was to play John Carteret and who was to play Jeremy/Kenneth Wayne.

So Jeanette did the film with Brian Aherne and her husband Gene Raymond. Smilin' Through created no public demand for a reteaming of Mr.&Mrs. Raymond.

Smilin' Through was written by and starred Jane Cowl on Broadway. Jane, Norma, and Jeanette play Kathleen and her aunt Moonyean. Moonyean was the love of John Carteret and was killed literally at the church altar on her wedding day by a jealous suitor Jeremy Wayne. Years later her niece Kathleen comes to live with her aunt's brokenhearted fiancé Carteret. And wouldn't you know it, she falls in love with Kenneth Wayne, son of the homicidal Jeremy.

One thing though that neither Jane Cowl or Norma Shearer could bring to the dual part was Jeanette MacDonald's soprano. The musical gene was passed down in this family if the homicidal one wasn't passed down in the Wayne family. Jeanette sings some wonderful standards identified with the British Isles like the title song, Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes, The Kerry Dance, There's a Long Long Trail a Winding, and Just a Little Love, a Little Kiss. But my favorite is Land of Hope and Glory sung at a church service here and marched to by thousands of graduating classes on both sides of the Atlantic.

If Jeanette's acting wasn't up to snuff, there wasn't anything wrong with her singing voice. But perhaps maybe only her fans should be looking to watch Smilin' Through.