Only Yesterday

Unlike so many matinee weepers that were churned out during the depression about women brought to ruin through their attachment to handsome cads, this beautifully calibrated film offers so many treats in addition to a saccharine plot that it moves beyond matinee fluff; simply the opening scenes establishing the damage done to human lives in the 1929 are handling with persuasive dispatch, drawing the viewer into the shattered world of the wealthy and to the insensitivity that some show to others, setting the stage for the young woman who is drawn into a tragic life-changing romance. So many familiar faces grace the screen, from Franklin Pangborn as a few art dealer to Jane Darwell as the mother who keeps a good table; a pleasant surprise is the romance between Billie Burke, for once not merely an addleheaded silly, but an older woman in love with a younger man who annoys her when he whistles. And while John Bowles may strike some as a bit wooden, star Margaret Sullavan in her first major role lights up the screen with genuine warmth and humanity, making her tragedy all the more touching. Some keepers of the current film archives need to get ahold of a pristine print and share it with the public--perhaps it could be the next addition to the Criterion Closet!