The Clock (1945)

In 1945, during a 48-hour leave, a soldier accidentally meets a girl at Pennsylvania Station and spends his leave with her, eventually falling in love with the lovely New Yorker.

Directors:

Vincente Minnelli, Fred Zinnemann (uncredited)

Writers:

Robert Nathan (screenplay), Joseph Schrank (screenplay)

Stars:

Judy Garland, Robert Walker, James Gleason

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Judy Garland	...	Alice Maybery
Robert Walker	...	Corporal Joe Allen
James Gleason	...	Al Henry
Keenan Wynn	...	The Drunk
Marshall Thompson	...	Bill
Lucile Gleason	...	Mrs. Al Henry
Ruth Brady	...	Helen

Storyline

Soldier Joe Allen is on a two-day leave in New York, and there he meets Alice. She agrees to show him the sights and they spend the day together. In this short time they find themselves falling in love with each other, and they decide to get married before Joe has to return to camp.

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Plot Keywords:

love | soldier | church | museum | central park | 

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Taglines:

Every second a heart-beat

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 May 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Campanas del destino

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,324,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$2,783,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,783,000, 31 December 1945

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Alice meets Joe for their first date, they meet under the Beaux Arts clock in the lobby of the Astor Hotel in Times Square. This then-famous hotel was built in 1904, and demolished in 1967 to make way for the One Astor Plaza office tower.

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Goofs

In long shot, the milk truck is a 1937-1939 Stutz Pak-Age-Kar. No paint stripes down the hood, no large name badge, square front windscreens, twin bright bumper guards.When it arrives, its a 1939-1942 White Horse van,with heavy bumper over-riders, slanted windscreens,large badge and lettering on the front.Vehicles are mixed through rest of scenes involving milk trucks.

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Quotes

Alice Maybery: I love you.
Corporal Joe Allen: See you soon.
Alice Maybery: See you soon.

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Alternate Versions

Also shown in computer colorized version.

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Connections

Referenced in Going Shopping (2005)

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Soundtracks

If I Had You
(uncredited)
Music by Ted Shapiro, Jimmy Campbell and Reginald Connelly
Heard as background music

User Reviews

Week-end in New York for a soldier who finds loves and marries.

This is a warm and fuzzy movie about life back home during World War II. Unlike Since You Went Away, which involved an entire family and community, The Clock is centered around a young couple and is set entirely on the home front.

Robert Walker (Joe) and Judy Garland (Alice) are the romantic couple.

But, first, Joe, a country boy arrives at Penn Station in New York, goes out on the sidewalk, and is awe-struck by the skyscrapers of the city. He sees a wonderful panorama of New York City as it was in the spring of 1945.

Joe has no idea how he will spend his 48-hour leave. He is caught up in the crowd, pushed here and there, and finally, sits at the foot of the stair rail on the steps in front of Penn Station between the steps and an escalator.

Alice stumbles on Joe's gear, nearly falls, and gets her shoe heel caught in the escalator and broken off.

She yells for somebody to retrieve her shoe heel and Joe is accommodating.

From this point on in the movie, the couple are together almost constantly and visit various landmarks and attractions in New York.

Alice finally goes back to her apartment and is quizzed about her long absence during the afternoon and told by her roommate not to fool with military guys. Alice's response is half-hearted at first, but then she begins to think her roommate is right.

Alice's thoughts drift back to Joe, who is waiting at the clock of a prominent hotel, their meeting place at 7 p.m. Joe is in despair when Alice doesn't show. Eventually, she arrives.

As one would say, the plot thickens, and there are twists and turns, but most of all, accidental separations that are heartbreaking.

The longer the couple is together they realize they love each other and should get married, which is a further complication in the plot.

The previous reviewer threatened to turn this movie off from boredom? Why does this movie even around today and why is it highly rated? First, it was what the public wanted then. It is 1945 and people are war-weary. They wanted some about the war but from a different point of view.

Also, up to this time Judy Garland was in musicals or sang in each movie in which she played. It shows what a dramatic actress she could be.

Robert Walker is at his best even though he was recently divorced from Jennifer Jones.

So, this is WWII without blood and guts, rationing, etc. It is a love story that filled a need at a previous time in our history. For those of us who saw it on its first run, it is a special joy to see it in our twilight years because of all of the wonderful memories it brings back.