User reviews

This movie is clearly one you must suspend all sense of disbelief in order to enjoy it. This isn't saying it's a bad film....I actually liked it. But it has a plot that certainly is far-fetched!

When the film begins, Margot (Barbara Stanwyck) is waiting for her fiancé to arrive at the marriage license bureau. However, as she's waiting he's killed in a traffic accident right in front of her!!! To make things worse, she's pregnant*! So you next see her about to kill herself when she is caught by Jim (Herbert Marshall) and he takes her under his wing and gets her back on her feet. He also helps her find a nice adoptive couple when her baby arrives months later. But although Jim is marvelous, he has a real wandering spirit and is sometimes gone for years on his sea travels.

In the meantime, while Jim is off on one of his voyages, Margot gets a job with a fashion studio and her life is really going well. In fact, soon a crazy Count, Gino (Caesar Romero), is chasing her and proposing marriage. He's a nice guy...just a bit full of himself.

Soon after, she sees an adorable kid in a hotel and realizes this boy is her biological son she gave up years ago! So, when she learns he's going on a cruise, she arranges to go on the same ship and soon the two become inseparable. But there is a huge problem-- the boy's mother has died and the woman his father (Ian Hunter) wants to marry is just awful and cares nothing for the boy....Margot's baby! So what's she to do and who is she to marry when THREE guys all pop the question?!

Thi is an enjoyable film mostly because although far-fetched, the acting is quite good and the story engaging. Well worth seeing, though it is one of Stanwyck's lesser-known films.

Barbara Stanwyck stars in this what was termed back in the day, a woman's picture. Always Goodbye is a remake of Ann Harding's Gallant Lady and it has Stanwyck giving up her infant son for adoption rather than trying to raise him as a single parent. That was simply not done back in the day of The Code.

Herbert Marshall arranges the adoption of the infant to his friend Ian Hunter and wife who have been childless for years. Marshall saved Stanwyck from doing herself in. He even arranges for her to get a job in the fashion industry working for Binnie Barnes. As you can imagine the latest in Thirties fashion is worn here. If this were done over at MGM Joan Crawford would have had this part for sure.

While on a buying trip to Paris, Barbara makes the acquaintance of Cesar Romero who provides a lot of the comedy in this film. He also gets a chance to show off his dancing ability which is considerable. Before films Romero was a dance instructor. She also runs into little Johnny Russell who turns out to be her son.

I think you can see where this is going and I will say while it's not the greatest of Stanwyck films it is certainly nicely done. Barbara's best scenes in the film are with little Master Russell. She doesn't let the kid steal them from her either.

In the end STanwyck has to make some critical choices. And finds out that you cannot always have your own way all the time.

Barbara Stanwyck is waiting in front of the marriage bureau for the man who is going to marry her. His car shows up and smashes into another. He's dead. Miss Stanwyck goes to the river to drown herself, only to be saved by Herbert Marshall. Seven months later she gives up her baby. Soon she is working in a dress shop for Binnie Barnes. Five years later, she is on a buying trip to Paris when she meets her son.

It's based on an Ann Harding weeper, GALLANT LADY, but I expect that version is pure soap. With Raymond Griffith producing and Sidney Lanfield directing, while the dramatic elements of Miss Stanwyck torn between Mr. Marshall and her son -- with Cesar Romero, at his most manic, playing an Italian count who adores her when he isn't chasing other women -- while those elements remain, there are plenty of gags and silliness. It's an interesting attempt at combining two seemingly immiscible elements, mostly by having Miss Stanwyck go quiet and contemplative. It works for me, except for the penultimate scene. It's hard to say how it will strike other viewers. Some people are offended by comic relief, and to make a light-hearted picture about a a mother's tears might seem heartless. Me, I'm one of those people who recognizes the absurdity of a cruel situation, and the ridiculous methods needed to fix them. Sometimes if you don't laugh, you're paralyzed by tears.

Really enjoy Barbara Stanwyck and will watch any movie she's in. She can shore up even the most humdrum potboiler with her acting talent and make any picture better. Her mettle was tested in "Always Goodbye", a picture with nothing new to add to the romance genre, and she did the best she could. Alas, she was done in by a flat script and uninspired dialogue and despite an excellent support cast, featuring Herbert Marshall, Ian Hunter, Caesar Romero and Lynn Bari, among others. I'm not sure anything short of a rewrite could save this rehash of many other similarly themed pictures.

This picture was shown in error at Film Forum in NYC; The 1931 film with the same name was supposed to be shown but somehow this was substituted. Right now I would rather have seen the older one. Sight unseen, I'll bet it was better than this plodding trudge through the landscape.

Herbert Marshall (HM) is one of my all-time favorite male actors. Barbara Stanwyck (BS) is one of the grand ladies of the golden age of the movies. The dashing Romero overdoes it a bit praising the beauty of every woman he sees and declaring his love to her, but with a little humor you can also accept him, not least because he correctly senses that little Roddy is the real competition for BS's heart, and he is understandably impatient and willing to sideline the kid.

BS plays the field, getting all manner of attention and rich gifts, even a well paying job, but does not appear to go to bed with any of her many suitors - I guess in 1938 that would have not been permitted by the Hays Commission or society's prevailing moral code.

In steps the little boy that BS gave away for adoption at birth and he is just so syrupy that I would gladly spend another night changing my crying children's nappies rather than watch such an excessively cute infant (no wonder Jessica, played by Lynn Bari, wants to flick him off so she can go gold-digging!)

Yet, he holds the key to the Oedipus complex element in this film: BS ditches the man she admits she truly loves (Marshall) to marry Mr. Marshall (Ian Hunter), the fellow who adopted her son. Quite a quid pro quo, in psychiatric context you might say that she actually marries her own son!

You can only wonder how long it will take Mr. Marshall to work out that her heart and mind belong to little Roddy. Seeing BS's reluctance to be bedded by her many attractive suitors, I doubt Mr. Marshall took long to figure it at all - and a divorce would suit Margot (BS) to a T: she'd get her son and half of fabulously rich hubby's wealth to boot!

So you have the makings of a film noir with a happy open ending and a femme who might or not become fatale, but certainly is a mother to reckon with!

Honest opinion? Both HM and BS featured in far more interesting flicks than ALWAYS GOODBYE.

This is the book Barbara Stanwyck reads to the little boy in the movie. I actually had a copy of it. I only remember Sambo was black and there were a lot of pancakes.

The book was banned some time during my childhood for being racist. I just checked Amazon it's still out there - tons of different publications apparently somehow cleaned up.

I bring this up as a point of interest.

That out of the way, Always Goodbye stars Stanwyck, Herbert Marshall, Ian Hunter, and Lynn Bari.

Stanwyck plays a woman whose fiancé dies in an accident just as they are about to be married. She is pregnant at the time, and gives her child up.

Well, I don't have to tell you what happens.

Stanwick is lovely. Cesar Romero is annoying as a man who chases every woman he meets, and Lynn Bari is very uppity as the fiancé of the boy's adoptive father whose wife is deceased.

Stanwyck has played much stronger roles. I felt like this was a waste of her talent.

The child, Johnnie Russell, is still alive. He went into a he foreign service and at one point served as Ambassador to Oman.

It's a touching tale that begins with a tragedy and the harsh realities of life in which Margo, played by Barbara Stanwyck, has to give up her child. Life goes on and she finds fulfilment in a career and a new love but there are some unexpected twists and turns ahead for her.

I'm so pleased to discover this movie; didn't know about it until today and it's a real treat to follow the careers of these stars. Ian Hunter was just out of his King Richard role in "The Adventures of Robin Hood," and shortly to make "The Sisters" and "The Little Princess." For a change he's been given a more prominent part to play here, which is nice as I considered him quite a good actor not given enough opportunities to 'shine' in dramatic roles.

One sees a younger Herbert Marshall before several great roles in the years ahead, always with that fine sounding, quality voice so memorable in many films, particularly in "The Razor's Edge." A very young Cesar Romero is amusing as the Count (not sure if he really is one though) and never hesitates to charm any woman within two feet of him! It keeps him rather busy, flitting from flower to flower, but such are his ways. He also has a chance to demonstrate his beautiful dancing skills as he was a professional early on in his career. Ms Stanwyck never seems to change much over the years in her beauty and acting talent.

This is a very human drama that time does not alter. I'd like to buy the video one day if ever it's available.

That would have been a good title for this film, as it's a story about choices that, once made, have to be respected, no matter how you may wish otherwise.

Barbara Stanwyck gives her usual superb performance as unwed mother Margot Weston, who gives her baby son up for adoption, only to regret it five years later, when she meets Roddy (Johnnie Russell) and then his adopted, widowed father Phillip Marshall (Ian Hunter). She soon becomes a part of their lives, Roddy adores her, and she saves Phillip from what would have been a disastrous second marriage. Soon Phillip falls for Margot, and marriage to him would give her back her son, without having to reveal the truth to Phillip. There's just one problem: her heart belongs to Jim Howard (Herbert Marshall), the doctor turned researcher, whose wanderlust kept them apart for five years. Now he's back and ready to settle down, leaving Margot with a difficult choice to make: a life with the man she loves, or a marriage without love that'll give her a life with her son?

This movie is done very well, with nothing soap opera about it. I highly recommend it.

Young John Russell (sometimes called "Johnny") vies with the veteran Cesar Romero for stealing honors. I can't name another child star who so thoroughly throws himself into a part. This is one of the best performances by such a young player I have ever seen.

Cesar Romero has a rather light-weight role here, though his character is also flamboyant and colorful. I can't recall a better performance by him, including some dancing scenes. He stayed busy for decades and we in his audience are the beneficiaries. What a great talent!

Barbara Stanwyck, Herbert Marshall, and Ian Hunter, all billed first, are among the greatest stars Hollywood ever presented to us, and all three here are just so perfect in their roles, and the roles are so well written, we have to care about all of their characters.

"Always Goodbye" is a soap opera, and I don't mean that in a pejorative sense: It is a tear-jerker, and the ending is not happy for everybody; in fact, I think the wrong decision was made, though I think I understand why the characters did as they did.

There is a good print at YouTube and I highly recommend "Always Goodbye," for the superlative players and the strong story.

In Always Goodbye we see Stanwyck create a character that is softer than the more hard-bitten characters she will later become best known for, and she does a great job and is thoroughly enjoyable here. Unfortunately, the film and script (which may have even been dated back in 1938) doesn't hold up nearly as well. It seemed to go on for much longer than it's tidy 75 minutes run time would suggest. Cesar Romero plays a character that brings some pleasant levity to the proceedings but at the same time one can't help but feel that he lays it on just a little too thick. The rest of the supporting cast is fine but mostly forgettable.

The thirties were a good time for melodrama,par excellence the female movie.In almost all the great melodramas of the era "Imitation of life" and " Only Yesterday" by Stahl or "Mannequin" by Borzage ,the woman realizes she's through with love and she becomes generally a brilliant business woman,be it in the pancakes ,the stock exchange or the chic fashion for selfish ladies who do not think twice when it comes to sending their soon-to-be adoptive child to a military school.

Routine situation in melodrama:Stanwyck's fiancé got run over and she is pregnant by him.In those ancient times,the only solution was to find a family where the child would be fine .But some fine day ,in old France,the mother meets again his little boy.Barbara Stanwyck gives a fine sensitive (and a bit mischievous:the way she gets rid of Jessica is delightful)portrayal .In the end, somehow or other, woman must be prepared to sacrifice something.That's the golden rule of melodrama.

Like this?try these

"The old maid " Edmund Goulding 1939

"To each his own" Mitchell Leisen 1946

This is an early Barbara Stanwyck performance, but already here she is perfectly superior. The story is gripping as a complicated relationship intrigue of destiny, and Barbara stands waiting for her bridegroom to turn up for their wedding, which he never does, as he is crushed in a traffic accident, and she is pregnant. Life could hardly start worse for a young woman expecting a child. Of course, she gives birth to the child but can't support him, so he is given away in adoption with the legal condition that she must never see him again nor ever try to make contact with him. Destiny has its own ways and brings the two together by accident, and they become inseparable, but she still must never reveal who she is to him.

Herbert Marshall also makes a fine performance, and although a melodrama it is constantly interfoliated with great comedy elements, especially by the inimitable Cesar Romero, who plays an incorrigible Don Juan type of the comic type. Binnie Barnes also plays an important type, and her argument with Herbert Marshall is one of the highlights - the script is outstanding all the way. You will have plenty of both laughs and tears in this heart-warming and very human film.

If you were casting a movie the year after Stella Dallas about a mother who's forced to give up her child so he can have a better life, who would you cast? Barbara Stanwyck, of course! Always Goodbye is entertaining, but it's not one-tenth as good as Stella Dallas, so be prepared if you decide to rent it.

Barbara Stanwyck is friends with Herbert Marshall, but there's no romance between them even though they share a powerful secret and bond. Barbara had a child out of wedlock and Herbert arranged for her son to be adopted by wealthy friends of his who always wanted a child. He also arranged for Barbara to get into a respectable line of work, and five years later when he reappears in her life, she's a successful fashion designer who has plenty of money and enjoys trips to Europe.

There's so much in Always Goodbye that doesn't make any sense, which makes it impossible to really enjoy. Even in the beginning, Herbert Marshall is supposed to be secretly in love with Barbara, but he vanishes with no explanation for five years. Barbara is wealthy and classy, but doesn't really show any gratitude towards Herbert, even though if it weren't for him, she would have committed suicide while pregnant five years earlier. She owes her entire life and her son's life to Herbert, but that's never mentioned. The ending, which I won't spoil, is entirely illogical, and Cesar Romero's character is entirely unnecessary, even though he's nice to look at.

This movie is adorable! The little boy, Johnny Russell is the sweetest and Barbara, as always, was amazing. I recommend

Let me start by saying I'm a HUGE Barbara Stanwyck devotee. But the role she is given in this hapless movie is so phony that nobody could have played it successfully. The story is of course, the stuff that vintage weepies are made from. And I have nothing against weepies: as long as the characters move me, I'll happily string along, no matter how ridiculous the story.

But the characters in Always Goodbye are uniformly made of paper-maché. The actors seem to know it: Ian Hunter and Herbert Marshall give mechanical performances, and Cesar Romero bounces through his role as if he's anxious to quickly get off the set.

Special note: if you detest obnoxious Hollywood child actors, little Johnny Russell's performance as Stanwyck's little boy is about as excruciating as they come. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Can you imagine showing this film today in a renewal house? "Little Black Sambo" story was banned way back when. In today's politically correct atmosphere? I never understood why it was banned. Its true, the story had it laid out I presumed in Africa and the boy was black, so what was it that offended? As for the movie, I see the year was 1938 which meant that either the film was made in 1937 or in that year itself. Certainly things have changed since. But I found the story a bit too cute for words. That story line was played to the hilt during that period. If it wasn't Barbara, it was Lombard or Harlow, or Loretta Young doing the suffering..