''Smilin' Through'' is a 1922 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

based on the 1919 play of the same name, written by

Jane Cowl Jane Cowl (December 14, 1883 – June 22, 1950) was an American film and Theatre, stage actress and playwright who was, in the words of author Anthony Slide, "notorious for playing tear jerkers, lachrymose parts". Actress Jane Russell was named ...

and

Jane Murfin Jane Murfin, née Macklem (October 27, 1884 – August 10, 1955) was an American playwright and screenwriter. The author of several successful plays, she wrote some of them with actress Jane Cowl—most notably ''Smilin' Through (play), Smilin' ...

(together under the pseudonym Alan Langdon Martin). The film starred

Norma Talmadge Norma Marie Talmadge (May 2, 1894 – December 24, 1957) was an American actress and film producer of the silent film, silent era. A major box-office draw for more than a decade, her career reached a peak in the early 1920s, when she ranked among ...

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. Regarded as a cinematic cultural icon, he has starred in Harrison Ford filmography, many notable films over seven decades, and is one of List of highest-grossing actors, the highest-gr ...

, and

Wyndham Standing Charles Wyndham Standing''Silent Film Necrology'', 2nd Edition by Eugene Michael Vazzana, c. 2001 page 497 (23 August 1880 – 1 February 1963) was an English film actor. Early years Standing was born in London, England and died in Los Angele ...

. It was co-written and directed by Sidney Franklin, who also directed the more famous 1932 remake at

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

. The film was produced by Talmadge and her husband Joseph M. Schenck for her company, the Norma Talmadge Film Corporation. It was released by

First National Pictures First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. It was founded in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, Inc., an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, and became the count ...

. Popular character actor

Gene Lockhart Edwin Eugene Lockhart (July 18, 1891 – March 31, 1957)"Gene Lockhart"
''The ...

made his screen debut in this film. The story is essentially the same as the popular Jane Cowl play, with Talmadge in the dual role of Kathleen and Moonyean. Kathleen, a young Irish woman, is in love with Kenneth Wayne but is prevented from marrying him by her guardian John Carteret. John is haunted by memories of his thwarted love for Kathleen's aunt, Moonyean. The story was an especially popular one and was filmed twice more by MGM: in 1932 with

Norma Shearer Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated women. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'Neill, ...

and 1941 with

Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American soprano and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 film) ...

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, on a moonlit night many years prior to the story, John Carteret (Standing) and the beautiful Moonyeen (Talmadge) were to be married. The guests were assembled and the garden in which the wedding would take place presented a scene of gaiety, beautifully decorated and lit with many lanterns. Just prior to the ceremony, Jeremiah Wayne (Ford), desperately in love with Moonyeen, forces his way through the crowd and tries to stop the wedding. As John moved towards him, Jeremiah drew a pistol and leveled it at the bridegroom. Just as the shot was fired, Moonyeen moved to protect John and received the bullet intended for him. As she lay dying, the marriage ceremony was performed. Many years later, Kathleen (Talmadge), the image of her aunt Moonyeen, has become the ward of John. She meets Kenneth Wayne (Ford), the son of Jeremiah, and the couple fall in love, much to the grief of her guardian, who hates the name of the man who caused him a lifetime of sorrow. John orders the young Wayne away and forbids Kathleen from ever seeing him again. In spite of John's orders, Kathleen goes to bid farewell to her sweetheart as he leaves for duty in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. When she returns, John tells her the story of Moonyeen as the reason she must forget Kenneth. After four years Kathleen and Kenneth meet, the latter returning wounded and crippled. Kenneth feels that in his condition he is not fit to wed Kathleen and leaves her, she thinking that he is in love with someone else. That night the spirit of Moonyeen appears to John and, as a result of the visitation, the old man sends for Kenneth. The lovers are reunited just prior to the death of John, who dies happily knowing that he has not doomed the couple to the life of sorrow that he had.

Cast

as Kathleen / Moonyeen *

as Kenneth Wayne / Jeremiah Wayne *

as John Carteret * Alec B. Francis as Dr. Owen * Glenn Hunter as Willie Ainsley *

Grace Griswold Grace Griswold (1871-1927) was an American stage and film actress. She was born to Joseph B. Hall and Juliet Griswold. She was educated in the Chicago area. Before beginning her stage career she had been a secretary and journalist.''Who Was Who in ...

as Ellen *

Miriam Battista Miriam Battista (July 14, 1912 – December 22, 1980) was an American actress known principally for her early career as a Child actor, child star in silent films. After gaining notice in Broadway theatre at the age of four, she was cast in film ...

as Lil Mary, Moonyeen's sister *

Gene Lockhart Edwin Eugene Lockhart (July 18, 1891 – March 31, 1957)"Gene Lockhart"
''The ...

as Village Rector (credited as Eugene Lockhart) *

Buddy Roosevelt Buddy Roosevelt (born Kenneth Stanhope Sanderson; June 25, 1898 – October 6, 1973) was an American film and television actor and stunt performer from Hollywood's early silent film years through the 1950s. Biography Roosevelt was born as Kenn ...

as Departing / Returning Soldier with Mother (uncredited)

Reception

Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...

praised Talmadge's performance and the film's sets, costumes, and entertaining story. "It deals with a subject which interests most women — that of

spiritualism Spiritualism may refer to: * Spiritual church movement, a group of Spiritualist churches and denominations historically based in the African-American community * Spiritualism (beliefs), a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at leas ...

— which is so delicately and beautifully handled that it could offend no one," she described. It was one of her favorite films.

Home media

''Smilin' Through'' was released on

Region 0 DVD region codes are a digital rights management technique introduced in 1997. It is designed to allow rights holders to control the international distribution of a DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all according to t ...

DVD-R DVD recordable and DVD rewritable are a collection of optical disc formats that can be written to by a DVD recorder and by computers using a DVD writer. The "recordable" discs are write-once read-many (WORM) media, where as "rewritable" discs a ...

Alpha Video Alpha Video (also known as Alpha Home Entertainment) is an entertainment company founded in 1985 as New Age Video, based near Philadelphia, that specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of public domain movies and TV shows on DVD. Alp ...

on July 7, 2015.

References

External links