--- title: "Peter Ibbetson" year: 1935 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/peter-ibbetson" fi1m_id: "peter-ibbetson" imdb_id: "tt0026866" tmdb_id: 57412 wikidata_id: "Q589066" fi1m_score: 74 critics_score: 71 critics_reviews: 5 published: "2026-09-25T02:18:57.681884+00:00" updated: "2026-09-25T02:18:58.632708+00:00" region: "AT" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Peter Ibbetson (1935) Directed by Henry Hathaway · 1h 28m · Drama, Fantasy, Romance ## Identity Peter Ibbetson - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/peter-ibbetson - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** peter-ibbetson - **IMDb ID:** tt0026866 - **TMDB ID:** 57412 - **Wikidata ID:** Q589066 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026866/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/57412, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q589066 **Fi1m score: 74** · Critics 71 (early) from 5 reviews *In a sentence:* Ann Harding makes eternal devotion seem reasonable, which is more than Gary Cooper appears prepared to concede > Henry Hathaway’s romantic fantasy is moving despite its uncertain leading man. Ann Harding and Charles Lang’s photography give the lovers’ attachment a conviction that Gary Cooper cannot always supply, though the story requires considerable indulgence. ## Synopsis Childhood love persists across the years in the life of Peter Ibbetson (Gary Cooper). Gogo (Dickie Moore) and Mimsey (Virginia Weidler) stand at the beginning of the story; its adult world includes Mary, Duchess of Towers (Ann Harding), and the Duke of Towers (John Halliday). Peter’s longing for Mary comes up against the circumstances of their separate lives. He wants their attachment to survive, even when ordinary life gives it little room. The romance moves towards fantasy as the bond between the lovers becomes harder to explain in everyday terms. ## Review *Peter Ibbetson* is a good romantic fantasy with a substantial difficulty: its leading man seems less persuaded than we need him to be. Henry Hathaway treats love with a seriousness that initially feels forbidding, then becomes rather touching. Adapted from George du Maurier’s novel, the film asks us to accept an attachment that exceeds ordinary experience. It earns much of that belief through Charles Lang’s photography and Ann Harding’s performance, though the writing leaves considerable work for them to do. Ann Harding gives Mary, Duchess of Towers, the steadiness this romance needs. She makes absolute devotion seem considered, without suggesting that she has mistaken it for good sense. There is enough restraint in her performance to keep the character from becoming merely an illustration of undying love. Gary Cooper’s reserve has less useful results: Peter Ibbetson can seem remote when we need some indication of what he feels. His seriousness is evident, but seriousness alone cannot make us believe in the attachment. Charles Lang’s photography supplies much of the missing persuasion. The dreamlike treatment of the lovers’ bond allows their closeness to feel natural, even when the story has taken us beyond anything we might recognise from life. We were moved by that closeness, because the images give their devotion a tenderness that the more solemn storytelling sometimes lacks. Hathaway is wise to allow the photography so much responsibility. These passages need little explaining, and the film becomes less convincing whenever we start demanding explanations of it. That does not entirely excuse the screenplay by Waldemar Young and Vincent Lawrence. Some of the story remains difficult to credit even after we have accepted the freedom a fantasy should have. A romance can ask us to believe almost anything, provided the people persuade us first. Here, the unevenness between the central performances keeps reopening questions that the film needs us to put aside. Peter’s emotional distance matters because so much depends on our accepting the strength of his love. Stuart Heisler’s editing suits the film’s serenity, giving its romantic feeling time to settle. The measured pace also exposes the passages where that feeling has not quite arrived. The music, credited to Heinz Eric Roemheld, W. Franke Harling, Ernst Toch and Hugo Friedhofer, supports the solemn mood. We would still give Harding most of the credit for preventing that solemnity from becoming oppressive; she provides a human reason to stay interested. Within romantic fantasy, the film’s willingness to take devotion seriously is appealing. There is no need for every improbable attachment to arrive with a joke that excuses it, and Hathaway does not seem embarrassed by what he is asking us to accept. The difficulty is sustaining that faith through a performance as guarded as Cooper’s. At 88 minutes, the film does not exhaust its welcome, although its emotional narrowness can make it feel longer to anyone unconvinced by the lovers. This is consequently a recommendation for those already sympathetic to the genre, with a warning about the leading performance. Allow the photography and Harding some time to work before deciding that the story is too improbable. Give it an evening when a romance is allowed to be strange, and when nobody on the sofa is determined to keep asking how. *Fi1m score 74, published 25 September 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is Peter Ibbetson worth watching?** *Peter Ibbetson* is worth watching for those sympathetic to solemn romantic fantasy, and we score it 74 out of 100. Ann Harding’s performance and Charles Lang’s dreamlike photography make the devotion moving, though Gary Cooper’s emotional distance makes an already improbable attachment harder to believe. **How long is Peter Ibbetson, and what is it rated?** *Peter Ibbetson* runs 1h 28m. It is a drama and fantasy film. **Where can I watch Peter Ibbetson in Austria?** *Peter Ibbetson* is not on any streaming or rental service in Austria at the moment. It is available in 2 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How does Peter Ibbetson compare to A Matter of Life and Death?** *Peter Ibbetson* is the more solemn romance, while we find [*A Matter of Life and Death*](https://film.one/film/a-matter-of-life-and-death) funnier and easier to recommend to a wider audience. Both mix love with fantasy, but the latter’s celestial bureaucracy allows more humour; Harding and the photography make *Peter Ibbetson* rewarding chiefly for those willing to indulge its improbable devotion. **Is Peter Ibbetson based on a true story or a book?** *Peter Ibbetson* is adapted from George du Maurier’s novel, rather than presented as a true story. We would approach it as a romantic fantasy without treating familiarity with the book as a prerequisite: its appeal rests on accepting the lovers’ extraordinary attachment, although we make no claim about how faithfully it follows the novel. **What should I watch after Peter Ibbetson?** After *Peter Ibbetson*, try [*A Matter of Life and Death*](https://film.one/film/a-matter-of-life-and-death) (1946, Fi1m 92): Romance and celestial bureaucracy meet in a fantasy with rather more humour. Then [*Ugetsu*](https://film.one/film/ugetsu) (1953, Fi1m 89): Desire and ghostly beauty draw ordinary lives away from safer ground; and [*Wings of Desire*](https://film.one/film/wings-of-desire) (1987, Fi1m 88): Patient observation and unguarded tenderness make the supernatural feel unexpectedly close. ### Reviews we read (5) - **Radio Times**, Tom Hutchinson (4/5): The review calls the film an oddity that became a landmark for surrealists. It singles out the finale’s fulfilment of passionate love for its rapturous reception, while noting that Gary Cooper is ineffective. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-jr05kc/peter-ibbetson/) - **Slant Magazine**, Derek Smith (4/5): Smith praises the film as a strange, beautiful, and affecting work of tragic romanticism. He singles out its evocative cinematography and visual expression of the lovers’ dreamlike bond. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/peter-ibbetson-blu-ray-review-henry-hathaway/) - **Variety**, Variety Staff (65/100, inferred): The review is broadly impressed by the film’s beauty and serenity, though it finds the story hard to believe and Gary Cooper unconvincing in its romantic role. It singles out Ann Harding’s performance as splendid, with Ida Lupino also making an impression. [Read](https://variety.com/1934/film/reviews/peter-ibbetson-1200411016/) - **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The article’s verdict cannot be determined because its text is inaccessible. No specific praise or complaint can be verified from the supplied page. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1935/11/08/archives/a-new-screen-version-of-peter-ibbetson-at-the-radio-city-music-hall.html) - **Time Out** (64/100, inferred): The page is identified as a film review, but the review text is unavailable, so its verdict cannot be established. The available description singles out the film’s connection to Paul Éluard’s discovery of it and its adaptation of a novel. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/peter-ibbetson) ## Details - **Director:** Henry Hathaway - **Director:** Henry Hathaway - **Screenplay:** Vincent Lawrence, Waldemar Young - **Novel:** George du Maurier - **Cinematography:** Charles Lang - **Editor:** Stuart Heisler - **Music:** W. Franke Harling, Ernst Toch, Heinz Eric Roemheld, Hugo Friedhofer - **Producer:** Louis D. Lighton - **Cast:** Gary Cooper as Peter Ibbetson; Ann Harding as Mary, Duchess of Towers; John Halliday as The Duke of Towers; Ida Lupino as Agnes; Douglass Dumbrille as Colonel Forsythe; Virginia Weidler as Mimsey; Dickie Moore as Gogo; Doris Lloyd as Mrs. Dorian - **Runtime:** 1h 28m - **First release (the US):** 31 October 1935 - **Genres:** Drama, Fantasy, Romance ## Where to watch in Austria Not streaming, renting or buying in Austria at the last check. Also available in: IT, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 1936: Best Score, Adaptation or Treatment (nominated) ## If you liked this - *Portrait of Jennie* (1948): A painter’s attachment becomes a romance with a similarly uncertain hold on time - *A Matter of Life and Death* (1946), Fi1m 92: Romance and celestial bureaucracy meet in a fantasy with rather more humour — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-matter-of-life-and-death.md) - *Ugetsu* (1953), Fi1m 89: Desire and ghostly beauty draw ordinary lives away from safer ground — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/ugetsu.md) - *Wings of Desire* (1987), Fi1m 88: Patient observation and unguarded tenderness make the supernatural feel unexpectedly close — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/wings-of-desire.md) - *The Lunchbox* (2013): For another distant attachment, built this time through food and letters --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/peter-ibbetson