Now and Forever (1934) User Reviews (19)

A rather odd mix but highly watchable for the stars

[davidgarnes · 6/10 · 12 August 2012]

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.

Penny for his Thoughts

[lugonian · 7/10 · 7 September 2008]

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. (***)

A rare Paramount Shirley Temple film

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 10 October 2020]

Gary Cooper stars as Jerry Day, a con man who roams the luxury spots of the world with his girlfriend Toni (Carole Lombard), staying one step ahead of the law and bill collectors. He learns that he has a 6-year old daughter named Penny (Shirley Temple) from a previous relationship. It seems the child's mother has died, but since she was wealthy, Jerry sees a potential payday, so he takes charge of the young girl. However, the child's infectious charm causes Jerry to reassess his lifestyle and change his ways, a decision that may be easier said than done.

I'm not normally a fan of Temple's films, but this outing, in which she's supporting, is much easier to take, even if it is more than a little saccharine. Cooper is good as the morally compromised man trying to change his ways. He's especially effective in the rather dark final act. Temple is Temple, while Lombard doesn't have much to do. Charlotte Granville is enjoyable as a rich old widow who wants to adopt Temple. While the money may be nice, I'm not sure how many years old Charlotte has left in her to be raising a 6-year-old to maturity. I liked this more than expected, and would recommend it to those who have perhaps avoided it due to Temple's presence and a dislike of child centered production code era films.

Life on the lamb or honor bright?

[SimonJack · 6/10 · 25 April 2021]

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."

Shirley Away From Fox

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 21 March 2007]

The only Shirley Temple appeared away from Fox studios was in this loan out film to Paramount co-starring Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard. After Fox became 20th Century Fox, Darryl F. Zanuck would not lend out his biggest star and America's biggest star during those years. Now and Forever was made slightly before Temple's peak years, but she was rising fast.

Another viewer said he could not understand why Cooper and Lombard would want to be associated with this film. Very simply it was going to make money and they would also gain exposure. The challenge was holding their own against the adorable little moppet.

Cooper is a confidence man who apparently isn't as good as he thinks he is. He swindles Guy Standing, but later finds out he's actually been the one taken. Of course by that time he's reunited with his little daughter and she introduced to his new wife Carole Lombard.

Cooper just is an instinctive grifter though, content to lead life one step ahead of the law. It's not however a life that he can have a little daughter along with for the ride.

The ending here is a little darker than most Shirley Temple movies are and that makes it somewhat unique. Lombard is good, but she's somewhat subdued in this film. Best in the film besides Shirley is Guy Standing.

Not one of Cooper's best or Lombard's best, but Shirley Temple fans of every generation will probably like it, but find the film a bit strange.

Honor Bright

[HotToastyRag · 6/10 · 20 July 2020]

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?

Early movie showing Shirley's talent

[harleypassion · 16 April 2002]

This movie has a warm feel to it, and with Shirley as the child, she brings out the sweetness. Though there isn't much song and dance routine in this movie as in all her rest, she still charms us with the song "The World Owes Me A Living". The tale of a lil girl wanting her daddy to be honest is a sure-win family movie. However, the ending is a lil sad... This movie shows how much the father loves his daughter, and the sacrifice he's willing to make. A good movie to watch, with your family would be best :) Let children have fun after all! Not just plain discipline!

Who can out-con the con artist? Shirley Temple, of course!

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 22 May 2014]

The characters of Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard are established early in this tearjerker with a few laughs when Cooper pretends to be a books inspector to con fellow guests at a hotel in order to pay off his own bill. They head separate ways-Lombard to Paris and Cooper to America, where he stops by to collect money promised in order to let his in-laws adopt his daughter (Shirley Temple). Bartering for the perky young miss as if she was a prize heffer at a county fair, Cooper obviously has no interest in taking her in until he spends some time with her and finds that she has a free spirit that his former brother-in-law is trying to subdue. Cooper takes her to Paris so he can marry Lombard and continue their string of cons, but circumstances arrange themselves so he has no choice but to make some strong moral decisions based upon his own growing love for his flesh and blood.

At first, Temple and Lombard hit it off like oil and water, but who can resist Shirley's curls and Lombard's blue eyes? This makes their situation all the more dangerous as Cooper finally agrees to take on a respectable career but can't stop his extravagant lifestyle which includes trying to con a wealthy widow (Charlotte Granville) with the help of an old colleague (Guy Standing).

There's a lot of sentimentality in this drama, one of two pictures which Temple made on loan to Paramount at the start of her major stardom years. She shows some adult cynicism when she first meets the pretty Carole, and you know that they will open their hearts to each other. Some actors warned you about the focus being stolen by dogs and children, but they forgot about spunky old ladies, which is true in the case of Granville who comes off the champion here, her acidic delivery (mixed with love) the highlight of the film. This is an enjoyable family drama that may seem forumulatic in some respects, but is memorable on its own rights.

Little Miss Sunshine in a Thunderstorm -- But It Works!

[Snow4849 · 9/10 · 31 July 2005]

Even longtime Shirley fans may be surprised by "Now and Forever." The movie was filmed with Paramount studios – not with Shirley's parent company Twentieth Century Fox – in 1934, before Fox producer Darryl Zanuck had perfected the successful Shirley formula (cute songs, cold hearts for her to melt, young couples for her to play cupid to, happy endings). Thus "Now and Forever" falls into the category of a Shirley vehicle without the standard Shirley story. It is an awkward position for any movie, but this impressive, talented cast makes it work.

Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard star as fun-loving, irresponsible con artists Jerry and Toni Day. The only thing that this devoted yet dysfunctional duo seems to hate more than being together is being apart. When they are suddenly landed with custody of Jerry's young daughter Penny (Shirley Temple), it is Toni – and not Penny, as many believe – who persuades Jerry to give up his criminal career. But Jerry flounders at his desk job, and desperate to prove that he can provide for his new family, he soon returns to thieving and dishonesty. In a standard Shirley device, Penny tries to melt the heart of crusty curmudgeon Felix Evans, the victim of one of Jerry's cons, but her attempt fails, for Evans is revealed to be a con artist himself, and he blackmails Jerry into helping him steal jewels. The drama, gunfight, death, and sorrow that follow all make this film a very unusual one for Little Miss Sunshine. There is no happy ending, no dancing, and only one song sequence (the cute number "The World Owes Me a Living").

But this does not mean that Shirley fans should avoid "Now and Forever." Rather, it's divergence from the usual Shirley story make it more interesting and memorable than many of her other films. But beware: You should avoid colorized version of this film, and see it in black-and-white if you can. The color is bright, garish, and unrealistic, and in many scenes, Shirley's famous curls are actually red instead of blonde. Yikes!

Forever Shirley

[TheLittleSongbird · 6/10 · 3 May 2019]

'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

How NOT To Make A Shirley Temple Film

[ccthemovieman-1 · 3/10 · 3 April 2007]

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.

Fellow non-lovers of child star movies - you might decide not to miss this one

[hudecha · 8/10 · 7 December 2020]

Let us be frank - having decided to view all available pictures with Carole Lombard, I had kept this one for the very end. Not because of Gary Cooper, though I had feared he would not be a natural match for the sharp wits of Lombard. Actually I was quite wrong about that, he is outstanding in a role of classy spendthrift swindler and irresponsible father. A few years later the role of Jerry Dean would probably have been proposed first to Cary Grant. But in 1934 Grant's impressive dispositions to play such morally dubious characters as Jerry had not yet been fully acknowledged - they would be for example in Hitchcock's Suspicion a few years later -, while on his side Cooper had not yet been typecast as the rather serious and taciturn character he mostly became in the 40s and after. The main reason for a limited eagerness to see this film, far from being a great fan of child star movies, was Shirley Temple. While the film made progress, there was relief to see that such fears had on the whole been exaggerated. This is not to say that Temple is not "extremely cute", all curls and dimples, as well as "so smart and wise for her age" - the two qualities which seem to have so enthralled the public with her in the 30s, and which can appear rather irritating to (some) modern viewers. She is both these things, a bit too cute, and too smart and wise. But one must recognize that she is not overacting it. More importantly, the film carefully avoids allowing her to steal the whole show. Cooper and Lombard do not simply become satellites around her sun - on the contrary, beyond her, theirs characters and mutual relation become more complex and contradicted than before. While not a masterpiece the film can be counted as a worthy element in both its stars' careers. It actually starts as pure screwball, very pleasantly so - but even before the appearance of Temple and the levity it brings, trouble looms and the mood starts shifting towards more serious ground. All along, dialogues between Jerry and his wife Toni are far above the lightweight stuff to be usually found in such comedies. The story earns in gravity and interest what it loses in sheer fun. The central thread is highly predictable - will the demands of fatherhood somehow oblige Jerry to give up his self-centered, pleasure-oriented life view and lifestyle ? -, and there cannot be much doubt about the final reply to that question, but both the actual ending and the way to get there are refreshingly unexpected and avoid rather skillfully the pitfalls of heavy-handed moralism - as Toni does. While Carole Lombard plays second fiddle to Cooper's first in the story, her character is fairly developed and rich, and she plays it with perfect pitch.

Unusual Shirley-Cooper- Lombard film, with a downer ending

[weezeralfalfa · 7/10 · 14 February 2017]

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

Shirley's father is unusually awful in this film from Paramount

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 16 January 2016]

Nearly all of Shirley Temple's childhood films were made at Twentieth Century Fox and it helped make this studio one of the most successful ones of the 1930s. However, for some reason Shirley starred in this film for Paramount. Fox loaned her out to Paramount (a practice that occasionally happened to keep actors busy during slack periods or as part of a trade between the studios for a film or two) and considering how successful she was at the time, this loan-out is surprising. Perhaps it's because it was still early in Shirley's career, though with some big hits behind her, it's still hard to understand. Or, perhaps Fox really owed Paramount because they loan them some mega- star or mega-stars.

This film is a bit unusual. While her parents were sometimes idiots in her films, they usually weren't criminals like they are in "Now and Forever". Pennie's mother died and she's being raised by her mother's family. This is a blessing since her father, Jerry (Gary Cooper) is a con man and is just no good. In fact, at one point her returns to his wife's family and tries to sell his interest in the child in order to make money!! Fortunately, when Pennie (Temple) spends time with her no-good father, she manages to bring out the best in him and he wants her not for any money but to raise her because she's so sweet. This is a relief to Jerry's girlfriend, Toni (Carole Lombard), as she's tired of their life together...always being just one step ahead of the law! But Toni is realistic...any change might be temporary and Jerry needs to think about someone else other than himself for once. Can this jerk of a dad and very immature man actually turn out to be a family man?

So is this film any good? Well, I certainly would never consider placing it among Temple's better films. The biggest reason is that the film is a MAJORLY depressing film...especially at the end. In most later films, parents had issues but worked them out happily by the end and everything was peachy. Here, it's just a depressing, miserable mess. The acting is good...the script really isn't. Overall, not a terrible film but it lacks something in later movies...fun.

pretty bad

[KyleFurr2 · 6/10 · 9 November 2005]

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.

Make that 7.5!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 24 October 2017]

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.

See It for Lombard and Cooper

[jayraskin1 · 8/10 · 12 June 2011]

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.

Con-man rediscovers a long lost daughter and tries to turn over a new leaf

[tcaffert-1 · 8/10 · 31 May 2016]

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.

Some very interesting moments

[Caz1964 · 8/10 · 18 October 2006]

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.