This
film is based on a novel by James Hilton.
A military veteran of WWI is shell-shocked which caused loss of his
memory and he was in a sanitarium for a while. One rainy night he just puts on his coat and walks
away. Everyone in the nearby town is
celebrating the end of the war and this makes Mr. Smith more nervous since he
has trouble talking. He meets
Paula and she believes he doesn’t belong in the hospital. She is a singer but she quits her job
and makes it her new job to rescue Mr. Smith. They get married and are very happy until Mr. Smith has an
accident that returns his memories.
There potential here to be a real tearjerker, a lot of drama. It seems slightly removed because of the date
of filming, like everything is very far back in time so it doesn’t touch you as
deeply. A modernized update might require a box of tissues? 3 ½* (I
liked this movie)
126
min, Drama directed by Mervyn LeRoy with Ronald Colman, Greer Garson, Philip
Dorn, Susan Peters, Henry Travers, Reginald Owen, Bramwell Fletcher, Una
O’Connor, Aubrey Mather, Margaret Wycherly.
Note: Imdb 8.0 out of 10, 89% critic 90%
audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.8* out of 5* with 299 reviews.
Special
Note: This film received seven
Academy Award nominations but did not win and it was number four box office hit
of the year. Earnings were
$8,147,000 and profit was $4,384,000.
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