Peter Ibbetson (1935)

Peter Ibbetson is an American black-and-white drama film released in 1935 and directed by Henry Hathaway.

The picture is based on a novel by George du Maurier, first published in 1891. In 1917, du Maurier's story was adapted into a very successful Broadway play starring John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Constance Collier and Laura Hope Crews. The story had also been filmed in 1921, as a silent film called Forever (1921), directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring the popular Wallace Reid.

This tale of a love that transcends all obstacles relates the story of two young lovers who are separated in childhood and then drawn together by destiny years later, even after they die. The movie's transitions between reality and fantasy are captured by the cinematography of Charles Lang, as discussed in the documentary Visions of Light (1992).

Gogo is a young boy of English extraction growing up in Paris. He is friendly with the neighbor girl, Mimsey. Gogo is taken to England by his uncle, who gives him an English name based on his mother's maiden name, transforming Gogo into Peter Ibbetson.

"So ended the first chapter in the strange foreshadowed life of Peter Ibbetson."

Now an adult Englishman, Ibbetson (Gary Cooper) is an architect working in Paris on a restoration job for the British Duke of Towers (John Halliday). He discovers that the Duchess of Towers (Ann Harding) is Mary, his childhood sweetheart. Mary keeps the dress she wore at their last childhood meeting in the dresser beside her bed.

The Duke becomes jealous and pulls a gun on Ibbetson. Ibbetson manages to kill the Duke in self-defense.

"So Death ended the second chapter. And then, in a prison on the bleak English moors..."

Ibbetson is sentenced to life in prison, and despairs that he will never see Mary again. However, the lovers are reunited in one another's dreams, which connect them spiritually. Peter can leave prison to join Mary in sunlit glades and meadows, but only in his slumbers.

"...and so, many years went by."

Though the years pass, Peter and Mary remain youthful in their dreams. Mary speaks to Peter from beyond. Then Peter joins her there.