Eternally Yours (1939)

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Some BIG BIG names in this one. Loretta Young, David Niven, Hugh Herbert. Billie Burke, Sir Aubrey Smith. and of course, my hero, the cynical, sarcastic Eve Arden! and of course Zasu PItts. In the story, Niven is Arturo, see-er of the future, and he is taken with Anita (Young). They travel around the world for Arturo's act, but Anita is getting sick of the road. Then Arturo takes on a dare, which risks his life. and Anita doesn't like it at all. Then he refuses to come off the road, and Anita is off to divorce court. Then they spend the rest of the film running into each other, antagonizing each other, if un-intentionally. The last twenty minutes are a bit annoying... Anita's new husband won't stand up for her, and he also lets his boss run all over him, even when Anita gets ill and wants to leave. A little disappointing.... with that great cast, I was hoping for more. It's all perfectly well done, but they all seem to be fighting for the spotlight. and the story kind of loses its way in the second half. we were supporting Anita when she was in love with, and married to the new husband, but then she doesn't seem to know who she wants, and if SHE doesn't know, why should WE care what happens? I hope it all gets worked out by the end. I can see why its not rated very high, even with all those big names. the ending is a little too abrupt and random. i wonder if the ending was changed along the way to suit audience preferences...

David Niven and Loretta Young pledge to be "Eternally Yours" in this 1939 film also featuring Hugh Herbert, C. Aubrey Smith, Broderick Crawford, Eve Arden, Zasu Pitts, and Billie Burke.Young plays Anita, who is engaged to Don (Crawford); however, she attends a performance by The Great Arturo (Niven), a Houdini-type who also reads minds and palms, and it's love at first sight for both of them. They marry, and she becomes part of his act, traveling full time all over the world.Anita is hoping to settle down with Arturo and have a home and family. With the help of her grandfather (C. Aubrey Smith) she secretly builds her dream home. When she shows it to Arturo, he dismisses it. She leaves him, divorces him, and marries Don.Light comedy with a charming cast. Young is beautiful, 26 at the time, and she and Niven work well together, as they did in one of my favorite movies, The Bishop's Wife.People commented that this is a horrible plot, bad script, etc. It seemed pretty typical to me of the type of comedy done back then, no better, no worse.David Niven was a remarkable man who died an awful death from ALS. An accomplished writer as well as actor, he was a gentleman through and through. When he died, the porters at Heathrow sent a wreath that said, 'To the finest gentleman who ever walked through these halls. He made a porter feel like a king'.

If there was ever one thing every one could agree about David Niven is he had no small amount of debonair charm. It got him through many a film when the role required little else. I would say that is the case in Eternally Yours.Loretta Young, granddaughter of Episcopalian minister C. Aubrey Smith, meets and falls in love with a magician. That would be David Niven. But he's more than a magician, he's the current Houdini wannabe who has skill as a hypnotist and an escape artist. Niven likes the life of a traveling entertainer, but Loretta wants to settle down with a home. After a death defying leap from a plane when he's handcuffed behind him, Young can't deal with the tension any more and she leaves him. He finds he can't go on without her, but she ups and divorces him and marries Broderick Crawford.Of course the rest of the film is about Niven winning Young back in the best tradition of Cary Grant who may very well have been offered this part before Niven. Loretta is certainly worth winning back. I'm betting that Ralph Bellamy turned down the Ralph Bellamy part so Broderick Crawford was cast. Niven enjoys tweaking him in this film, but I'm not sure why unlike Bellamy who was usually a well meaning goof, Crawford didn't just punch him out.The climax takes place at the 1939 World's Fair and you might want to see Eternally Yours for some nostalgia footage of that event. But it is a film that really does get by on the charm of its leads.

This is a nice classic comedy about the romance between a bishop´s granddaughter and a successful magician. Although it isn´t a typical screwball comedy it has the usual charm of the 30´s. One of the things I most like in the film is the naturality of the characters and the relationships between them, without any superfual mildness. It´s also a film about marriage and divorce in a way that I find outstanding for that time and it´s full of funny and emotive situations in the way of films like Ernst Lubitsch Bluebeard´s Eighth Wife. In a funny way, i just want to comment one detail that makes me laugh but I don't know if that was the original intention. It is near to the end, when the magician is going to make one his most dangerous tricks and his assistant wants to stop him because is going to kill himself. The magician calls the police to take the assistant away from him and says: "arrest him, he is a communist!". And it wasn´t witch-hunt time yet!!