Norma Shearer

Days of staying home have brought days of watching old movies.  I enjoy most of them, some not so much.  I watched a movie last night that held my attention all the way through although there were a few moments when I almost changed the channel. 

 Too much 'over-acting.'

Smilin' Through

1932

The adoptive father of a young woman is horrified to learn she plans to marry the son of the man who accidentally killed her aunt years before.

Norma Shearer - Kathleen

Fredric March - Sir/Uncle John

Leslie Howard - Kenneth Wayne

Lovely Moonyeen Clare and Sir John Cartaret were to be married, when Moonyeen was killed by Jeremy Wayne.  Sir John was devastated and lived the rest of his life mourning the loss of his beautiful wife to be.

One day a friend brought a beautiful little 4 year girt to Sir John, wanting him to take her and raise her.  This little girl is the daughter of Moonyeen's sister who along with her husband were killed in an accident.  At first he refused, the bitterness of his heart from years of grief was cold toward the child, but after a few minutes she stole his heart and they formed a bond of uncle and niece.

When his niece was grown she met the son of Jeremy Wayne and they fall in love, but Uncle John will not give them his blessing.  He said he would disown Kathleen if she married the son of the man who had killed his beloved Moonyeen.  When Kenneth Wayne went to war Kathleen was heart broke that they could not marry before he left, for four years she cried and waited for him to return.

He returned paralyzed, unable to walk and avoided Kathleen.  Being unaware of his injury she thought he had dismissed his love for her, once again she was heartbroken.  This pleased Uncle John, in his grief he was still against Kenneth because of his father.

Eventually Kathleen heard of Kenneth's injury and rushed to be by his side, not caring that she would lose her inheritance and be disowned by Uncle John.

As Uncle John sit in his garden Moonyeen appeared to him, she told him they could never be together as long as he had such hatred in his heart.  He called to Kathleen and gave his blessing for her and Kenneth to wed.  While sitting in the garden he died.  Moonyeen's spirit came to him and together they rode away in the wedding carriage from long ago.

The End.

I have never heard of the name 'Moonyeen,' have you?   

Google says it's from Irish origin, one meaning is 'Small Moon' and one is 'Shining Star.' 

I also found this:

Meaning of Moonyeen : Sea of Bitterness, The Great, Doom, Destiny, Fate, Beloved, Star of the Sea, Variant of the Irish Maire from Mary Bitter

I don't think anyone really knows!! 😊

Norma Shearer

Norma Shearer was a great star in her time.  In this movie I thought she overplayed her part, she emoted too much.  I've noticed that is the case in a lot of old movies.  I think it may come from silent movies where overacting was needed so the audience had a better understanding of what was happening.  It was a transition carry-over and took a while for performers to overcome.

This movie was a big hit at the time of it's release, it was nominated for an Academy Award for best picture of that year. It still holds up, thanks to the timeless performance of Norma Shearer.

By 1927, Shearer had made a total of 13 silent films for MGM. Each had been produced for under $200,000, and had, without fail, been a substantial box-office hit, often making a $200,000+ profit for the studio.

Shearer was one of the few silent-film stars who remained stars in the sound era, adapting to both the worldly characters of the pre-Code period and the romantic roles of the Golden Era. In sixteen years as a star, she was nominated six times for an Academy Award but won only once, in 1930, for The Divorcee.

I've been away from my blog for several weeks, it's good to be back.  

Until Next Time