Smilin’ Through 1932

In 1898, Sir John Carteret [Leslie Howard] stands beside the grave of Moonyeen Clare, and in the quiet of his garden a memory murmurs back to him. He cannot see her, yet her presence returns as a whisper, dressed in a wedding gown, urging him to wait and letting him know that time will ease the ache if he remains patient.

John, a once-open man of means, has become nearly a recluse since Moonyeen’s death. His longtime friend Dr. Owen [O. P. Heggie] brings Moonyeen’s orphaned niece, Kathleen [Norma Shearer], to visit with the hope that John will adopt her. Years roll by, and they mark Kathleen’s birthday on June 7, 1915, a quiet milestone that highlights how Moonyeen’s memory still shapes John’s world. Kathleen senses only that she resembles Moonyeen, while John’s sorrow remains locked behind a stern exterior.

A violent thunderstorm sweeps Kathleen into the long-deserted Wayne mansion, where she and her love-struck companion Willie meet an invitation to Moonyeen’s wedding. A man enters—the American son of Jeremy Wayne—named Kenneth Wayne [Fredric March]. A rapid spark develops between Kathleen and Kenneth, drawing them together in a way that unsettles John, who recognizes that Kenneth is bound to Moonyeen’s memory through a bitter family history rooted in his deadliest foe, Jerry Wayne. In the garden, John unfolds the truth, a history shown in flashback, a tale of love thwarted by vengeance.

Before their wedding, at a party, Moonyeen sings a tender, haunting song that seems to bridge the living and the departed. John listens while Dr. Owen tries to warn him that Kenneth’s father is a rival long thought vanquished. Jerry Wayne, heavily intoxicated, confronts Moonyeen at the back gate, and the lovers steal a few blissful moments in the garden. The next day, as the ceremony proceeds, Jerry interrupts, and at the church Moonyeen rushes forward to shield John from danger. The attempted shot narrowly misses John, but Moonyeen is struck, dying in his arms as he places the ring on her finger.

Kathleen, overwhelmed by sorrow, learns that John’s hatred has not yet faded, and she pleads with him to accept Kenneth. The lovers’ bond survives only in secret, as they meet at Mrs. Crouch’s tea shop, their stolen moments shadowed by the war tearing Europe apart.

As World War I nears its end, Kathleen longs for Kenneth, searching among the wounded on a troop train. Kenneth is found badly injured and tries to shield Kathleen from knowing the full cost of his victory; he asks Doctor Owen to keep Kathleen in ignorance, but Owen ultimately reveals the truth to John. Kathleen, racing toward the Wayne mansion, discovers Kenneth hiding his crutches and feigning indifference, and in that moment she sees the man she loves still fighting to be free of pain.

Gradually, John’s heart begins to soften. He confesses the whole story to Kathleen and asks her to bring Kenneth back. As she returns to him, John’s own life slips away, and a gentle peace settles over him. In a final, haunting vision, Moonyeen returns to welcome him, and the two lovers—now joined beyond the grave—watch as Kathleen helps Kenneth walk toward the house. They drift away together in a spectral carriage, accompanied by the memories of wedding guests who linger beyond the veil, a testament to a love that transcends loss and the passage of time.