Repeat Performance (1947)

On New Year's Eve 1946, Sheila Page kills her husband Barney. She wishes that she could relive 1946 and avoid the mistakes that she made throughout the year. Her wish comes true but cheating fate proves more difficult than she anticipated.

Director:

Alfred L. Werker (as Alfred Werker)

Writers:

Walter Bullock (screenplay), William O'Farrell (novel)

Stars:

Louis Hayward, Joan Leslie, Virginia Field

Cast

Cast overview:
Louis Hayward	...	Barney Page
Joan Leslie	...	Sheila Page
Virginia Field	...	Paula Costello
Tom Conway	...	John Friday
Richard Basehart	...	William Williams
Natalie Schafer	...	Eloise Shaw
Benay Venuta	...	Bess Michaels
Ilka Grüning	...	Mattie (as Ilka Gruning)

Storyline

Sheila kills her husband at the start of the film with a smoking gun. We don't know how or why. All we know is men are banging on her door and she escapes. There is a notable dialogue as she makes her way to a New Years celebration with Richard Basehart as the poet William William. As she goes up the stairs to John Friday's apartment (her producer) she wishes she could relive the year and undo what she has done. William William, in an offhand remark, states he wishes he was the one who shot Barney, her erstwhile husband. We see that Destiny is not too happy with making changes to her plans.

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Plot Keywords:

apartment | destiny | alternate timeline | year 1946 | new year's day | 

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Taglines:

The Story of a Woman's Great Love...for a Scoundrel!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 May 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

El destino se repite

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bryan Foy Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Richard Basehart's first movie.

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Connections

Remake of Turn Back the Clock (1933)

User Reviews

Another Amazing Joan Leslie Performance

I just saw this film play in a 16mm copy last Friday night ~Jan 25 '08. The brochure stated that there were no usable 35mm prints good enough for playing on a big screen.

It played at The Castro Theatre in San Francisco. Also playing with another unreleased to DVD Joan Leslie movie "The Hard Way"

This well thought out movie has it all. It doesn't sell out the possibilities that could go wrong or against you if you were living it.

The main actors in this stylish film noir romp all were credible in their motives and actions. Seeing Natalie Schafer from Gilligan's Island fame was funny playing a scheming and controlling diva of the arts world. Tom Conway as "everybody's big brother" had a part that he owned. Louis Hayward as the cheating husband and Virginia Field who was playing along with the dangerous and cheating fun. You could tell that there were sparks between them. Those same sparks were missing in the married relationship with Joan.

Basehart was great in his first film role. There were some outrageous corny lines of dialogue that had the audience laughing along with the scene when it wasn't supposed to be funny on screen. But, overall he nailed it in a crucial part.

I hope that this comes to DVD soon while Joan is still around. It would be even more astounding if she herself gave a running commentary to it!!!