Tonight's Movie: Now and Forever (1934) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

A trio of great stars headline NOW AND FOREVER (1934), a Paramount Pictures film to be released on Blu-ray later this month by Kino Lorber.

NOW AND FOREVER stars Gary Cooper, Carole Lombard, and Shirley Temple.

The film was a reunion for Cooper and Lombard, who had previously costarred in I TAKE THIS WOMAN (1931). They play Jerry and Toni, a couple who are deeply in love but also deeply in debt.

Jerry has no interest in earning an honorable living and instead acquires funds with elaborate swindles, so the pair must hop from country to country, always staying one step ahead of the police.

Jerry returns to the United States when he learns that his brother-in-law (George Webb) wishes to adopt Penny (Temple), the little girl he'd left behind with his now-deceased wife. Jerry intends to bilk George for $75,000 in return for signing the adoption papers...and then he meets charming Penny and boring George and just can't bring himself to leave Penny with George.

Jerry embraces his role as a father, excepting the fact that he refuses to turn over a new leaf. Toni, who also comes to love Penny, is dismayed that Jerry seems set on continuing a life of crime.

And then a tough but very nice, rich old lady (Charlotte Granville) enters the picture. She wants to adopt Penny and give her every advantage in life. Jerry has some tough decisions to make.

This is a watchable 81 minutes thanks to the sheer star power of the three leads, along with a nice performance by Granville as Penny's would-be rescuer. Cooper and Lombard are gorgeous, and Temple is delightful without being cloying.

That said, this is a surprisingly dark story which takes a real turn in the final minutes. I watched the film in the blissful confidence that Cooper would eventually reform...I mean, it's a Shirley Temple movie, released just after Production Code enforcement began. Everything will work out, right?

Well, it does, but definitely not in the way I expected. In the end, the screenplay by Sylvia Thalberg and Vincent Lawrence, based on a story by Jack Kirkland and Melville Baker, is unable to turn Jerry's character around. It frankly becomes frustrating watching a man who utterly refuses to shape up so that he can responsibly parent his daughter, though Cooper is excellent; Toni tries her best but in the end can only go along with whatever Jerry wants. In the end Jerry does make a responsible choice, just not what a viewer might expect.

Henry Hathaway directed. The movie was filmed by Harry Fischbeck, with some location filming at Big Bear Lake. The supporting cast includes Sir Guy Standing, Henry Kolker, and Gilbert Emery.

The Kino Lorber print is from a brand-new 2K master. The print is a little rougher than expected in spots, with some scratches here and there, particularly in the early going. However, there are no distracting skips or jumps, and most of the print looks very good. Sound quality is excellent.

Disc extras are the trailer; a gallery of six additional movie trailers; and a commentary track by Lee Gambin and Elissa Rose.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray.

Tweet