Peter Ibbetson

• 1921

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aka Forever George du Maurier's classic novel was made into a play by John Raphael which starred John and Lionel Barrymore. In their places, the film version had lesser lights Wallace Reid and Montagu Love playing Peter and his uncle, Colonel Ibbetson, respectively. Peter is an orphan raised by his uncle, but when Colonel Ibbetson insults his dead mother, Peter attacks him and is ordered from the house. Then the young man runs into his childhood sweetheart, Mimsi (Elsie Ferguson), and their romantic feelings are rekindled. Unfortunately, Mimsi has married, but they carry on a love affair in their dreams. Their dream-affair continues over the years, even after Peter kills his uncle and is given a life prison sentence. After their death, the lovers reunite in the astral world. This lyrical, highly romantic story was not exactly the kind of material that went over in the hinterlands, so to remove any literary pretensions, Paramount retitled the picture Forever for release out side of the New York area.