Never Say Goodbye (1956)

In present-day U.S., Dr. Michael Parker, a prominent surgeon, unexpectedly runs into his German-born wife whom he thought was dead. Victor, an artist and his "dead" wife's now boyfriend, ... See full summary »

Director:

Jerry Hopper

Writers:

Luigi Pirandello (play), Bruce Manning (earlier screenplay),

Stars:

Rock Hudson, Cornell Borchers, George Sanders

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rock Hudson	...	Dr. Michael Parker
Cornell Borchers	...	Lisa Gosting
George Sanders	...	Victor
Shelley Fabares	...	Suzy Parker
Ray Collins	...	Dr. Bailey
David Janssen	...	Dave Heller
Helen Wallace	...	Miss Tucker
John Wengraf	...	Prof. Zimmelman (as John E. Wengraf)
Raymond Greenleaf	...	Dr. Kelly Andrews
Max Showalter	...	Andy Leonard (as Casey Adams)
John Banner	...	Oskar, the Baker
Jerry Paris	...	Joe
Else Neft	...	Frau Hempel
Terry Ann Rossworn	...	Suzy, age 2
Robert F. Simon	...	Dr. Kenneth Evans

Storyline

In present-day U.S., Dr. Michael Parker, a prominent surgeon, unexpectedly runs into his German-born wife whom he thought was dead. Victor, an artist and his "dead" wife's now boyfriend, berates Dr. Parker for "killing" her. The bulk of the story flashes back to Austria during World War II as we learn how Dr. Parker met and married his wife, and the one mistake that may have cost him his family.

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Plot Keywords:

artist | surgeon | jealousy | hit by truck | foreign language adaptation | 

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Taglines:

Hated by the child who was her son... and forbidden to say "I am your mother."

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 March 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nur Du allein

Filming Locations:

Colonial Street, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While shooting Clint Eastwood's only scene, Rock Hudson noticed that Eastwood was wearing prop glasses. Hudson protested that because he was playing a physician, he should be wearing glasses, so the director gave Eastwood's glasses to Hudson. It is the only scene in the film where Hudson wears glasses.

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Connections

Version of Comme avant, mieux qu'avant (1972)

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Soundtracks

"FOR THE FIRST TIME"
Written by Jimmy McHugh
Lyrics by Harold Adamson
Performed by Cornell Borchers

User Reviews

Superior Romance; a Wartime Film for Everyone; Borchers is Lovely

This is a beautiful color film which many might classify as a '"woman's picture". However, it has three very fine performances by Rock Hudson, George Sanders and Cornell Borchers, very good supporting actors and a moving storyline told from the point of view of the male participant. So it is a romance, a dramatic film, and a frankly superior "tear-jerker" all rolled into one. The storyline is fairly straightforward. Michael Parker, a doctor, married a German girl and lost her during WWII, having to go on while thinking she is dead. She reenters his life in the US with an old friend as escort, one who blames him for what she had to suffer. She wants to get back together with Parker, but first has to win over his daughter who idolizes the mother she has never known; finally, the escort, an artist, draws the little girl a picture of her mother, and seeing it, the little girl learns who is her real mother accepts her joyfully. The film was written from a Luigi Pirandello play, and the final version of the screenplay was done by Charles Hoffman. The cast is an unusually good one. Directed by Jerry Hopper, it also features Ray Collins, David Janssen, Casey Adams, Jerry Paris, John Banner, Robert F. Simon, Helen Wallace, Frank Wilcox and many others. The remarkable fact of the production is the realism of its motivations and reactions; it is never glossy, never cheap, often very moving. Shelley Fabares as the stubborn little girl is quite good also. But lovely Cornell Borchers and suave George Sanders are the best actors in this solid film. The technical production is very good, for any era. Sets by Russell A Gausman and Julia Heron, music by Frank Skinner, Bill Thomas's costumes and hairstyles by Joan St. Oegger plus makeup by Bud Westmore insured that this was to be an expensive-looking ad beautiful finished product. This is an appealing story, which qualifies as a wartime film also, one partly told in interesting flashbacks; it has never been appreciated for what it avoided becoming nor for what it was made to be--a very fine story about people whose lives were torn asunder by war...