''Seventh Heaven'' is an American
romantic drama film
Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typica ...
released in 1937 by
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
, directed by
Henry King and starring
Simone Simon
Simone Thérèse Fernande Simon (23 April 1910 or 1911 – 22 February 2005) was a French film actress who began her film career in 1931.
Early life
Born in Marseille, France, she was the daughter of Henri Louis Firmin Clair Simon, a French J ...
and
James Stewart
James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...
. The supporting cast features
Jean Hersholt
Jean Pierre Carl Buron (12 July 1886 – 2 June 1956), known professionally as Jean Hersholt, was a Danish-American actor. He is best known for starring on the radio series '' Dr. Christian'' (1937–1954) and in the film ''Heidi'' (1937).Obitua ...
,
Gregory Ratoff
Gregory Ratoff (born Grigory Vasilyevich Ratner; russian: Григорий Васильевич Ратнер, tr. ; April 20, c. 1893 – December 14, 1960) was a Russian-born American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was bes ...
,
Gale Sondergaard
Gale Sondergaard (born Edith Holm Sondergaard; February 15, 1899 – August 14, 1985) was an American actress.
Sondergaard began her acting career in theater and progressed to films in 1936. She was the first recipient of the Academy Awar ...
, and
John Qualen
John Qualen (born Johan Mandt Kvalen, December 8, 1899 – September 12, 1987) was an American character actor of Norwegian heritage who specialized in Scandinavian roles.
Early years
Qualen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son ...
.
The film is a
remake
A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...
of the classic 1927
silent film of the same name directed by
Frank Borzage
Frank Borzage (; April 23, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an Academy Award-winning American film director and actor, known for directing '' 7th Heaven'' (1927), '' Street Angel'' (1928), '' Bad Girl'' (1931), '' A Farewell to Arms'' (1932), ''Man's ...
and starring
Janet Gaynor
Janet Gaynor (born Laura Augusta Gainor; October 6, 1906 – September 14, 1984) was an American film, stage, and television actress.
Gaynor began her career as an extra in shorts and silent films. After signing with Fox Film Corporation (later ...
and
Charles Farrell
Charles David Farrell (August 9, 1900 – May 6, 1990) was an American film actor of the 1920s silent era and into the 1930s, and later a television actor. Farrell is probably best recalled for his onscreen romances with actress Janet Gaynor ...
. Both versions were based on the play ''
Seventh Heaven'' by Austin Strong.
Plot
In a rough neighborhood of Paris in 1914,
atheistic
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
sewer worker Chico (
James Stewart
James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...
) rescues a young woman named Diane (
Simone Simon
Simone Thérèse Fernande Simon (23 April 1910 or 1911 – 22 February 2005) was a French film actress who began her film career in 1931.
Early life
Born in Marseille, France, she was the daughter of Henri Louis Firmin Clair Simon, a French J ...
) being beaten by her sister Nana (
Gale Sondergaard
Gale Sondergaard (born Edith Holm Sondergaard; February 15, 1899 – August 14, 1985) was an American actress.
Sondergaard began her acting career in theater and progressed to films in 1936. She was the first recipient of the Academy Awar ...
) for not being nice to an older man, a patron in the sister's disreputable dance hall. Father Chevillon (
Jean Hersholt
Jean Pierre Carl Buron (12 July 1886 – 2 June 1956), known professionally as Jean Hersholt, was a Danish-American actor. He is best known for starring on the radio series '' Dr. Christian'' (1937–1954) and in the film ''Heidi'' (1937).Obitua ...
) is determined to
convert
Conversion or convert may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman''
* "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series
* "The Conversion" ...
Chico. Chevillon learns from Boul, Chico's taxi driver friend, that Chico gave God a chance, but nothing came of it. The priest grants Chico's first prayer, getting him a promotion to street washer. He then gives Chico two religious medals for protection. Chico is amazed to discover that they are made of real silver; a price tag reveals they are worth twelve francs - exactly the cost of two candles he purchased in church for his prayers.
Chevillon also gives him responsibility for Diane. Chico scoffs and goes off with his friends to celebrate his promotion, but returns just in time to stop Diane from committing suicide. When a policeman tries to take Diane into custody, Chico claims that she is his wife. Unconvinced, the policeman says he will check up on them, so Chico takes Diane home to his
garret
A garret is a habitable attic, a living space at the top of a house or larger residential building, traditionally, small, dismal, and cramped, with sloping ceilings. In the days before elevators this was the least prestigious position in a bu ...
, up seven flights of stairs. The first time she sees the place, she says, "it is heaven." Chico gives her his bed and goes to sleep with his neighbor Aristide (
J. Edward Bromberg
Joseph Edward Bromberg (born Josef Bromberger, December 25, 1903 – December 6, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American character actor in motion picture and stage productions dating mostly from the 1930s and 1940s. Knowledge of his past as a membe ...
), an astrologer.
The next morning, Chico finds his place has been tidied up and Diane has prepared him a good breakfast. After Chico leaves, the policeman checks up on Diane; convinced she is indeed Chico's wife, he states he will not trouble her again. Diane starts to leave, but just then Chico and his neighbor and coworker Gobin (
Victor Kilian
Victor Arthur Kilian (March 6, 1891 – March 11, 1979) was an American actor who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses in the 1950s.
Early life, career, and homicide
Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Victor Kilian began his ...
) arrive; Chico has passed his probationary test
with flying colors
"With flying colours" ("''with flying colors''" in American English) is a popular idiom of the English language that is used to describe how well someone has completed a task. For example, a common use of the phrase is to refer to someone having p ...
, so Chico invites Gobin and his wife to dinner. When Chico asks Diane if anybody came by, she tells him no. After Chico leaves to get more food and drink, Aristide chastises Diane for lying to Chico and says that she may "drag him down, rob him forever of the greatness he might have known." Upset, Diane goes to a bar, where she lets a man buy her a drink. Chico finds out all about the confrontation from Aristide. He finds her and takes her out of the bar, pushing the other man back over a table when he objects. When she begs him to let her go, that she is as wicked as Aristide said she was, he tells her, "Chico said you were a fine, good girl, and therefore you must be one."
When war breaks out, many of Chico's friends and neighbors are drafted, including Gobin and Chico's "Sewer Rat" friend, but not him. Chico gives Diane a present: a wedding dress. She asks him if he wants to marry her for love or out of pity. After an unsuccessful try or two, he finally says, "Chico ... Diane ... Heaven", making her very happy. Before they can marry, however, Chico receives his draft notice. With no time, they marry themselves before Chico leaves. Diane's sister comes to take Diane back by force, but Diane drives her away.
For four years, Chico fights at the front, and Diane works as a nurse. Every morning at 11 o'clock, they each recite "Chico ... Diane ... Heaven." Diane feels her husband's presence then; he had promised to be with her somehow. However, one day, she abruptly cannot sense him anymore. He falls victim to a poison gas attack. Just before he is evacuated, Chico encounters Father Chevillon. He gives the priest his religious medal (Diane has the other one) to give to Diane.
With the war almost over, a young officer Diane tended tells her that Chico has been listed killed in action, but she refuses to believe him, sensing his presence every day at 11. She goes to Father Chevillon, who gives her the medal Chico gave him. Heartbroken, she renounces her belief in God, but then she feels her lover's presence, at the
11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month: the end of World War I. She rushes home, through the wild celebrations, and finds a blind but alive Chico. The couple embrace and Chico affirms his faith in God.
Cast
*
Simone Simon
Simone Thérèse Fernande Simon (23 April 1910 or 1911 – 22 February 2005) was a French film actress who began her film career in 1931.
Early life
Born in Marseille, France, she was the daughter of Henri Louis Firmin Clair Simon, a French J ...
as Diane
*
James Stewart
James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...
as Chico
*
Jean Hersholt
Jean Pierre Carl Buron (12 July 1886 – 2 June 1956), known professionally as Jean Hersholt, was a Danish-American actor. He is best known for starring on the radio series '' Dr. Christian'' (1937–1954) and in the film ''Heidi'' (1937).Obitua ...
as Father Chevillon
*
Gregory Ratoff
Gregory Ratoff (born Grigory Vasilyevich Ratner; russian: Григорий Васильевич Ратнер, tr. ; April 20, c. 1893 – December 14, 1960) was a Russian-born American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was bes ...
as Boul
*
Gale Sondergaard
Gale Sondergaard (born Edith Holm Sondergaard; February 15, 1899 – August 14, 1985) was an American actress.
Sondergaard began her acting career in theater and progressed to films in 1936. She was the first recipient of the Academy Awar ...
as Nana
*
J. Edward Bromberg
Joseph Edward Bromberg (born Josef Bromberger, December 25, 1903 – December 6, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American character actor in motion picture and stage productions dating mostly from the 1930s and 1940s. Knowledge of his past as a membe ...
as Aristide
*
John Qualen
John Qualen (born Johan Mandt Kvalen, December 8, 1899 – September 12, 1987) was an American character actor of Norwegian heritage who specialized in Scandinavian roles.
Early years
Qualen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son ...
as Sewer Rat
*
Victor Kilian
Victor Arthur Kilian (March 6, 1891 – March 11, 1979) was an American actor who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses in the 1950s.
Early life, career, and homicide
Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Victor Kilian began his ...
as Gobin
*
Thomas Beck as Brissac
*
Sig Ruman
Siegfried Carl Alban Rumann (October 11, 1884 – February 14, 1967), billed as Sig Ruman and Sig Rumann, was a German-American character actor known for his portrayals of pompous and often stereotypically Teutonic officials or villains in ...
as Durand (as Sig Rumann)
*
Mady Christians
Marguerita Maria "Mady" Christians (January 19, 1892 – October 28, 1951) was an Austrian actress who had a successful acting career in theatre and film in the United States until she was blacklisted during the McCarthy period.
Biography
Sh ...
as Marie
*
Rollo Lloyd as Mateot (Matoot in credits)
*
Rafaela Ottiano
Rafaela Ottiano (4 March 1888 – 15 August 1942) was an Italian-American stage and film actress.
Early life
Rafaela Ottiano was born in Venice, Italy. She immigrated to the United States with her parents and was processed at Ellis Island in 1 ...
as Mme Frisson
*
Georges Renavent
Georges Renavent (born Georges DeChaux, April 23, 1892 – January 2, 1969) was a French-American actor in film, Broadway plays and operator of American Grand Guignol. He was born in Paris, France. In 1914, he immigrated to the United Stat ...
as Sergeant Gendarme
*
Edward Keane as Gendarme
*
John Hamilton as Gendarme
*
Paul Porcasi
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
as Gendarme
* Leonid Snegoff as Officer
*
Adrienne D'Ambricourt
Adrienne D'Ambricourt (born Adrienne DuNontier; 2 June 1878 – 6 December 1957) was a French-American actress of the silent and sound film eras. She was born in Paris, and emigrated to the United States after the end of World War I.
Biography ...
as Nurse
Production
Tyrone Power
Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include '' Jesse James'', ...
was originally assigned to portray Chico, but he was cast in ''Love Is News'' instead, and had to be replaced due to scheduling conflicts.
Don Ameche
Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, stock, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which l ...
withdrew from the role of Father Chevillon for the same reason.
John Carradine
John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later Jo ...
shortly replaced him, until eventually
Jean Hersholt
Jean Pierre Carl Buron (12 July 1886 – 2 June 1956), known professionally as Jean Hersholt, was a Danish-American actor. He is best known for starring on the radio series '' Dr. Christian'' (1937–1954) and in the film ''Heidi'' (1937).Obitua ...
was cast.
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Darryl F. Zanuck
1937 films
1937 romantic drama films
American black-and-white films
Remakes of American films
American romantic drama films
American films based on plays
Films directed by Henry King
Films set in Paris
Films set in the 1910s
Films set in 1914
Films set in 1918
Films produced by Darryl F. Zanuck
Films with atheism-related themes
Sound film remakes of silent films
20th Century Fox films
Western Front (World War I) films
Films set on the French home front during World War I
1930s American films