I'll Never Forget You (1951)

A scientist obsessed with the past transports himself back in time to 18th-century London, where he falls in love with a beautiful young woman.

Director:

Roy Ward Baker (as Roy Baker)

Writers:

John L. Balderston (play), Ranald MacDougall

Stars:

Tyrone Power, Ann Blyth, Michael Rennie

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Tyrone Power	...	Peter Standish
Ann Blyth	...	Helen Pettigrew / Martha Forsyth
Michael Rennie	...	Roger Forsyth
Dennis Price	...	Tom Pettigrew
Beatrice Campbell	...	Kate Pettigrew
Kathleen Byron	...	Duchess of Devonshire
Raymond Huntley	...	Mr. Throstle
Irene Browne	...	Lady Anne Pettigrew

Storyline

An American physicist, Peter Standish, lives in London in an inherited flat on Berkeley Square, unchanged from its 18th century appearance. He's researched his ancestors and the flat, and he believes somehow he will travel through time, if only briefly, to 1784. A lightning strike transports him, and he finds things disturbingly different than he expected: disease and social conditions appall him, and, in this Age of Reason, his speech, manners, and knowledge frighten rather than interest all except one young woman, Helen, the sister of the woman he's to marry. He sets up a laboratory in the hopes of hastening progress, and he tells her his secret. Does love or Bedlam await?

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Plot Keywords:

time travel | 18th century | progress | physicist | laboratory | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 December 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

I'll Never Forget You

Filming Locations:

Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Irene Browne reprised her role as Lady Anne Pettigrew from the original film Berkeley Square (1933). She is the only actor to appear in both films.

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Goofs

At about 1:05:30 into the DVD (Tyrone Power Matinee Idol Collection, Disk 5), Peter Standish says to Helen "When I kissed Kate ..." -- but he hasn't yet kissed Kate in the movie. In fact, his relationship with Kate has been rather frosty, except for their opening meeting -- and even then they did not kiss. So he has has nothing to explain to Helen. Perhaps there was originally a scene where Peter and Kate kissed to solidify their engagement, and that scene was cut from the final film. In any case, the absence of any such scene creates an apparent continuity blunder.

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Quotes

Geiger Man: [after running a Geiger counter over him] Your count's a trifle high, Dr. Forsythe.
Roger Forsyth: Don't worry about it till I glow after dark.
[Chuckles]

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Connections

Version of Berkeley Square (1959)

User Reviews

Mostly, I remember the very touching ending.

Like many I haven't seen this movie in years, but it gave me a lasting impression. Thing I remembered the most is when the gal in the past (Ann Blyth) knew that Tyrone was going back to the future (where have I heard that phrase before?) she told him that she would have the letters in her tombstone cut deep so that he could read them in the future. When he returned to the future (his present) he went to the cemetery and found her tombstone, old and fading, but still marked as she had promised. Touching, and sad. Then later, lo and behold, the spitting image of her appears in his present and he has a chance to "renew" his love. Great movie, in the great old black and white format. You could categorize it as the forerunner of Somewhere in Time, with Jane Seymour appearing as possibly the loveliest woman in film.