Till the End of Time (1946)
You can't avoid comparing this to the astonishing, large William Wyler approach to this same topic in "The Best Years of Our Lives"-soldiers returning to their loved ones at the end of WWII. Edward Dmytryk is a good director, and he has Robert Mitchum and Dorothy McGuire at his aid, and so this holds up pretty well. (And it was released a few months before its more famous parallel.) The third lead-the main one it turns out-is Guy Madison, who is a pretty boy and not bad, but he brings a more cardboard feeling to his scenes.
But that isn't the end of the story. When Mitchum finally shows up (it feels like nearly halfway through) the energy changes. And McGuire, who has held up the movie beautifully (she's a terrific presence), intersects with real drama. It's the heart of the story, it turns out, so keep with it and get there. Dmytryk has a string of interesting films during this period, including "Murder My Sweet" and "Farewell, My Lovely." The idea of film noir depends on the trouble soldiers had returning to civilian life in the U.S. and "Till the End of Time" approaches this idea from a purely dramatic point of view (despite the presence of noir staple Mitchum). It's worth seeing if any of these themes interest you, though as a drama with structure and impact it lacks any particular punch or original insight.
I have to say I watched the Wyler film right after this one, and it's so superior to this one (not just technically, but in acting and script), it's hard to advocate for this one. Unless, again, the theme is of interest already.
You can't avoid comparing this to the astonishing, large William Wyler approach to this same topic in "The Best Years of Our Lives"-soldiers returning to their loved ones at the end of WWII. Edward Dmytryk is a good director, and he has Robert Mitchum and Dorothy McGuire at his aid, and so this holds up pretty well. (And it was released a few months before its more famous parallel.) The third lead-the main one it turns out-is Guy Madison, who is a pretty boy and not bad, but he brings a more cardboard feeling to his scenes.
But that isn't the end of the story. When Mitchum finally shows up (it feels like nearly halfway through) the energy changes. And McGuire, who has held up the movie beautifully (she's a terrific presence), intersects with real drama. It's the heart of the story, it turns out, so keep with it and get there. Dmytryk has a string of interesting films during this period, including "Murder My Sweet" and "Farewell, My Lovely." The idea of film noir depends on the trouble soldiers had returning to civilian life in the U.S. and "Till the End of Time" approaches this idea from a purely dramatic point of view (despite the presence of noir staple Mitchum). It's worth seeing if any of these themes interest you, though as a drama with structure and impact it lacks any particular punch or original insight.
I have to say I watched the Wyler film right after this one, and it's so superior to this one (not just technically, but in acting and script), it's hard to advocate for this one. Unless, again, the theme is of interest already.