This little gem, I suppose, would be categorized as science fiction, since it involves a time traveler.
The year is 1956, and the location seems to be New York. The protagonist of this story is a young Polish immigrant named Johnny (played by Jacques Sernas) who works two jobs and is also enrolled in night school. He is very hard-working and has a delightful innocence about him. In his precious spare time, he likes to read books to improve his English.
So, during one of his bookstore purchases he gets an old dusty book, an American almanac, and takes it home. After dusting it off, he notices that this almanac is for the year 1997! (How on earth did it end up back in 1956?) Johnny at first suspects that it is a misprint, but as he reads about coming events, it is clear that the book is genuine.
Shortly after Johnny's lucky find, a mysterious character by the name of B. O. Boyne (played by Charles Ruggles) appears at the bookstore, asking about getting the almanac back. Mr. Boyne is strangely dressed and speaks in a slightly different manner than everyone else. His cigarettes also apparently light by themselves.
It does not take Johnny too long to realize that he could make a bet on a horse race to make some serious money. However, unfortunately for him, some local gangsters take notice of his amazing luck and want to learn what kind of 'system' he is using to place his racing bets.
Mixed in with this story is also Johnny's love interest, Maureen (played by Gloria Talbott), who wants to marry a rich man and have a great life. She cares about Johnny, but does not see a serious (and financially secure) future with him.
So, while Johnny is chasing after Maureen, he is being chased by gangsters as well as Mr. Boyne!
I liked this movie, since the characters were all quite likable. The gangsters were thugs, but in a silly and goofy kind of way. And the kindly Mr. Boyne was just mysterious enough to keep people guessing about his true origin. I especially enjoyed the comment Maureen made, when confronting Mr. Boyne about 1997, asking why he was not wearing a space suit!
I also enjoy any movie that shows what people in the 1950's thought the 1990's would be like: space travel, time machines, self-lighting cigarettes, and the like. Sure, why not?
