MartinHafer This is a wonderful old-time romantic film, though sadly it's been pretty much forgotten today. It's a real shame, because this is one of the best romantic movies of the 1930s--one that should be remembered.The film begins with Sir John Carteret (Leslie Howard) living all alone in his British mansion. He's been alone there with his memories for decades, though why exactly he lives this life of seclusion isn't totally clear. You know that his lady love, Moonyeen (now THAT'S an odd name), had died many years earlier and that he's been pining for her all along. Well, into this morgue-like life appears an old friend, Dr. Owen. Owen is there to tell Carteret that the niece of his dead love is now an orphan and in need of a home--and he brings the child to Carteret to be raised.Years have passed and now this child is a vivacious 22 year-old, Kathleen (Norma Shearer). She and her adopted father are quite happy and fortunately Carteret is less melancholy. Having Kathleen to raise has obviously lifted his spirits. That is, until Kathleen meets Kenneth Wayne (Frederic March). They fall almost instantly in love and everything seems great until Carteret learns of this. Then he reluctantly tells her a sad tale that he's kept to himself all these years. You finally learn what happened to Moonyeen. It seems that on her wedding day with Carteret, a jealous suitor (Kenneth's father) stormed into the wedding and tried to kill Carteret--accidentally killing Moonyeen in the process!! His bitterness about this understandably demands that Kathleen break off her relationship with Kenneth once and for all.Unfortunately, while she and Kenneth tried to call it quits, they were just too much in love. Try as they might, they couldn't ignore that they were head over heels in love. However, Carteret was determined to destroy this relationship at all cost--as he NEVER could forgive Kenneth for his father's heinous act. Where the story goes from there, you'll just have to see for yourself. It becomes a lot more complicated--particularly when Kenneth goes off to war. See this wonderful film for yourself to see how it all unfolds.There are a few silly clichés that prevent it from earning a 10, though this is still an amazing film. Having Moonyeen and Kathleen as well as Kenneth and his father played by the same actors was a silly but accepted cliché back in 1932. While the idea of a son looking exactly like his father is silly, having Kathleen look almost exactly like her aunt is even more ridiculous. Plus, having no British accent whatsoever for Kenneth's dad was also pretty silly (you could understand this with Kenneth, as he was raised in America).As to what there is to like, where do I begin? The film has such a luminous and romantic quality about it start to finish, I just couldn't get over it. Only MGM could have done such a perfect looking film during this era. Shearer is magnificent--and it might just be her best film (even better than THE WOMEN) and Howard and March are also quite good. The characters are lovely--very complex and tender. You just can't help but find yourself sucked into the film--so be sure to have a box of Kleenex nearby. An amazing film.By the way, towards the end, you can sure see that one of the plot twists was later reused in the great love story LOVE AFFAIR (with Iren Dunne and Charles Boyer, 1939) as well as in LOVE AFFAIR's remake, AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER. Wow. Think about seeing LOVE AFFAIR followed by SMILIN' THROUGH--now that would be a terrific double-bill.

jfields-7 This Is by far the best of the three versions of the story. Shearer, March and Howard are all Magnificent. There are really two unforgettably touching parts of the film. The first is the flashback sequence on the eve of the wedding where Howard and Shearer behave like children in love and when she dies at their wedding it almost seems like Shearer has better chemistry as Moonyean with Howard than she dose as Kathleen with March either way she is a brilliant and underrated actress. The other and most moving part of the film is the unforgettable and tear jerking end when Howard and Shearer reunite in death. If one can sit through this movie and not be even a little choked up by the end, then they must be pretty cold. This is yet another example of the days gone by but not forgotten and the fact that they don't make them like this anymore. A definite 10

Michael Bo Sir John (Leslie Howard) is devastated and disgusted as his niece Kathleen (Norma Shearer), a young woman living with him since her parents died in her infancy, falls in love with Kenneth (Fredric March), the son of the man who, in a jealous rage, killed Sir John's bride to be on their wedding day. As Kenneth is about to join his company at the front in World War I, Kathleen is torn between her filial duty towards her uncle and her love for Kenneth.Sidney Franklin's film is the quintessential tearjerker, one that I have dreamed of watching all my adult life, and tonight I finally managed. Not many films outlast those sorts of expectations, I found recently that 'Sevent Heaven' was relatively feeble-minded, not the film I had been looking forward to.'Smilin' Through' triumphs though, soaringly so. The film is not only sumptuous in decor and cinematography, but has a real heart and real intelligence. I loved the way that almost every scene takes place in a garden with burgeoning flora, drooping flowers, heavy with romantic regret and sexual portent. One could almost smell the dizzy perfume of the plants. And I admired the way that Sidney Franklin distinguishes so clearly and yet not demonstratively between the way that young love professes itself in the 1860's, the time of John's and Moonyeen's courtship, and the war years with Kathleen's and Ken's romance. Franklin, in his direction, subtly underlines the tender dewy-eyed romanticism of the old days, "misty, water-colored mem'ries" indeed, with Kathleen perpetually wearing her wedding gown, even in her scenes as a ghost. And in the modern story we have an altogether more practical couple, acting in the context of a world war, with the far-away guns and canons sending rumblings through the village, sending windows and panes rattling. Kathleen in the modern story is more earthy and doesn't, in this pre-Code Hollywood picture, disguise how she is longing for her sexual union with Ken: "By the time I'm through with you, you won't be able to fight anyway", she claims.The acting is a chapter unto itself. I was never a fan of Leslie Howard's, and although it must be said that his part is probably the least interesting in the film, he conveys an endearing boyishness in the 1860's scenes, easy-going and infectious. Fredric March strikes up a marvelous rapport with Norma Shearer, sending off sparks of a loose energy that seem almost improvised, certainly captivating. Their scenes today should even today serve as must-see footage for acting students. March shows glimpses of the impressive character actor he was to become, and Shearer is luminous and entirely lovable, great performances.The perfect genre piece, destined to give you the most delicious heartache.

cocoanut_grove 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!