Smilin' Through (1932)
It's been over a month, and I'm still not any closer to understanding the origins of the name "Moonyean"
I wish you weren’t so generous, I’ve got nothing left to wish for.
Smilin’ Through (1932) - watched 11/9/24
Director: Sidney Franklin
Writers: Donald Ogden Stewart, Ernest Vajda
Starring: Norma Shearer, Fredric March, Leslie Howard
Available to watch on most platforms to rent or buy
First Time Watch? Yes
It’s the holidays, and you know what that means… ‘tis the season for star-crossed lovers and murder!
Truthfully, I did want to time this a little better so that I’d be reviewing my absolute favorite Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, in time for the holidays, but alas, that was far too ambitious of a goal for me. I started this newsletter on July 1, 2024. So that means I would have had to watch and review one of these movies roughly every other day in order to get to It’s a Wonderful Life in time for Christmas. And look, I’m already pretty prone to burnout. That would have simply been too cuckoo bonkers bananas for me. To anyone who has that level of ambition and discipline… I salute you, I guess, but also you scare me.
I guess I can at least take some comfort in the fact that 1933’s Little Women was somewhat more timely, although now I wish I had held onto that review a little longer so that my average reader could soak in my takes on the cozy snowy American classic in a proper cozy snowy maybe-American-maybe-not setting. Ah, well. I can always plan better for 2019’s Oscars!
Despite the lack of holiday content I’ve provided here, rest assured I have been fully indulging in all of my favorite annual Christmas movie traditions. The Muppet Christmas Carol? Watched. Home Alone? Watched, with #2 on the way. The Family Stone? Watched it twice, like the sick freak that I am. The Holdovers? You better believe I watched it and cried!!
And while normally tradition dictates that I watch It’s a Wonderful Life exactly on Christmas Eve and not a day sooner, this year since I’ll be traveling out of town, I’m instead going to take the opportunity to screen my favorite holiday movie at my favorite movie theater in Los Angeles, which I must say will probably become my favored way of watching it from now on.
Tonight is the last night we’ll ever have to say goodbye, isn’t it?
John Carteret (Leslie Howard) is a wealthy, lonely widower, sulking at his dead wife’s grave in his lush backyard garden. His wife, Moonyean1, has been dead for 30 years, murdered on their wedding day by her jealous ex-lover, Jeremy Wayne. John calls out to Moonyean in his grief, and the spirit of Moonyean visits him, telling him that the time will pass quickly, and they will be together again.
John receives word that Moonyean’s young niece, Kathleen, has been orphaned. John adopts her, and we jump 17 years later in time, on Kathleen’s birthday. John tells Kathleen that she bears a resemblance to Moonyean2, which is good because both characters are played by Norma Shearer. But Kathleen otherwise doesn’t know much about her aunt, let alone how exactly she died. Yet again, we see how this era was plagued by stories of families keeping extremely important secrets.
One night, Kathleen goes out with her hopelessly lovelorn friend, Willie (Ralph Forbes) and the two get caught in a nasty storm. They seek shelter in a nearby abandoned mansion, A mansion that happens to belong to Jeremy Wayne, her aunt’s murderer. They snoop around, and Kathleen finds an old invitation to Moonyean and John’s wedding amongst the dusty artifacts inside. A young man (Fredric March) happens to come to the mansion at the same time that Kathleen and Willie are waiting out the storm. That man is Kenneth Wayne, Jeremy Wayne’s son, who also knows nothing about Moonyean or his father’s crime. Kathleen immediately friend-zones Willie in favor of this handsome stranger, and they hit it off immediately.
Kathleen and Kenneth start a romance, all while the rumbling clouds of World War I loom over them. When John finds out about Kathleen’s relationship with Kenneth, he sits her down in the garden and tells her the story of how Moonyean died. He makes her promise never to see Kenneth again, but she’s already too deeply in love with him, and after initially resisting him, Kathleen begins to meet with Kenneth again in secret.
Because most romance films of this era tend to shake out this way, Kenneth is called to serve in the war. The night before he is due to leave, Kathleen tells John that she intends to marry Kenneth that same night. John is furious, and disowns her on the spot. Kathleen goes to Kenneth to marry him, but knowing the risk of going to war, he doesn’t want Kathleen to become a widow, so he sends her back home without marrying her as promised.
John is, say, less than sympathetic when Kathleen returns home, heartbroken. Moonyean’s spirit comes to him, telling him that if he doesn’t make it right with Kathleen, he’ll never be reunited with his own love.
Kenneth returns at the end of World War I, badly injured. He doesn’t want to be a burden to Kathleen, so he plans to head to America. He tells one of John’s friends, Dr. Owen (O.P. Heggie) his plan, and Owen in turn tells John. Kathleen finds Kenneth back at the Wayne Mansion, where he pretends he no longer loves her. Heartbroken yet again, Kathleen returns home, where John finally lets go of his spiteful anger toward Kenneth and tells Kathleen the truth about Kenneth’s injury and his plans to leave. He tells Kathleen to go to him, and to bring him home.
After Kathleen leaves, John starts a game of chess with Owen. John appears to doze off, and Owen leaves him alone to snooze in peace. But that’s no nap, brother—oh, no. John is freaking dead, you idiot!
John’s spirit, now young again, reunites with Moonyean at last. They watch as Kathleen returns with Kenneth, helping him through the garden, two love stories now able to begin again.
Love’s a disease, isn’t it? Cure her! Cut it out of her!
I went into Smilin’ Through knowing very little about the plot. I think I actively avoided reading anything about it, and then once I turned it on I immediately regretted that decision. This is a movie where I wish I’d known more about what I was getting myself into, because woof, what a depressing watch.
Depending on where you look, the film might be classified as a musical—which is interesting, since I think they sang exactly one song, the titular “Smilin’ Through,” in the whole thing? But considering the perky title and the misguided genre labeling, I thought this was going to be at least marginally more fun, more bouncy, more melodic, more sickeningly sweet, just… more. Instead of a jolly musical romp, I was met with a shrill, miserable melodrama that was honestly quite a slog to get through.
There’s something poetic and lovely about this story—I was very intrigued by the thought of Moonyean being John’s conscience, his guiding compass as he learns to father Kathleen and ultimately let her go be with her true love. And I do feel like the final scene, where John and Moonyean finally reunite, was overall effective, despite the fact that I didn’t feel any sort of connection to John or his love for Moonyean. The way that, over 40 years after Moonyean’s death, John was still devastated and depressed and reclusive and unable to move on… woof. It was less romantic and more disturbing. Grief is a hell of an emotion, and I don’t envy anyone who has lost someone they love to this degree, and to such a violent act. It’s unconscionable, and it’s something I don’t necessarily think I could handle any better than John did. But, sir… you need help!!
Perhaps if I’d gotten to see more of John and Moonyean’s love story, I would feel differently. This is one instance where I don’t necessarily mind more flashback scenes, as I think they could have been useful in establishing Moonyean as a fully realized character rather than just an apparition, forever tied to her status as John’s bride. What did John love about her? What did she love about him? And how, when, why did Jeremy enter the picture? What was that all about? I’ve noticed a pattern with movies from the era, where we don’t get a ton of exposition but are expected as the audience to just… accept things as they are. No, I say!! I need more! Or, at least, if you’re not going to provide more details and really set the scene for me, at least give me chemistry to hang on to, to make me believe what I’m seeing. I didn’t really get either when it came to the relationship between John and Moonyean. As a result, I just kind of saw John as a sad sack and kind of an asshole throughout the film.
I also, as a Norma Shearer stan, was very taken aback by her unbearably shrill performance here. It felt like every other line of hers was screeched or whined. I can feel myself getting a headache just recalling the sound of her voice throughout the movie. I can’t believe this movie had the audacity to make me question my affinity for Norma Shearer! How dare! How very dare!! If Sidney Franklin weren’t already dead, I’d make him pay for this.
That said, Shearer’s moments acting with Fredric March were enjoyable. Now these are a couple of actors with chemistry—it’s clear that Shearer had a better time acting as Kathleen than she did as Moonyean. Shearer and March’s doe-eyed, goo-goo-ga-ga young love for each other felt very real, however hasty and impulsive, and so I was more invested in their love story, which I think is ultimately what the film is meant to achieve, but I still wish I’d felt the same way for John and Moonyean as I did for Kathleen and Kenneth. It’s what keeps a mediocre romance from becoming a sweeping, classic love story.
And, hey, maybe the casting choices could have helped in this department. I understand why Shearer played both Kathleen and Moonyean, to emphasize their resemblance, and to that end I sort of understand why Mach played both Jeremy and Kenneth Wayne. The idea of these two characters having already known each other in some past life is certainly interesting and romantic and it adds an interesting layer to the characters and their immediate draw to one another, but this concept is never explored enough to make the casting matter quite this much. Casting the characters this way makes more sense for a play, but I’m not sure it works as well on film. I can imagine that for Shearer this was especially tough—imagine having to portray an older male character’s niece in most scenes, then having to pivot to playing that same character’s lover? Bit icky when you think about it too much, which of course I have.
Was this the worst Best Picture nominee I’ve seen so far? Far from it. But was it any good? Not particularly! Unlike Moonyean coming down from the damn sky all the time to check in on John, I can’t say I’m eager to ever revisit this or any of the other versions of this story anytime soon.
Is this what they call dying? It’s nothing, isn’t it? — Nothing, dear. And everything.
Quick Facts:
Nominated for one Academy Award, won none
Best Picture
Apparently Norma Shearer was so hot for Fredric March that she acted like a perfectionist so that she could do more and more takes of their romantic scenes together. I love this for her.
The 2nd of three versions adapted from the 1919 play. There was a silent version released in 1922 starring Norma Talmadge, and a musical version in 1941 starring Jeanette MacDonald
Stray Notes:
MoonYEEN??
30 years… damn this dude is GRIEVING
I just love Norma Shearer, ugh
Y’all better get out of that nasty old house…
Oh… he’s hot!
This guy is awfully chill with finding two random strangers in his/his dad’s house
Norma Shearer is such a good flirt!
Willie all hangin’ out in the cuck corner while Kathleen toasts with Mr. Handsome, lol
This generation seems obsessed with keeping secrets from their family members
Leslie Howard is kinda giving me Christopher Guest vibes?
They did a decent job aging up John
Hmm, really thought this would be more upbeat, based on the title!
…Ohhhhh shit!
People were really just fucked before 911 was a thing, before ambulances, before CPR… she totally could’ve survived that tiny little gunshot wound if somebody, literally anybody, tried to help her!!
How did Kenneth not know his dad killed a lady? See? Secrets!!
“Cleveland… that sounds so awfully far away.” lol
Is chess the only thing these old dudes do?
I like the plot a lot but so far the movie isn’t nearly as exciting or engaging as it should be.
“I’d sooner see you dead.” Okay harsh!
This argument that Kenneth & Kathleen are having is annoying honestly
I should’ve counted how many times they say “dear” in this
Saoirse Ronan kinda looks like Norma Shearer? A little bit?
For only being an hour and 38 minutes this thing really draaaaaags
Kinda wish this would wrap UP! I’m not super invested in this love story, unfortunately
The longer this goes on, the less I enjoy it
Okay yes, I love Norma Shearer but this performance is shrill. Was her direction to be as whiny as possible? It’s coming off more desperate and pathetic than any kind of genuine love. I miss flirty Norma!!
This, to me, feels absurd now. They barely know each other! Move on, date around! Stop being so hysterical!
DId he just die?
Pretty cool effect at the end
Overall: Meh!
My Rating: ⭐️⭐½
Next Up: State Fair (1933)
Yeah, I don’t know either.
Yes it drives me crazy that their names rhyme. Is that… the point? Because if so, gross!