Now and Forever

Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard reminded me of the romantic thieves in "Algiers" played by Charles Boyer and Hedy LaMarr. That movie was 1938 and this one 1934, so this movie is the original. It is a pre-code movie, so don't expect the stupid moral standards that the Hays office enforced in the years after this movie. Cooper and Lombard are wonderfully charming in their first few scenes together. They become more intense later on and less fun. In fact the whole film become less fun when Shirley Temple enters. At age six, Temple wasn't yet the brilliant seasoned pro and entertainer she became the following years.

This is Henry Hathaway's eleventh film, but eight of those were one hour Westerns with Randolph Scott, so it is only his third non-Western. His work with the actors, camera placements and story-telling techniques are excellent.

The main problem I found was with the stings or cons that are in the film. They seem far too easy. Perhaps people were much more gullible and assumed honesty in those days, but it is hard to believe that Cooper could have pulled off his cons without the luck of having a screenwriter watching over him.

It is not a great film, and not the best for Cooper, Lombard, Temple or Hathaway, but there is a lot of talent here and the film is enjoyable most of the time.

Incidentally, Dorothy Dell starred with Shirley Temple in 1934 in "Little Miss Marker" and died in a car crash at the age of 19. Carole Lombard starred with Temple in this movie and died in a plane crash at the age of 34. I thought I had discovered a "Temple Curse," but when I checked all of Temple's other female co-stars, almost all lived into their 80's or 90's and died of natural causes.

NOW AND FOREVER (Paramount, 1934), directed by Henry Hathaway, based on the story "Honor Bright" by Jack Kirkwood and Melville Baker, stars two-time Academy Award winner Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard, best known for screwball comedies, in a leisurely paced drama made watchable for the early screen presence of little Shirley Temple. While noteworthy as a Temple film, NOW AND FOREVER virtually belongs to the adults, particularly Cooper in an offbeat performance.

The story opens in Shanghai where adventurer Jerome "Jerry" Day (Gary Cooper), along with his traveling companion/wife Toni (Carole Lombard) of three years (whom he constantly asks, "Who do you love?), staying at the Occidental Hotel. Aside from living out of suitcases, catching planes, trains and boats for their next destination, Jerry is also an international crook. Unable to pay his hotel bill, he acquires the cash posing as a hotel auditor from guests whose bills are long overdue. Fully aware of his background, Toni is surprised to learn that Jerry has a child ("For a man who talks so much, you say very little"), living under the guardianship of his late wife Elsie's rich brother (Gilbert Emery) at an estate in Connecticut. Instead of reclaiming his daughter, Jerry decides on making easy money by selling the custody over to him for $75,000. Unable to cope with this situation, Toni decides to remain in Paris while Jerry meets with his brother-in-law and attorney (Henry Kolker). Once Jerry meets with his daughter, Penelopie, better known as Penny (Shirley Temple), whom he hasn't seen since birth, he is touched by the child and takes her away with him. After sailing back to Paris, Jerry introduces Penny to Toni as her new mother. All goes well, with Jerry now earning an honest living as agent for Rivera Realty Company, until he meets up with Felix Evans (Sir Guy Standing), an elderly gentleman to whom he sold a phony gold mine for $5,000 while with Penny in New York. Being a crook himself, Felix let Jerry swindle him in order to blackmail him into stealing a valuable necklace belonging to Mrs. J.H.P. Crane (Charlotte Granville), a wealthy widow whom Penny has already befriended. Further complications arise for Jerry as Mrs. Crane, who senses his adventurous ways, wanting to adopt Penny in order to give her a better life than her father ever could.

NOW AND FOREVER became Temple's second and final loan-out assignment from her home base at Fox Studios, her first being LITTLE MISS MARKER (1934). Although both films are equal to the point of having its opening credits orchestrated to the score of "Laugh, You Son-of-a-Gun," LITTLE MISS MARKER has proved more favorable by today's standards than NOW AND FOREVER in spite its top name cast of Cooper and Lombard. Temple has little screen time with Lombard, but gets the most out of playing opposite the extremely tall Cooper as well as the elderly co-stars of Charlotte Granville (giving an Alison Skipworth-type performance) and Sir Guy Standing. Temple's most crucial scene occurs while crying after discovering Mrs. Crane's necklace hidden in her teddy bear, believing "Daddy" had stolen it, even worse after swearing "honor bright" to her that he didn't. This is followed by a touching scene of forgiveness with daughter kissing Daddy. Take notice that the portion where society woman wanting to adopt child was reworked into Temple's latter film, DIMPLES (20th-Fox, 1936) with Helen Westley as the matron and Frank Morgan as Temple's petty thief grandfather.

As much as Temple is seldom seen mixing with other children on screen, she gets an opportunity enacting briefly opposite Ronnie Cosbey as the little boy by the poolside with whom she trades roller skates, as well as entertaining children guests attending Mrs. Crane's dinner party by singing, sneezing and stomping her feet to the tune of "The World Owes Me a Living" (by Harry Revel and Mack Gordon).

Of all the Temple features produced from 1934 to 1940, NOW AND FOREVER appeared to be the only one not part of any Shirley Temple Film Festivals on commercial television during the 1960s and 70s. The movie did air regularly on television in the New York City area on WNEW, Channel 5 prior to 1979, usually during the mid morning or after midnight hours possibly for its theme being more adult than one appealing to children. There's even gun shooting involved, not typically found in Temple's family oriented films. For many years, NOW AND FOREVER had virtually disappeared from view, making this and her 20th-Fox 1940 musical YOUNG PEOPLE the only hold-outs on VHS and DVD formats until the late 1990s when both distributed on VHS colorized formats. Cable television showings have been elusive for NOW AND FOREVER until making its Turner Classic Movies premiere July 6, 2015, as part of its "Star of the Month" tribute to the one and only Shirley Temple.

In spite of script weakness, NOW AND FOREVER remains of sole interest due to its principal players early in their careers, particularly Temple, whose popularity remains legendary, now and forever. Honor bright. (***)

This is a pretty bad movie directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Gary Cooper, Carole Lombard and Shirley Temple. Cooper plays a thief who is married to Lombard and they are not getting on that well. Cooper finds out he has a daughter, played by Temple, and he winds up keeping her over his relatives objections. Cooper tries to quit being a thief and be a good father but he's in debt and it's the only way he can get the money. Guy Standing offers him one last job but Lombard wants him to quit and Cooper doesn't want Temple to find out. Shirley Temple only sings one song here and it's pretty short and it's hard to see why Cooper or Lombard would want to do this movie.

'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

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."