When Tomorrow Comes (1939)

Romance and heartbreak walk hand-in-hand when Philip Chagal accidentally meets Helen Lawrence in a restaurant where she is a waitress. Unhappily married to a woman who suffers from mental ... See full summary »

Director:

John M. Stahl

Writers:

James M. Cain (story "A Modern Cinderella"), Dwight Taylor (screenplay)

Stars:

Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer, Barbara O'Neil

Won 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Irene Dunne	...	Helen Lawrence
Charles Boyer	...	Philip Chagal
Barbara O'Neil	...	Madeleine Chagal
Onslow Stevens	...	Jim Holden
Nydia Westman	...	Lulu
Nella Walker	...	Betty Dumont
Fritz Feld	...	Nicholas

Storyline

Romance and heartbreak walk hand-in-hand when Philip Chagal accidentally meets Helen Lawrence in a restaurant where she is a waitress. Unhappily married to a woman who suffers from mental illness, he is attracted to her and they make a date to go sailing, arriving at Philip's country home just as a storm is breaking. Helen learns who he is for the first time, a celebrated-and-famous concert pianist and, falling in love with him, decides to leave before matters go further. A hurricane hits and their car is crippled by a falling tree. Rising water forces then to seek shelter in the choir loft of a church, where they spend the night. They are rescued in the morning and Helen meets Philip's wife, and learns their story. Helen and Philip meet once more, and Philip sails to Europe with his wife but promises to come back some day.

---

Plot Keywords:

sailing | promise | pianist | falling tree | concert pianist | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 August 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Modern Cinderella

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to reporter Sheilah Graham, while the film was in production as "Modern Cinderella," tentative titles "Possessed," "Seventy-Two Hours" and "Three Nights" were also being considered.

---

Connections

Remade as Interlude (1957)

---

Soundtracks

Solidarity Forever
Labor song
Sung by the waitresses at the labor meeting

User Reviews

...It will be "back street"

This is not one of Stahl's best works.The movie lacks a center of gravity. Melodrama interferes with social topics(unions,strikes,meetings)and even a deluge,complete with a night in a temple.Besides,the Madeleine character appears too late and is hardly credible.She suffers from mental illness since she lost her child.And the unfortunate heroine tells her so:"you win because you're helpless". Charles Boyer plays the usual Latin lover,and Irene Dunne,the impossible love ,as she did in Fannie Hurst's famous tear-jerker. The ending is ambiguous:in his 1957 remake,the by now usual Sirk remake has ,it seems -I haven't seen it yet- ,a more definitive conclusion. All in all,watchable,because of the cast ,but ,not a great Stahl.

NB:I saw Sirk's remake yesterday (7/12/09).Stick with Stahl.