The Next Voice You Hear... (1950)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

George Sumner Albee (story)
Charles Schnee (writer)

Release Date:

2 April 1951 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The story of what happened at 8:30 p.m. to the Joe Smiths and families like them all over the world!

Plot:

"Joe Smith, American" lives in a Los Angeles suburb and works at an aircraft plant. One night Joe hears...

Plot Keywords:

Radio | Husband Wife Relationship | Neighborhood | Pregnant Wife | Forgiveness

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

James Whitmore	...	Joe Smith, American
Nancy Davis	...	Mrs. Mary Smith
Gary Gray	...	Johnny Smith
Lillian Bronson	...	Aunt Ethel
Art Smith	...	Fred Brannan
Tom D'Andrea	...	Harry 'Hap' Magee
Jeff Corey	...	Freddie Dibson

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

4233 Le Bourget Avenue, Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

This is apparently one of only two films in which the MGM lion is not shown roaring at the start of the opening credits, probably because of the religious theme of the film. The only other known incidence of a non-roaring lion is Ben-Hur (1959), which also has a religious theme (the studio's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) uses the illustrated lion from the MGM record label at its beginning, not a real lion, and so doesn't count).

Quotes:

Joe Smith, American: You remember what the voice said last night? That we should all do our homework for tomorrow? Well, let's take a look at the things that God told us to look at. Let's just see how great his miracles really are. There's the moon. The stars. It's the air we breathe...

Movie Connections:

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

Good Drama

Next Voice You Hear..., The (1950)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Interesting film about people across the world and how their lives change after they hear the voice of God on the radio. The film takes a look at the Joe Smith family with James Whitmore, Nancy Davis and Gary Gray. This is a rather offbeat film for director Wellman but he pulls it off pretty well and makes this a rather memorable religious film, although the screenplay isn't juicy enough to pull it off as a masterpiece. The performances are all very good with Whitmore stealing the film as the hard working dad who begins to rethink things after hearing the voice. I think one of the problems with the screenplay is that it centers on this one family a tad bit too much. There are scenes where large groups of people are debating about the voice and these moments are the best of the film and I wish there had been more. The film plays a lot like what we'd eventually see in a 'Twilight Zone' episode because the voice, a mysterious one, never comes out and says it's God but that's up to the viewer to debate just like the people in the film. I called the film a religious one but thankfully it never goes over the top with propaganda or tries to beat the viewer over the head with a message.