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When Tomorrow Comes

  • 1939
  • Passed
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
697
YOUR RATING
Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne in When Tomorrow Comes (1939)
DramaMusicRomance

A concert pianist unhappily married to a mentally-ill woman falls in love with a waitress.A concert pianist unhappily married to a mentally-ill woman falls in love with a waitress.A concert pianist unhappily married to a mentally-ill woman falls in love with a waitress.

  • Director
    • John M. Stahl
  • Writers
    • James M. Cain
    • Dwight Taylor
    • Herbert J. Biberman
  • Stars
    • Irene Dunne
    • Charles Boyer
    • Barbara O'Neil
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    697
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • John M. Stahl
    • Writers
      • James M. Cain
      • Dwight Taylor
      • Herbert J. Biberman
    • Stars
      • Irene Dunne
      • Charles Boyer
      • Barbara O'Neil
    • 15User reviews
    • 6Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 1 win total

    Photos24

    Irene Dunne, Jane Barnes, and Mary Treen in When Tomorrow Comes (1939)
    Charles Boyer and Nydia Westman in When Tomorrow Comes (1939)
    Irene Dunne, Kitty McHugh, and Nydia Westman in When Tomorrow Comes (1939)
    Irene Dunne and Steve Pendleton in When Tomorrow Comes (1939)
    Charles Boyer in When Tomorrow Comes (1939)
    Dorothy Appleby and Onslow Stevens in When Tomorrow Comes (1939)
    Milburn Stone in When Tomorrow Comes (1939)
    Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne in When Tomorrow Comes (1939)
    Harry C. Bradley and Milton Parsons in When Tomorrow Comes (1939)
    Irene Dunne in When Tomorrow Comes (1939)
    Eddie Acuff and Stanley Blystone in When Tomorrow Comes (1939)
    Charles Sherlock and Nella Walker in When Tomorrow Comes (1939)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Irene Dunne
    Irene Dunne
    • Helen Lawrence
    Charles Boyer
    Charles Boyer
    • Philippe Andre Chagal
    Barbara O'Neil
    Barbara O'Neil
    • Madeleine Chagal
    Onslow Stevens
    Onslow Stevens
    • Jim Holden
    Nydia Westman
    Nydia Westman
    • Lulu
    Nella Walker
    Nella Walker
    • Betty Dumont
    Fritz Feld
    Fritz Feld
    • Nicholas
    Eddie Acuff
    Eddie Acuff
    • Second Bus Driver
    • (uncredited)
    Maude Allen
    • Woman
    • (uncredited)
    Dorothy Appleby
    Dorothy Appleby
    • Waitress
    • (uncredited)
    Jane Barnes
    Jane Barnes
    • Waitress
    • (uncredited)
    Georgie Billings
    • Boy Hiding From Policeman
    • (uncredited)
    Gladys Blake
    Gladys Blake
    • Tenement Resident
    • (uncredited)
    Stanley Blystone
    Stanley Blystone
    • First Bus Driver
    • (uncredited)
    Wade Boteler
    Wade Boteler
    • Policeman at Pier
    • (uncredited)
    Harry C. Bradley
    Harry C. Bradley
    • Reverend Mr. Morris
    • (uncredited)
    Helen Brown
    • Waitress
    • (uncredited)
    Sonny Bupp
    Sonny Bupp
    • Boy Hiding from Policeman
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • John M. Stahl
    • Writers
      • James M. Cain
      • Dwight Taylor
      • Herbert J. Biberman(uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      After the movie came out, author James M. Cain sued Universal Pictures and director John M. Stahl for copyright violation. Although the movie was based on Cain's novel, "A Modern Cinderella," Cain claimed the filmmakers had stolen the scene where the two lovers take refuge in a church during a storm from his 1937 novel, "Serenade." Screenwriter Dwight Taylor admitted he'd taken the concept of the church scene from "Serenade," but had written an entirely new scene for the movie. The judge in the case ruled against Cain, saying there were significant differences between the book and movie scenes. The case established the legal principle of "scènes à faire" ("scenes to be written"), which states that certain concepts, settings, and devices (i.e. spy gadgets in spy novels) appear in multiple works of fiction and are therefore not subject to copyright laws. Today, the concept of "scènes à faire" is often used in software copyright cases, where certain types of programs, files, and variables appear in all software packages and cannot be copyrighted.
    • Connections
      Remade as Interlude (1957)
    • Soundtracks
      Yankee Doodle
      Traditional

      Played by the busboys at the labor meeting

    User reviews15

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    4/10
    A bore
    I stayed with this hoping for something and it delivered squat. I actually got hooked in the beginning which would have made a very good movie...when Dunne is essential in getting coworkers "the girls" to support a strike against her boss, never seen, of a chain of restaurants. The first part of the film sets up a smart, working women facing the exploitation of the bosses....and she is pursued by the union rep, a handsome man. Instead she becomes tied up in a subsequent dreary plot with Boyer. The first part of the film is charming and interesting and she's an arresting character. Even he is mildly interesting. The slice of 1939 life they partake of is very well played: going to the piers where people are cooling off pre AC, helping a kid who's skinned his knee, lost his pants held up by rope. He's pushing his friend in a go cart. After setting up an interesting film they are caught in a storm. Held up in a church. Which holds up the film. Even that is passably interesting. Finally, we meet Boyer's mad wife who isn't so addled when away from her mother and her minder. She wants her husband. And Dunne as a good woman in a 1939 movie, isn't going to fight her for him. This is all trite. Had it been a light, romantic comedy built around striking women it would have been a good film. A film about a strong, smart woman leading a strike. As it is...I guess this is what is called condescendingly "a woman's film" like today's "chick flicks" and it's a bore.
    helpful•4
    5
    • rodinnyc
    • Aug 17, 2019

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 11, 1939 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Give Us the Night
    • Filming locations
      • Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Universal Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $1,000,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 30 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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