Ever in My Heart (1933)

Absolutely Fantastic

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

The same year that Adolph Hitler became chancellor of Germany, Warner Brothers released this movie set during the days just before World War I where young Barbara Stanwyck, preparing to marry the handsome Ralph Bellamy, falls in love at first sight with his German born pal Otto Kruger. Bellamy is out and Kruger is the one who waits for her to walk down the aisle, much to the disgust of her prejudiced family. Perhaps there's good reason, as the marriage seems to fail, and Kruger suddenly disappears, just as the Lusitania is sunk and war is declared. Stanwyck ends up working in France along side Bellamy and suddenly recognizes a rather sullen soldier to be her estranged husband, with the revelation of where his loyalties lie and the decision she makes to change the destinies of both of them, as well as the war itself.This is perhaps the only film where Otto Kruger played the leading male part, and while he is a fine character actor, a romantic idol he is not. He played ruthless businessmen, generous doctors and best friends very well, but I didn't for one minute believe that there would be a spark between him and Stanwyck. Unlike other older actors she's been paired with in other films, there's supposed to be a heat between them to generate some sort of passion, but even the staid Bellamy has more passion than Kruger can generate. Even stranger, there's an almost incestuous like relationship between Stanwyck and her brother (Frank Albertson) who seems to become insanely jealous of the "passion" between Stanwyck and Kruger.Looking nothing like her Aunt Pitty Pat, Laura Hope Crews wears much aged make-up to play Stanwyck's imperious grandmother. Ruth Donnelly, Clara Blandick, Nella Walker and Virginia Howell play domestics or other relatives. Ironically, Blandick (like Bellamy in the Frank Capra film "Forbidden") had played a villainous role opposite Stanwyck the year before in "Shopworn", but here, she is much kinder and supportive. This is unfortunately a weird film that doesn't quite express an anti-war sentiment but gives a paranoia about German immigrants that would grow increasingly stronger over the next few years as Hitler's agenda became obvious and the world headed into another war. Stanwyck gives her typically sincere performance, but the stunning ending sort of came out of nowhere, leaving me completely disappointed over the rest of the film that didn't generate the needed heat to deserve such a surprising twist.

Yes, this is one of the most tragic stories I have ever seen put to film. A young woman (Barbara Stanwyck) is in love with Ralph Bellamy, but then falls in love with Otto Kruger, a German national who is visiting Bellamy. Stanwyck and Kruger get married, have a child...and a dog...and are living a happy life until World War I breaks out. The community turns against them because of Kruger's former German citizenship, even though before the war he became an American citizen. Their child dies (somewhat unexplained), the dog is tortured to death (also ignore Sara Marie's review on this topic since it is not portrayed, only referred to), and Kruger is fired from his job as a professor. Barely subsisting, Stanwyck goes to live with family, and instead of following her "before Christmas", Kruger returns to Germany a bitter repatriate. There he becomes a spy for the Germans, and by great coincidence Stanwyck (as a worker at a canteen), Kruger, and Bellamy (in the army) all end up at the same place near the front. Kruger is there to spy on troop movements, which will endanger the lives of thousands of Americans including Bellamy and Stanwyck's brother. One last night together, then Stanwyck poisons a last toast of wine between her and Kruger, and they both die before he can pass on his information to the Germans.The problem here is not the story. Yes, you have to suspend belief a bit to imagine the 3 principals would all end up near the front at the same time, but then again, most films require us to suspend belief. The problem is twofold -- the overall pace of the film, and the gaps in the story. Both of these issues are somewhat common in films before what I think of as Hollywood's maturity -- and that maturity took place right around 1932-1933 when this film was made. A couple of years later, I suspect a slightly longer film (this is only 68 minutes long) would have eliminated gaps and filled in the story nicely.Stanwyck is excellent here. Bellamy and Kruger good to very good. Frank Albertson shallow. And, Laura Hope Crews is here as the grandmother (Crews was later Aunt Pittypat in "Gone With The Wind").As indicated, the film has its flaws, but is well worth watching as a reminder that Americans are not always uplifting, kind, and generous people. This is a tragic war story, a paints a sad picture of how our society can behave at times.

"Ever In My Heart" starts off slowly and uneventfully, a pretty pedestrian story that seems both tendentious and predictable. Barbara Stanwyck grows up in a waspy New England town. Her best friend/fiancé (Bellamy) returns from Europe with a German friend (Kruger), who sweeps Stanwyck off her feet. They marry. WWI arrives and the town turns against the couple, who are accused of sympathizing with the Germans. Hardships ensue.Stanwyck is terrific, and Otto Kruger is surprisingly warm and effective in his role. Later in his career he played spies and double agents in scores of WWII films. Ralph Bellamy, of course, played the good-natured slob who lost the girl.The film is a hyperbolic screed against small-town prejudice, and the first half seems forced and simplistic, but picks up in the second half with the onset of the war. I thought the ending was quite powerful and hard to watch, a tribute to actors who know their craft. I appreciate Stanwyck more with each picture, mostly these early ones which are seldom shown.

Barbara Stanwyck and Otto Kruger star in "Ever in My Heart," a 1933 film directed by Archie Mayo and also starring Ralph Bellamy.Stanwyck plays Mary Archer, who, in 1909, falls in love with a young German, Hugo Wilbrandt (Otto Kruger), a friend of her cousin Jeff (Ralph Bellamy). They get married right away and settle down, and eventually have a baby boy. Hugo proudly becomes an American citizen.Tragedy strikes the couple. When World War I occurs, the anti-German sentiment forces Hugo out of his teaching job and unable to find any other work. Mary's family wants them to move back in with them, but they want Hugo to change his name, which he won't do. He talks Mary into staying with them, saying he will join her in a week. He doesn't; he turns his back on America and returns to Germany to fight the war with the Germans.Mary divorces Hugo and later goes overseas to work for the war effort. There, she runs into Hugo.I knew the plot of this film, but there were elements of it that I did not know, so I found the film even more profoundly depressing than I expected. Barbara Stanwyck is wonderful, going from a fresh, young, happy woman to one who has to endure horrible sadness. Otto Kruger is very effective as well, but this is really Stanwyck's film. She'll break your heart.Beautifully done film, but be prepared!