C'est pour toujours

Moviecut—Now and Forever

As other reviewers to date note, "Now and Forever" is an unusual Shirley Temple movie, with a quite different ending. But for who Temple was as a child star of the day, such an ending would not be uncommon or bad for people in similar situations. The bottom line being the welfare and future of the child. The film is definitely drama with some music, where most of Shirley's childhood films are comedies with music, and usually some drama. Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard do quite well in this film against Temple's Penelope Day. Cooper's Jerry Day, struggles with conscience because of his daughter, while he continues to thrive on scams that make enough to carry him from one to the next. The film is based on a story, "Honor Bright," by Jack Kirkland. That is a phrase picked up and used by various authors in the 19th century, that had come to mean to tell the truth, or Scout's honor. Here are some favorite lines from this film. Toni Carstairs Day, "Well, what happens now?" Jerry Day, "What do you mean, dear - what happens now?" Toni, "I mean, what happens now?" Jerry, "Oh, you mean, what happens?" Toni, "Yes. What happens?" Jerry, "Why, nothing. I, I mean..." Toni, "You mean, nothing." Jerry, "No, I don't mean that at all." Jerry Day, "Lookie here, Toni. I know what's eating you. You think I haven't any business with that kind. Well, you're wrong. Dead wrong." Jerry Day, "You are a rat, Uncle Felix." Felix Evans, "Yes, I know."

'Now and Forever' had two main things going for it. A cast including Gary Cooper (not one of my favourite actors but a likeable one), Shirley Temple (one of cinema's most legendary child actresses for good reason) and Carole Lombard (always a delight to watch and her tragic premature death is still a great loss). Henry Hathaway directing a film atypical for him at that time. Also liked the idea for the story and was intrigued by Cooper and Lombard paired together. There are a lot of good things about 'Now and Forever', but couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed and thinking that Cooper, Lombard, Temple and Hathaway have done better work in better films. Actually, 'Now and Forever' is a must for Temple, yet regarding Cooper and Lombard it is from personal opinion mainly to be seen if you want to see all of their films (am not saying that that is the only reason) and that is the case with Hathaway. Also if you're interested in seeing a film different from his minor westerns, when he was starting to move away from them and moving on to bigger features. Starting with these good things, 'Now and Forever' looks beautiful and glossy (something that can be meant in a positive and negative way, but is positive in this case). With the gorgeous fashions standing out, Lombard as always looks wonderful and the photography clearly loves her. Temple's song "The World Owes Me a Living" is very sweet and she sings and performs it remarkably expertly for a six year old. A warm glow can be found as well as charm, mostly provided by Temple. Laughs (early on though) and poignancy, like Temple's heart-wrenching reaction at her father's lie, are apparent. Hathaway fares quite competently, it could have had a lighter hand at times but this is not the work of an amateur. Guy Standing and Charlotte Granville come off best of the cast. The leads do very well, even if all three did better things. Cooper is charming and offbeat, even if his character is a weasel, and Lombard, though she could have had more to do in a role that is not particularly meaty, displays her usual elegance and charm with what she had. Stealing the film though is the delightfully adorable Temple who also showed a wide variety of emotions. The chemistry between the leads is nicely done, especially Cooper and Temple. However, the sentimentality can go overboard and the script can be a little too talk-heavy and is uneven in quality (amiable at some points, plodding in others in the more serious moments). The story can lose focus and doesn't always find the right tone, with some suspension of disbelief needed from the credulity straining. Do agree too that the ending juxtaposed too much dramatically and tonally with the rest of the film. On the whole, pleasant but flawed. 6/10

Director: HENRY HATHAWAY. Based on the story Honor Bright by Jack Kirkland, Melville Baker. Screenplay: Vincent Lawrence, Sylvia Thalberg. Camera: Harry Fischbeck. Film editor: Ellsworth Hoagland. Art directors: Hans Dreier, Robert Usher. Song: Larry Morey, Leigh Harline, "The World Owes Me a Living", sung by Shirley Temple. Additional song by Harry Revel and Mack Gordon. Additional music: Rudolph G. Kopp, John Leipold, Karl Hajos. Costumes: Travis Banton. Sound recording; Harold C. Lewis. Western Electric Sound System. Producer: Louis D. Lighton. Executive producer: Adolph Zukor. Copyright 29 August 1934 by Paramount Productions, Inc. New York opening at the Paramount, 12 October 1934. U.S. release: 31 August 1934. U.K. release: 30 March 1935. Sydney release at the Prince Edward (on a double bill with Cary Grant's Kiss and. Make Up), 5 January 1935 (ran 3 weeks). 9 reels. 81 minutes. SYNOPSIS: Callous jewel thief (Cooper, would you believe?) tries to sell his motherless child to his brother-in-law for $75,000. NOTES: Academy Award to Shirley Temple for her outstanding contribution to screen entertainment in 1934. Originally, Stephen Roberts was assigned to direct, and Claudette Colbert was announced for the Lombard role. COMMENT: Now and Forever is exactly how long this talking bore of a film seems to last. Admittedly, it opens promisingly. Cooper and Lombard are a pair of confidence crooks. Even though they talk too much, we are fascinated by the ingenious way in which Coop swindles the Shanghai Hotel out of his bill. But the story then becomes increasingly slight and banal. Almost nothing happens as soon as Miss Temple enters (about 15 minutes in). The characters just sit around and talk, talk, talk. When a bit of action finally does come along, it is the most tamely staged in all of Hathaway's films. Although the picture is set in Shanghai and Paris, there is no location work except for a brief sequence on a lake. Hathaway has stated that he pays close attention to acting. This we doubt. In nearly all his movies, there are performances that seem strained and amateurish. (Perhaps because of a lack of rapport?) In this film, I would single out Shirley Temple and Gary Cooper. She just rattles off her lines like a well-trained parrot, while his naturally slow delivery is even more expressionless than usual. Even a talented player like Carole Lombard can give little animation to her routinely conventional role. Sir Guy Standing is similarly hamstrung. Although he plays in his customary hearty manner, his characterization seems shallow and superficial. Charlotte Granville is okay in a part in which Alison Skipworth would have been preferable. Other roles are small, but competently played. Miss Temple has one song. She puts it across with enthusiasm, if little talent. (Hathaway doesn't think too highly of her vocal ability either, as he breaks into the middle of the song with a scene off- stage.) Although production values are very moderate, photography and sets are attractive. Other credits are okay, though Miss Lombard is saddled with some ridiculous costumes. OTHER VIEWS; Shirley Temple is such a charmer that she makes even a sludgy script pleasant-going. I also enjoyed Sir Guy Standing as a self-confessed rat and Charlotte Granville as a typical Hollywood bejeweled Jessie Ralph matron. Cooper and Lombard are both sufficiently adroit and charismatic to overcome the wearisome banalities of much of their dialogue. "Now and Forever" is beautifully photographed and set. Not a typical Hathaway movie by any means, but very competently directed. All the same, it's true that Hathaway only sparks into real life during the action bits — particularly in the smooth piece of camera-work with which he interrupts Shirley's song, which continues off while Coop steals the necklace, then back to Shirley for the delightful last verse. — JHR writing as George Addison.

I recently discovered that I enjoy Shirley Temple movies and I have been looking for them wherever I can find them. I came across one on YouTube and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. This movie has not been seen as often as other Shirley Temple films because it is NOT a Shirley Temple film, it is a Gary Cooper/Carole Lombard movie that also stars Shirley Temple. I thought that the performances were outstanding and both the script and the actors did a fine job of developing the characters. We get a thorough idea of what sort of man Jerry Day (Cooper) is right away, a crook but not a black-hearted one. He takes advantage of others but doesn't really hurt anyone. Toni (Lombard), his wife, enjoys their lifestyle hopping from place to place staying just a step or two ahead of the authorities. She doesn't actively participate in his illegal actions, but benefits from them, so she stays with him despite her misgivings. She finally decides to part ways with him over his very callous attitude toward his daughter Penny (Temple), who is living with the brother of his deceased wife in the U.S. He goes to Connecticutt and at first attempts to get $75,000 for giving up his rights to her. However, he meets and spends some time with her and discovers she is pretty and imaginative (chasing pirates with her invisible friend Mr. Cosgrove) and on the spur of the moment decides to take her with him. Penny meets Toni in Paris and is at first not too taken with her, but they grow on each other. They establish themselves as a family in Paris and Toni convinces Jerry to stop his con-man ways. So he gets a job in a real estate office that only pays $35 a week. After a while this pittance is not enough so he meets up with a jewel thief named Felix Evans who convinces him to steal a valuable necklace from Mrs Crane, a wealthy elderly woman who has been very kind to them. He does, but before Evans fences the jewels Penny discovers them hidden in her Teddy Bear and realizes her father is a thief - AFTER he promised "honor bright" that he didn't take them. Her reaction breaks his heart and when he tries to retrieve them from Evans, they shoot each other. The jewels are returned, but Jerry is convinced he will die from his injuries (and that he deserves to), so he arranges with Mrs. Crane to adopt Penny and sends her off to an expensive boarding school. In the end, Toni calls for a doctor, the gunshot wound triggers a police investigation, and when the movie ends Jerry lives but is ready to go off to prison and Toni stands by her man. It was 1934 and still early in the careers of both Cooper and Lombard but they were already stars when this film was made. Temple was just starting out, so I am surprised that she received third billing on the title card. Despite her inexperience, Shirley's acting in this film is remarkable, especially considering she was only six years old at the time! I have read criticisms of the plot holes and the acting of both Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard. I believe that reviewers who point fingers at these things are failing to take into account that the actors were still developing their on- screen personalities. Lombard, for example went on to be most well known for "screwball" comedies and this movie was made before she made that mark. Also, America was still working its way out of the Depression and movies were a cheap way to enjoy some free time. They were made quickly and simply and the scripts were rarely works of art. Other reviewers have commented that they did not like this movie because, unlike all of Shirley's other films, this one doesn't have the usual happy ending. This movie has a dark side to it and was DEFINITELY not made for children. Well I like a bit of variety, and therefore I was very pleasantly surprised by this. I recommend it to fans of any of the actors.

This movie is well worth viewing, if only to see Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard in relatively early roles and to see Shirley Temple in an unusual part before she really peaked in popularity (here she is an incredible SIX years old). This is not a typical Temple film, in that she sings only one song (expertly), but you do get to see her act in a thoroughly convincing way. The supporting players are excellent as well. This is a rather odd movie that can't quite make up its mind what to be...a decidedly downbeat ending that is actually starker than it's presented in some reviews here and a series of rather improbable con jobs that are not dramatically convincing. However, it's a treat to see the incredibly talented Temple, the skillful Carole Lombard, and the totally charming Gary Cooper (who, by the way, sports a very impressive wardrobe throughout, as does Lombard). I watched the colorized version--better than I expected--but would have preferred black and white. See this movie with a "willing suspension of disbelief" and you'll enjoy it as a blast from the long-ago past.

This is a very rare film and probably the least known from Shirley Temple as it isn't on any of her collections.The reason why is probably because it doesn't have a happy ending,unlike all her other films.Its also not a musical,although she does belt out one song called' The world owes me a living'.The film was made in 1934 and originally in black and white,the version i have is in colour and on VHS,i would say they have done a fine job as the colour does look realistic,unlike i would say the colourised films of Laurel And Hardy which are dreadful.The film is good for its age and the story hasn't dated at all,I'm surprised no one has tried to do a remake.At times the film is a little bit to talky as some of the scenes with Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard seem really dragged out, in some scenes they seem to take fifteen minutes to say what they could have said in five.Although don't be put off by this because this film does have some genuinely good moments in it,especially when {Jerry}Gary Cooper steals a necklace,and hides it in Shirley's teddy bear.The tension and slow build up to his actions,{while at the same time his daughter is singing to an audience in another room}is very well directed.Gary and Caroles edgy facial expressions when they are put under scrutiny are also very good.In all this is a good film from the early 30's,accept it for its age.

The year 1934 was when Shirley Temple played three major movies and really began to make a name for herself. Unfortunately, the studios had to experiment to see what the public best liked about here. Two of those things were singing and dancing. Another was a short, interesting film that kept people's attention and got their minds off The Depression. You know the other keys to Shirley's successful films. This film achieved none of the above, despite the star presences of Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard and despite a very good director in Henry Hathaway. In addition, there are too many talky parts in here which become simply boring, and too many arguments between a sullen Lombard and Cooper. To top it off, you didn't get the normal feel-good ending which is what the public wants. I guess they learned after this movie.

If you're looking for a Shirley Temple vehicle, Now and Forever isn't it. She's very young and hardly in the movie. She isn't her singing, tap-dancing persona in this movie. This is a Gary Cooper, Carole Lombard drama that happens to have a little girl in the story. Shirley does sing one song, though, but she's not the lead. Gary is a small-time crook with no plans to go straight. He hasn't seen his daughter in a long time, and his wife Carole has never met her. While he initially plans to unload Shirley's custody onto someone else, when the father and daughter are reunited, the little curly top melts his heart. Carole adores her, too, and soon Gary vows to clean up his act. But will it stick? Will his vow of "honor bright" to Shirley see him through? If you're a fan of the cast, you'll want to check out this early '30s picture. Shirley isn't the focal point, but if you love her, you're going to want to watch all of her movies, right?

You can argue whether this is a Shirley Temple or Gary Cooper film, if you wish. I say it's both. Carole Lombard is less essential to the plot. The film is unusual in several respects. It was not produced by Shirley's home studio of Fox. It has a pessimistic, rather than a hopeful, ending, as relates to Cooper, at least. And, Cooper is portrayed as a compulsive con man, with no redeeming qualities save for making Shirley happy at a personal level. Well, we all know that not all stories can have a happy ending. This one seemingly has a mixed ending. Cooper's character evidently is too deep in debt to get out of it quickly by pursuing an ordinary job. Thus, he sells some phony gold mine to a jewel thief: Mr. Felix. But Felix knows it's phony. He requires Cooper to agree to steal an expensive diamond necklace from an elderly widow to avoid prosecution as a swindler. To gain easy access to Mrs. Crane's home, Cooper introduces her to Shirley, whom she takes an immediate liking to. They are invited over for a luncheon. Shirley sings "The World Owes me a Living". appropriate for Cooper, but rather unmemorable. The necklace gets passed around from Cooper to Shirley's teddy bear, Grumpy, to Shirley, back to Cooper, and somehow(very unclear how) to Mr. Felix. Cooper goes to Mr. Felix's office and pulls a gun on him when he claims he doesn't have the necklace. A shooting duel ensues, with Cooper the winner. Later , we learn that Cooper was hit in the side of the belly, and eventually passes out, presumably from loss of blood, although we see no blood oozing through his shirt. He didn't want to go to the hospital for fear the doctor would question how he got the bullet wound. However, Carol makes him go. The police came, but we don't see them, and don't know what evidence they may have linking Cooper to the killing. Incidentally, I checked to make sure, and heard only one gunshot between the two men, so how did Copper get wounded? Earlier, we spend time listening to Cooper negotiate with his brother-in -law, who has been hosting Shirley since Cooper's wife passed away, shortly after Shirley's birth. Cooper wants $75,000. for the right to officially adopt Shirley, whom he has yet to meet. The brother-in-law balks at this outrageous sum. So, they start considerably lower, and gradually work up to the $75,000. Then, Cooper meets Shirley and he's charmed and decides to forget about the adoption bargain, taking her to Europe, where Carol has buzzed off to. The ending is sad as relates to the loss of the warm interactions that have developed between Shirley and Cooper or Carol. However, Cooper has arranged for old Mrs. Crane(of diamond necklace fame) to adopt Shirley. Thus, hopefully, she will have a stable, well financed home. However, we don't know how she will get along with Mrs. Crane. Also, she will sorely miss her daddy or some other adequate father figure who can play with her. The future of Cooper and Carol looks probably bleak. If the police can connect Cooper to the death of Mr. Felix, he will be sent to prison for murder, or perhaps for manslaughter, if he can convince that he shot sort of in self-defense. Carol claims she will stand by her man. But, especially if the trial goes against Cooper, she would be advised to seek another man, as he probably wont be able to get a normal job when he gets out. The best part of this downer film is Shirley. She provides an adorable respite from all the criminal activities. Available on YouTube