Tomorrow Is Forever

"The Vibrant, Pulsing Story of a Woman Escaping Her Past!"

1946 1h 45m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 44

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1918, Elizabeth MacDonald learns that her husband, John Andrew, has been killed in the war. Elizabeth bears John's son and eventually marries her kindly boss. Unknown to her, John has survived but is horribly disfigured and remains in Europe. Years later, on the eve of World War II, Elizabeth refuses to agree to her son's request to enlist and is stunned when an eerily familiar stranger named Kessler arrives from abroad and becomes involved.

“The Vibrant, Pulsing Story of a Woman Escaping Her Past!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Claudette Colbert
Elizabeth Hamilton
Orson Welles
John Andrew MacDonald
George Brent
Lawrence Hamilton
Lucile Watson
Aunt Jessica Hamilton
Richard Long
Drew Hamilton
Natalie Wood
Margaret Ludwig
John Wengraf
Dr. Ludwig
Sonny Howe
Brian Hamilton

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Irving Pichel
Writers: Gwen Bristow, Lenore J. Coffee
Languages: German, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

80 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: German, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Irving Pichel, shot by Joseph A. Valentine. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Max Steiner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ernest J. Nims shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Claudette Colbert and Orson Welles and George Brent carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The Vibrant, Pulsing Story of a Woman Escaping Her Past!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0039041 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Irving Pichel directs. Joseph A. Valentine behind the camera. Max Steiner scores. Ernest J. Nims cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in German, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

180 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: German, English.
3Directed by Irving Pichel, shot by Joseph A. Valentine. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Max Steiner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Ernest J. Nims shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Claudette Colbert and Orson Welles and George Brent carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The Vibrant, Pulsing Story of a Woman Escaping Her Past!".
8IMDB entry: tt0039041 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 44 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 9 themes, including "world war i", "mistaken identity", "remarriage", "orphan".

The technical file

Cinematography: Joseph A. Valentine
Original score: Max Steiner
Editing: Ernest J. Nims
Production design: Wiard B. Ihnen
Costume design: Jean Louis
Makeup / hair: Gustaf Norin
Runtime: 105 min · 1h 45m
Status: Released
Box office: $3,250,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Tomorrow Is Forever (1946)

Also by

Irving Pichel

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-09-20
★ 7/10
Like in so many families at the start of the Great War, husband "John" kisses his wife "Elizabeth" (Claudette Colbert) and sets off for the conflict never to return. After twenty years, she has moved on with her life. She has their son "Drew" (Richard Long) and a new husband "Lawrence" (George Brent) and is facing the daunting prospect of the former keen to join up to fight in World War II. Matters take an ever more peculiar turn when her husband invites a renowned scientist to their home only for her to faintly recognise their guest. He - "Erik" (Orson Welles) instantly recognises her and as we gradually come to realise just who is who here, the drama unfolds in a gently conflicting and well paced fashion with a charming chemistry on screen between both Colbert and Welles and Colbert and the under-used but effective Brent. The make-up artists had perhaps attacked Welles with a little to much zeal, but the thrust of the story about enduring affection, tragedy and sadness is well played out by this strong cast under the able direction of Irving Pichel. Unfortunately, it's heavily over-scored: too many choirs of angelic voices towards the end, but the characterisations are convincing and the melodrama - though tantalisingly close at times, is largely kept in abeyance. The early appearance from Natalie Wood here is only really notable for whom she went on to become, but there is quite a nice contribution from Lucile Watson as the stabilising "Aunt Jessica". The ending, though predictably sad, is eerily fitting too. It has a typical post-war feel good factor to it, certainly, but it does also nod to that sense that so many families must have felt as the realisation that war was looming and that close and personal losses were imminent. At times this is quite a touching piece of cinema.

Production companies