O Amor que não Morreu

Smilin' Through is about a man played by Leslie Howard who must raise his friend's niece because her parents were killed. Howard, who has just lost his wife, reluctantly agrees.

He begins to realize, over the years, that the girl he is raising (Norma Shearer) is very similar in looks to his deceased wife. Because of this fact, he has a strong relationship with her.

One night, Shearer is off with a friend to an abandoned house. They find that someone else is there. The person who was there (Fredric March) is actually the son of the man who killed Howard's wife. And the abandoned house was where March grew up.

Shearer falls for March and when Howard sees this, he becomes jealous. Tensions rise in this excellent "tearjerker." It's only flaw is that it seems to get a bit overlong for what it's trying to tell right at the very end.

All of the three leads are amazing and should have been nominated for Oscars. Sadly, the only nomination it did get was Picture, which it should have won.

Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, and Frederic March all shine in "Smilin' Through," from 1932 MGM.

Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, and Frederic March all shine in "Smilin' Through," from 1932 MGM.

The story takes place during the latter part of the 19th Century. It concerns an old man, John (Howard) who has been alone since the death of his fiancé, Moonyen Clare. He sits near her grave often, imagining at times that he can hear her.

When a close friend prevails upon him to take in Moonyeen's niece, at first he refuses, and then relents after he meets the child, Kathleen.

Kathleen grows into Norma Shearer and remains close to her uncle. Everyone expects her to marry a young man, Willy.

One night, she and Willy are caught in a rainstorm and find shelter in an old house. A man, Kenneth (March) enters; it was his father's house. He and Kathleen are instantly attracted to one another.

When John finds out about the romance, he has a violent reaction and insists that Kathleen never see Kenneth again. His father was John's mortal enemy and rival for Moonyen. John tells her the whole story. Which is a brutal one. Kathleen is very upset and promises not to see Kenneth again, but she can't stay away from him.

What a beautiful, well-acted film. Some of it may seem overly dramatic, but it's a touching story about eternal love, and how those we love are always with us somehow.

Really needed a box of tissues for this one. Highly recommended.

What a beautiful, well-acted film. Some of it may seem overly dramatic, but it's a touching story about eternal love, and how those we love are always with us somehow.

Really needed a box of tissues for this one. Highly recommended.

Smilin' Through (1932) : Brief Review -

Two eternal romances explained very well with one of the most tragic scenes of the time. Even though the film is titled Smilin', I believe there was hardly anything to smile at. It was more of a tragic romance for its time, or quite possibly all time. I wasn't aware that one of the biggest conflicts from one of the most popular romances, "Love Affair" (1939)-some people know it because of its remake, "An Affair To Remember" (1957)-was actually taken from this Sidney Franklin flick. Even that goes back in time, as Sidney himself remade his own silent film of 1922. Remember that accident thing from Love Affair? Why Terry couldn't see Michel and had to conceal her disability? Well, that was picked right from here-with a gender switch. Smilin Through has multiple layers to the characters and the love story. If I can say so, it was one of the rare films to have the three leading actors in a double role (Leslie Howard was a single character, but divided into two age groups). The film is about Kathleen, who falls in love with a young soldier, Kenneth, but her uncle, Sir John, forbids her because Kenneth's father killed his soon-to-be bride, Moonyean, on their wedding day. Kathleen still goes on to meet and fall in love with Kenneth before he is sent to War for four years. After his return, Kathleen is devastated by his rude behaviour and mourns her lost love. Now here comes redemption for Uncle John, who has been attempting salvation for years to meet his dead love. The screenplay does a nice trick here, as we see a happy ending and a sad ending coming together and leaving us with mixed feelings. Leslie Howard has played a part that other young fellas might have rejected for pride. He put them all to shame. Norma looks lovely, and Fredric is fine in both roles. Franklin did not have to do much except remove some dated chunks, and he did exactly that. A big triumph for a remake, and what a tragic cobweb of love stories it was for its time.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

One of the most wonderful romances to have come from Hollywood in the 30s, Smilin Through stars three legendary actors- Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard and the gorgeous and talented Fredric March- with and without moustache! Also wearing uniform!! If that doesn't make you want to run out and buy all available copies of Smilin Through, you may want to check your pulse. You'll love it, as long as you aren't a cold-hearted beast. Its the cat's mieow. So put on the kettle for some mighty good tea, settle back with Mrs Crouch's sinkers and dumplings and maybe a slender cookie or two, and watch this fabulous romantic movie right now. 100 out of 10!

What a charming film this is. It's definitely for the lover of romance, and if that's the type of film you like, this one is easy to love – it has one strong scene after another, great acting, and that wonderful feeling of how magical, strong, and yet fragile love can be. Norma Shearer's character has been raised by her uncle (Leslie Howard) after being orphaned as a child. Howard himself has suffered the loss of his wife on his wedding day, and has been pining for her ever since. One evening while Shearer is taking shelter in an old mansion with her boyfriend (Ralph Forbes) during a thunderstorm, she happens to meet another man (Frederic March), and the two are instantly drawn to one another. Things get complicated when it's revealed that March's father (also played by March) was the one who caused the death of Howard's wife (also played by Shearer). Also threatening things is March being scheduled to go off to war.

I loved the way the story was told, with a flashback, so that it was a bit like a movie within a movie. It also felt like love playing out across generations, and recurring, with all the same depth of feeling. Some of the scenes evoke a sentimental or poignant feeling – in the cemetery, remembering love lost – and others evoke that wonderful feeling of falling in love. The mansion scene, with that delicious ambiance of cobwebs, a fire, an old portrait, and with Shearer and March toasting one another after he finds an old bottle of port, is fantastic. "Any old port in a storm," he quips. The two have such chemistry together. Their bike ride and time in the teahouse is also sweet, after he had essentially admitted to stalking her ("you're a window-peeper", she teases). Towards the end of that scene Shearer says, almost breathlessly, "Love is ... something you feel. It just happens. You can't do anything about it. If I loved somebody, I'd love him forever", as the camera dissolves on the old woman who has fallen asleep.

I'm usually not big on Leslie Howard, but he was great too, and his scenes with the other character Shearer played were wonderful. He says to her "Wouldn't it be marvelous if every time I opened my eyes for the rest of my life, you were there?" She says: "I will be." And he says: "And always as beautiful as you are tonight?", the last bit echoing March's toast in the mansion. It's all the more touching seeing these kinds of scenes in an old movie where the actors have all passed away, but are captured in these moments, so ephemeral and fleeting, and yet with feeling so strong and dramatic.

Shearer's character's personality is a romantic, and the plot allows her to express her love with such urgency, because March is going away. It is reserved and proper, with almost all of the characters (except March's father / evil March and his drinking problem) having a sense of decorum and grace, and yet these two are allowed to express their love so freely and fiercely ... it's a great combination. As she says when he's going away, "It's no use, I'll always love him. I'm just that sort of a fool. I have no pride", any hopeless romantic can identify.

March's dual role may remind you a bit of his role in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (though this is of course two characters), and as the film plays out, you may also be reminded of "An Affair to Remember". There is real angst here, from those whose love is unrequited for reasons that simply can't be explained – love happens or it doesn't – to those who suffer tragedy. When Shearer and March must part, she says with real passion, "I'm yours and you're mine; I want that to be true before you go" implying marriage and sex, but he demurs, torn.

And yet, how magical it is; the eyes, the smiles, the banter, the embraces. This would be a great movie to curl up in front of with someone you love.