"It Happened Tomorrow" *** (out of ****) How great it would be if we could predict the future. It has become quite a business; fortune tellers, tarot card, tea leafs. Everybody wants to know what lies in their future. But suppose you did find out, what would you do with that information? Would it be a burden to know such things?
Now imagine the person who is able to predict the future was a journalist. Think of the advantages he has in getting the news headlines before anyone else. This is what has happened to Lawrence Stevens (Dick Powell) in Rene Clair's "It Happened Tomorrow" (1944).
Lawrence has been promoted from obit writer to reporter. Desperate to prove himself he grumbles if there was only a way he could get the newspaper one day in advance to beat the competition. Pop Benson (John Philliber), who is in charge of the paper's archives, warns him against wishing for that. What if you knew exactly when you would die? It would only put a burden on you. You wouldn't be able to live your life to the fullest. To know the future is to carry a heavy responsibility. But Lawrence isn't concerned with all that. He just wants to impress his boss.
After a night out drinking Lawrence sees Pop again. This time Pop hands him a newspaper and tells him to protect it. It is tomorrow's evening news. Now Lawrence can read the headlines and be at all the places the news is going to happen. But everything doesn't work out the way he wanted. How is it he knows when burglaries are taking place? Is he in on the job? That's what Inspector Mulrooney (Edgar Kennedy) thinks.
Of course no one believes him when he tells them the truth, not even his girlfriend, Sylvia (Linda Darnell) who works as an assistant for her uncle, a fortune teller who goes under the name Cigolini (Jack Oakie). Though his real name is Oscar.
Events will take an ugly turn when Lawrence reads in the paper that he will die the next evening. On the same day he planned to marry Sylvia.
"It Happened Tomorrow" is actually an observational comedy that is smarter than most viewers might think. It is about man's destiny and how no man can escape it. We must enjoy our lives and not worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow is out of our reach. Live in the moment.
I wonder how such a message was taken during the war years? It is best not to know the future. This was at a time when many Americans wanted to know when the war will end and when their loved ones will be returning home. Though after the war years more people did start looking to the supernatural.
Of all the performances in the movie it is Powell's show all the way. The role isn't given any dramatic depth. It is a purely comedic performance. And Powell pulls it off nicely. Some of my readers may not know this but after the 1930s Powell retired from singing. He made his name appearing in Warner Brother musicals, paired often with Ruby Keeler, in films such as "42nd Street" (1933) and "Dames" (1934). In the 1940s he made the switch to comedic and dramatic performances appearing in Preston Sturges' "Christmas in July" (1940) and "The Bad & the Beautiful" (1952).
The cast also has good actors in supporting roles. Jack Oakie, probably not very well known today, was at one time a big star. He appeared in a Powell & Keeler musical even, "Colleen" (1936). But is probably best known for his role in Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" (1940). He was always a lively screen presence and seems to be having fun with the character. Edgar Kennedy on the other hand had been around since the silent era working for Mack Sennett and Hal Roach. Also spot Sig Ruman in a brief role. Sadly he is given nothing to work with.
Rene Clair, I'm afraid to say, is probably forgotten today. I doubt many younger viewers know who he is or have seen his work. He however was most adapt at making these fantasy comedies. One of his other American comedies, "I Married A Witch" (1942) with Veronica Lake and Frederic March, deals with a man marrying a witch, proceeding the TV show "Bewitched".
Clair got his start in France working on silent films. His earliest films are what are most often celebrated. His most famous films are; "Under the Roofs of Paris" (1930), "A nous la liberte" (1931) and "Le Million" (1931). "Le Million" is probably my favorite. He resisted sound so watch the clever ways he addresses the issues, especially in "Under the Roofs".
As WW2 approach Clair left France for America, a put a self-imposed exile on himself. He only made a few American films before returning to France. Those American films weren't considered as good as his French films. "I Married A Witch" was very popular however and his adaptation of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" (1945) is considered the best screen adaptation.
"It Happened Tomorrow" isn't quite as good as "I Married A Witch" but it is a pleasurable diversion that is only 82 minutes. It has some funny sequences. The best is after Powell figures out when he is going to die and his reluctance to do anything at all. He pleads with the police to lock him up. When they refuse he says only for a half hour. Another good sequence is when he goes to the races and picks all the winners in each race.
Filmbuffs should definitely check out "It Happened Tomorrow" it is a good old-fashion piece of Hollywood escapism even though it isn't Clair's best film. Hollywood should make more movies like this instead of spending so much time on superhero movies.
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