Tomorrow Is Forever (1946)

An American World War I soldier, whose disfigured face is reconstructed by Austrian plastic surgeons, returns home after twenty years, but no one recognizes him, his widow is married to another man, and his son is a grown young man.

Director:

Irving Pichel

Writers:

Gwen Bristow (by), Lenore J. Coffee (screen play) (as Lenore Coffee)

Stars:

Claudette Colbert, Orson Welles, George Brent

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Claudette Colbert	...	Elizabeth Hamilton
Orson Welles	...	John Andrew MacDonald / Erik Kessler
George Brent	...	Lawrence Hamilton
Lucile Watson	...	Aunt Jessica Hamilton (as Lucille Watson)
Richard Long	...	Drew Hamilton
Natalie Wood	...	Margaret Ludwig
John Wengraf	...	Dr. Ludwig
Sonny Howe	...	Brian Hamilton
Ian Wolfe	...	Norton
Joyce Mackenzie	...	Cherry Davis (as Joyce MacKenzie)

Storyline

Elizabeth and John say goodbye as John leaves to go to war. When World War I ends, Elizabeth receives a telegram that John has been killed in action. She finds comfort in Larry and they marry. John returns 20 years later, disfigured, with a new identity, Erik, and an adopted daughter, Margaret. John/Erik and Elizabeth accidentally meet and he learns that he has a son, Drew. John must then decide whether or not to reveal his true identity.

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Plot Keywords:

face bandage | photograph | melodrama | orphan | death | 

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Taglines:

THE VIBRANT, PULSING STORY OF A WOMAN ESCAPING HER PAST! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

January 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mañana es vivir

Filming Locations:

RMS Queen Mary - 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,300,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$3,250,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

International Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The same year, Richard Long was directed by (and co-starred with) Orson Welles in the film noir The Stranger. In both films, Long played an idealistic young man (from America) while Orson Welles spoke with a thick German (in this film, Austrian) accent.

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Goofs

Lucile Watson's name is misspelled "Lucille" in the opening credits.

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Quotes

John Andrew MacDonald: Here is the one you wait for. No other man is your husband.

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Connections

Featured in Too Young to Die: Natalie Wood - Die Macht der Prophezeiung (2014)

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Soundtracks

Bridal Chorus
(1850) (uncredited)
From "Lohengrin"
Music by Richard Wagner
Played when Elizabeth is looking through the photo album

User Reviews

High-minded weeper about dislocations of war

WWI newlyweds Claudette Colbert and Orson Welles meet heartbreak when he goes missing in action and is written off as dead. Pregnant with Welles' child, she ultimately marries her boss, industrialist George Brent. Twenty years pass; war clouds are once more gathering over Europe. Brent brings over to work in his firm a Viennese chemist who turns out to be -- Orson Welles, bringing in tow a blonde, very young (her debut, in fact) Natalie Wood, speaking German.

Ever the gemutlich gentleman, Welles keeps his cards close to his vest, even when talking about the "situation overseas" with the strapping lad he now realizes is his son, who wants to enlist in the Canadian Air Force. Colbert, however, is deeply conflicted. She comes to resent Welles' presence while nonetheless suspecting that he may in fact be....

Tomorrow Is Forever addresses the dislocations and disruptions of wartime in a manner unusual for American movies of this era. Somewhat far-fetched and sentimental, it's a well cast topical weeper that manages, paradoxically, to maintain a tone of high seriousness while nevertheless skirting most of the issues it raises. Long on emotion, it falls short of real insight.