Back Street 1932 

What a great movie and excellent acting. No smoke and mirrors just talent. A lost art.

Irene Dunne. One of the greats. She could do it all. Comedy. Tragedy. Exquisite. Incredible lyric soprano.

Great Dunne performance as she ages 50 years. Incredibly restrained without ever going over the top, yet powerfully moving and emotional. Wonderfully photographed as well.

What an incredible movie. I don't mind admitting that I cried at the end and I'm a 57-year-old man. I can't think of any fitting words to describe this movie properly, but I'll never forget it.

A truly convincing love story without any sex scenes. You see, love can be displayed properly and decently. Particularly the dying scenes at the end of the film are brillantly played. True theatrical representation.

I was overawed by this gem of a film, made a dozen years before I was born ( I'm now 77) with the technology of the time. It's simply astounding: the leading pair, Irene Dunne AND John Boles, both underplay their role as star-crossed lovers, under the masterly direction of John Stahl and a great script and creative team. The film itself does not moralise or pass judgment on the behaviour of the protagonists, as so many commentators do.. We can indulge in sententious moralizing until the cows come home... But the reality is that it's a very well-made film of the other side of the love story coin. There cannot be that many 90-year old black and white movies that can still grip our attention and move a contemporary audience as this one does And all this, without histrionics, special effects, etc

Walter was a spineless little mama’s boy, feeling absolutely zero remorse for asking another human to sacrifice their entire life for his occasional passing interest. But she stayed with him rather than simply accepting another who truly loved her and wanted to give her everything. It’s a sad ending, but I guess they in fact deserved each other after all. That other standup dude dodged a major bullet when she went back to Walter. If this had an epilogue, i hope he found someone who actually deserved a man of his character and honest, loving generosity.

I hear you Lord!...to every person whom has "happened" onto this movie. I truly believe there is a message here for you; although the fantasy might be appealing please don't allow the sentiment & emotion to cloud your judgement!...today in 2020 this is still a message to be taught & a lesson to be learned. Your life is worth more than standing on the sideline for someone who will never commit to you. Run!! Run far away, block there number get a new phone, have a good cry then GET UP & keep living! Find the purpose God has for you & do it with everything you have! She was a nurturer & an encourager helping everyone around her but failing to listen to her own wisdom! In the end she talked herself into living below her worth & died in that same spot!

terrific movie! hard to believe it's almost 90 yrs. old but theme is still relevant & touching

Oh, how terribly SAD!!! -and what a kindness from the son! What a mess we make of our lives sometimes! So unbearably sad. May God have mercy on us all through His Son, Jesus. Amen.

MAGNIFICENT Irene DUNNE---I just discovered her!!!! What an actress---what range!!!! That final scene is a tour de force!!!

I love this movie so much, dare not say how often i watch it. For 1932, it really shows how life really is .

I've seen all three versions of this movie. (1932) Irene Dunne and John Boles; (1941) Margaret Sullavan and Charles Boyer; and (1961) Susan Hayward and John Gavin. My mother introduced me to the movies and stars of old Hollywood. The actors/actresses of today have a long way to go, to keep up. Way back then, there was no call for explicit sex. The leading man seduced the leading lady... fade out. You already knew where it would lead... you didn't have to watch! Bravo to the movies of the 30s, 40s and 50s!.

He says he’d gladly give up everything for her, but he doesn’t give up anything for her.

. Love the classics. Sometimes I feel I was born a little too late. The silent movies even appeals to me. Thanks for sharing. Love her and Claudette Colbert.

I started watching this film with reservations but the depth and luminosity of Irene Dunne completely captivated me. Wonderful film.

Speechless, only crying. This love was true, yet not melodramatic, it was infused with realism. The scene in which Walter speaks to his son, with Rae present, is priceless. Walter stood up for their love in front of his son, and his son came to see that their love was not the despicable thing that he had judged it, and he honored it, years later. Rae stood up for their love by not marrying This is a rare film, rare for the acting, poignant yet sensitive directing. It shows that love knows no bounds yet people are bound to society. Brilliant, thank you for sharing.

When I was young and dating, I ran from anyone that was married, engaged, or had a girlfriend. I wanted nothing to do with it. Don't get me wrong, I was attracted a time or two, but I had absolutely nothing to do with them.

I normally do not like movies from this era, but this was exceptional. Superior acting, wonderful plot--I loved it.

No man is worth all that. Love is such a powerful emotion but it can change to hatred and bitterness so quickly. I never would continue a relationship with a married man once I knew I have more respect for myself.

This was a first for me to view Irene Dunn a magnificent actress 1932. It brought back memories of my own life, but a 7 year relationship that I finally realized a Back Street affair with a married man, that wasn't going anywhere.was not for me. I wanted to belong, marriage, children of my own, a stable life. I broke it off for good when I met my husband married 17 years when he past. The best movie to me was Susan Hayward and John Gavin and in color. If you are a sucker for ladies films, tear jerker, this is it plus Affair to Remember - great. Thank you!

This was so incredibly good !!! So nuanced and progressively revealing until it's clear that it could have been no other way - throughout the pain, there is a private and soul-deep beauty. I loved the story and the actors. Thank you so much for posting !!!

Adore John Boles, and Irene Dunne. The two of them together is magic. Talk about chemistry, you can feel the heat coming of the screen..

Ray (Irene Dunne) explained her personal feelings about love & marriage, when telling Kurt at the beginning of the movie ... "It would be horrible to marry a man if I loved another. I know myself. it's all the way or zero with me, ... and Heaven help the man I do fall in love with." Ray agrees to break her marriage plans with Kurt, agrees to quit her successful career, agrees to remain childless -- all to be available whenever Walter's busy career and married life allowed. Yet, in each of the very limited encounters between Walter and Ray, most of what we are shown is Ray's disappointment, heartache and emptiness in her love life, with few outward displays of happiness between them. Her love was so strong, it controlled her, clouded her reasoning and judgement. Walter, who claims to love her, is too busy to see her, or phone her, and is repeatedly asking her to forgive him for a variety of his actions of neglect and misdeeds. And, Walter is so absent-minded that he completely overlooks providing an income to support her. Ray, humbly, selflessly, and without asking Walter for support, uses her artistry to sell painted vases for a small income. Upon seeing her work products, it is only then Walter realizes he asked her to quit her career, yet provided her with no income. Embarrassed by the oversight, Walter only then begins sending her a meager $200/month ??? Yet, somehow Ray remains hopelessly in love with Walter despite her emotional loneliness, limitations on social life and friendships, and isolation from any public view of their relationship. At the beginning of the movie, Walter's planned marriage to Corrine appears not to be based on love for Corinne, but is solely to benefit his upward career path by leveraging the connection to Corinne's wealthy uncle's business. The weak-minded Walter beforehand had suggested to Ray that he wanted his mother's by-sight-only-approval of Ray to further the relationship with Ray, implying that he would break his engagement to Corinne. That by-chance meeting of Walter's mother was unavoidably missed by seconds. Yet the vain Walter, who claims to love Ray, without a follow-up phone call or attempts to meet with Ray, fires off an angry letter to Ray -- dismissing the relationship. (That makes no sense to me. If Walter really loved her, he would have continued to pursue Ray.) Ultimately, I believe Walter used both women; Corinne to further his career, and Ray to fulfill passions his wife could not. I despise what Walter did to Ray's life. The only true love I could see was in the tender, devoted, ... very selfless, broken heart of Ray ... whose love most men would die for. Magnificent, Oscar-worthy performance by Irene Dunne.

Irene Dunne is more convincingly sensual than any other actress I’ve ever seen. She has such beautiful, soft skin and natural elegance. Her face is so expressive, her voice so pleasant, her movements so graceful and spontaneous and above all, her personality so attractive, a compelling combination of fun, vivacity, smarts, dignity, courage, pathos and compassion. A total total star. Men must have gone crazy for her. I find this story very true to life, as I’ve both witnessed and experienced many such situations and behaviours over the years. Btw the plot, with its “what if...?” unanswered questions at the end, is like Theodore Storm’s “Immensee”.

This remains as one of my favorite black & white films. I've watched this movie dozens of times over the years. Never fails to move me to tears at the end. Also, it always brings to mind the "what ifs" of my own life!

I love how this is very early in Irene Dunne's film career, she's just getting started and she's 35 years old. It wouldn't happen today, or if a leading lady did only get a start at 35, her career would be a very short one, perhaps a decade. Irene was always very youthful. She was only s few years younger than William Powell, but looks decades younger playing his long suffering wife in Life With Father from 1947, with 50 year old Irene and mid fifties Powell. I guess beautiful women though are pretty timeless and ageless really. She was just a classy gorgeous woman. I also think women gain a confidence in their thirties that we (at least in my case!) lacked in our twenties. Confidence, wisdom and poise goes a long way to soften the blow of lost youth in my opinion.

What a fabulous movie ! Incredible performances and a great lesson for many. I don't remember the last time I cried before this. And all this without a single word or act of vulgarity. What these artists could convey with their eyes and expressions, is incredible.

Irene Dunn was excellent. She doesn’t overact as many of the early actresses did. This movie kept my interest, which is hard to do these days.

The older I get the more rare, and the more the stuff of a fantasy for the vast majority of people 'true love' like that looks to be. The heart is far more fickle in most relationships. The dignity the characters sometimes showed was impressive. The look back at the culture at the time makes such an interesting movie.

Irene Dunne was radiant in this film, and her acting was stellar. She's a little under the radar when it comes to the great actresses from Hollywood's Golden Age, but make no mistake; she could more than hold her own with the best of them. She chewed the scenery in this film, in a very subtle and graceful manner. Never a big John Boles fan, but I have to say he was perfect for this role. Their chemistry was remarkable. He was magnificently selfish, possessive, unfaithful- and loyal. Their love for each other was powerful, invincible, enduring, painful, poignant and undeniably insane. A very fine piece of cinema, it remains the superior version- IMO

Good movie. That seems like a true love story, even with the moral implications. The realities were not watered down and the good times were not romanticized or exaggerated.

One of my favorite movies. Both Irene Dunne and Susan Hayward did excellent jobs in both versions. I love these classic movies. The cast was also excellent too.

Fun factoid: at 21:40, Irene Dunne hums "After the Ball", a popular song of the era, while getting dressed. Four years later, in the famous film version of Showboat, Irene Dunne (as "Magnolia")sings "After the Ball" in the Chicago New Year's Eve scene.

For an old movie the film clarity was outstanding.

Beautifully sad film - such profundity. Irene Dunne, amazing. Thank you for sharing this brilliant work with us.

A nice print of the movie aside from some of the occasional swaying and distortion in some shots. The film itself has nice production values and of course Irene Dunne did a great job of making her character sympathetic in a unsympathetic role.

MY FIRST TIME SEEING THIS " BACK STREET." I CRIED LIKE A BABY.. I ALWAYS THOUGHT THE 1961 VERSION WAS THE BEST.. I REALLY LIKE THIS😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

Wow! What a great story, and emotional! Walter did some absolutely fantastic acting (re: medical condition) towards the end. Very, very impressive portrayal.

I cried and cried reading this book. I was in love with a married man, something I never dreamed would happen to me. I hated infidelity. But it did happen. I still have the book and I am alone.

This is a beautiful intense love story, Why is it so hard sometimes to be with the one you TRULY Love ❤️

Just another example that proves Irene Dunne could do anything! She was so totally brilliant and had more talent that 10 actresses.

i read ...the book 50 years ago... i was 16! I never forget it and so happy today to find the moovie at U tube! thank you!

Wow. I don't remember another classic that has genuinely made me cry!

This 🎥 is a topic as old as time. Mistress sees the man at his convenience.....always waiting. She was a career woman yet still had marriage proposals while she was younger. She could have lived a married life of her own. This-before I see the end of the film. Tks for uploading.

Irene Dunne was the queen of the movies back then every movie she was in was excellent

BACK STREET follows all the aesthetic and structural laws of melodrama. That it works and moves us still today says a great deal about the talents involved: actors, directors and other creative artists. I like all three film versions of Hurst's novel but the 1932 version is especially poignant. Stahl had a fine touch for the genre, very understated, which heightens the sadness immeasurably. Irene Dunne, Margaret Sullavan and Susan Hayward defended their Ray/Rae bravely and got excellent results, each in her own way. I love Dunne, for the honesty of her emoting, her beautiful, luminous face, and Hayward for her bravura, which touches us very, very deeply.

I just adore Miss Dunne, charming, amusing, dignified and a great actress

Thanks so much for posting this classic film. I had never seen this, the original - i had only seen the remake. It was good but this version is so much better. Irene Dunne was such a wonderful actress and John Boles was so underrated. Thanks again!!!

Thank you for posting this movie. I am disabled, and am in terrible pain. So, this helped to get away from it for awhile. I had guessed one of them were going to die. Probably the mistress. But they both did. Any way God bless.

Also, gotta love a period piece because of all the glamorous furnisings, clothes n autos, furnishings n street scenes everything that reeks of old world beauty, class and era's gone by if a gentler, more worthwhile time that made living for it's own sake a thing of beauty to have accomplished!!!

Black and white films are my guilty pleasures...I've watched loads on youtube and every once in a while a masterpiece comes along such as this....I believe that if a man loves a woman so deeply then he should have courage to leave his wife...but she allowed him to have his cake and eat it.

This movie was crazy! Had me mad and talking to the characters.....well done! lol

OMG--the scene at 50:30 when Rae begs Walter to give her a child is devastatingly heartbreaking! Only Irene Dunne could manage that level of pathos. Only Barbara Stanwyck was in the same acting league!

Way back in 1932 Irene Dunne was already showing herself to be a natural actress … I have always liked her movies. Greetings from down here in Querétaro, México, where I moved to from Dallas, Texas, 16 months ago. La vida es buena. :-)

love this film thank you so much i'm a great fan of irene dunne first rate acting.

I am drawn to this movie because when my life was strong and young, I wasted it. Now that my life is small and frail, I have lots of time to understand my foolish choices.

What a gem. What performances. Heart touching sad ending.

Very nice movie what a beautiful actress irene dunne is and how well she has acted

I love this movie. Irene Dunn is always great and John Boles is perfect in this role.

What a wonderful film. Thanks so much for uploading! People are missing the points of this movie. Walter, he thought she was uninterested in being with him when she was in a bind with her sister about to jump from the window. There’s things they should’ve or could’ve done differently in direction; but then you wouldn’t have two opposing views from the audience. This film strives for the reaction of having a sense of compassion for the characters. They were in love with one another for 25 years. He wasn’t a playboy because he was only involved with Ray, not every woman. He should’ve just divorced Corrine, I think.

Very good print, and a legendary film with a legendary actress.

I really loved it. I love old black and white movies. I look forward to more like it.

Wow, simply a classic star-crossed story! Irene Dunne and John Boles were fabulous, they were marvelous together. My heart was truly breaking for them at the end, my eyes were filled with tears. They just don't make such films anymore and that is a shame, I loved the fact that regardless that it was in many ways an "unfulfilled relationship", both characters' hearts were full enough with what they shared. I love these old B/W classics, wonderful script, direction, AND acting.🥰❤👏👏👏

Warning, don’t read comments before watching there are some people who would love to tell you the story before you watch. What good is it. People should just stick to if they liked the movie or not and let it be. It’s like spending a lot of money to see a movie and someone next to you tells you all about it. REALLY?

Am I seeing this right? A family all sitting around a table at a bar, with 3 children, all drinking beer? So this was common back in the day?

Movies back then seldom used instrumentals throigh scenes yet I couldn't hold my tears in when he called her and struggled to say anything but repeat her name. He meant I love you and forgive me as always but he was so much of a man and a living father couldn't do it to his son who showed enough empathy to put her on line with his father. My uncle passex of paralyctic stroke and so did Dad of a stroke. Irene was beautiful and very elegant. Her knowing he'd passed on the other end bursted my eyes with tears. The most painful pain in the world after lising a child is ghe departure of your other half. Excellent movie and thank you for uploading and reading.

I wonder if my grand parents saw this film. Almost 9 decades later I can preciate its very talented performers in a very credible and moving drama. Thank you!

Rae is an absolute sweetheart. She is so humble. Sadden's me how she die's from a broken heart. Such a great actress.

Ohhh I just finished watching, how sad!! She died of a broken heart. Very Good Acting, I got so wrapped up in it, as if they really did love one another they spoke so sincerely to one another their voices were softly spoken & calming ( am I nuts! Lol) I started to hate Walter when he didn't call her for 3 weeks a and didn't dream he'd continue to Love her so much! Loved how he explained to his son. Didn't expect him to do what he did *****stars and a thumbs up 👍👍👍al

Beautiful tender Irene Dunne A lovely film about crossed destiny

The way this movie keeps rocking, I'm getting sea sick.

I agree, Ellie. A very foolish woman and he was selfish despite the deep love it was wrong on so many levels.He should not have encourged her.They lost their chance at the park.She wasted 25 years chasing him when she could have had 4 eyes and eventually learned to love him.She could not even have a child with him and he was worried about the publicity, dah! too little to late. Good movie despite everything .A lot of lessons to learn here.Thou shalt not commit adultey.

Beautifully acted. Not corny in the slightest. But such a love? Does it really exist.? Well, for an hour or so, in our imaginations. Love the fashion, especially the women's attire. This is the only time I wish the film was in colour.

The camera sure does love Irene Dunne. No wonder she was so popular. Good thing thee was a box of tissues handy today.

I enjoyed this. The actors were so talented . Today's movies are so much on visual effects, they forget what real acting looks and sounds like.

A sad film. It shows how time passes but peoples problems stay the same.

First time watching this movie. They don't make good movies like this anymore.. Beautiful movie

Love this drama , one of my all time favourites! Thank you guys !

Thank you for posting and sharing this splendid movie, the print is excellent and it was a great film, with a tragic but moving ending.

This movie makes me question my belief system! Of whether to follow your mind or heart when it comes to LOVE!I try not to be judgment of others, but at age 60 I'm still not sure of which road I would have taken! You never know until you are in the situation 💔 suggest this ( good) old movie to anyone in this situation 💔

This is a treasure. Thank you so much.

Thank you so much for this wonderful, but sad movie. Irene & John were both were very fine actors.

love old movies~ love happy movies~ or film noir. I just judged the husband as bad saying he loves someone yet keeps them like a pet for his addiction, as he said it. and she equally goes along with it. Was bit hard to get through due to me judging it all, but well done and acted~ I always enjoy Irene Dunn's work. this is not a love story~ to me~ its a melodrama all the way!

A beautiful film. I noticed the fashion of the 1930 sleeves are back.

Thank you so much for putting this brilliant film up. It really moved me.

I have been looking for this movie for a year n today I stumbled upon it what a treat. Thanks RU-vid.

What a fantastic movie, thank you for sharing with us.

Good movie about a sad situation.

Fantastic pre-code! Irene ‘s wardrobe was out of this world, she shines in this role. Beautiful love story, but make sure you have a box tissue.

“I’d gladly give up all I have......” Pshaw! The wife of this self-centered, two-timing jerk has been made a disembodied reference, undeserving of sympathy, for all but a few seconds in the film. The brilliant, exquisite Irene Dunne makes the Mistress nothing but heart-rending and sympathetic here. Her devotion to that narcissist was unswerving. “If only I had met his mother that day....” fiddle-dee-dee!

Most realistic movie ever especially for 1932

I thought I had seen every good b&w movie out there. This movie was very well done and so, so sad.

A terrific film, great acting...love seeing Irene Dunne

I had to jump to the end to compare the endings. Both Hayward and Irene Dunne's endings are even as great tear-jerkers. I love these old movies and the character actors..

I recommend "Love Affair" with Miss Dunne and Charles Boyer. I haven't see this movie but I have bookmarked it. "Love Affair" was remade with Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant, but I doubt that movie couldn't possibly compare. Irene Dunne was a remarkable woman. Her wit, charm, subtle loveliness and sharp intelligence... Oh, and her deliriously lush voice!

Rather sophisticated and well edited for the movies of that era.

this is beautifully preserved!

What caught me was the way they aged the actor and actress without today's miracle editing. They really looked like they had grown older.

I cried at the end! Such selfless devotion to the one man she truly loved.