It Happened Tomorrow

Almost the entire movie is told in flashback, as the reminiscences of a couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. Flashing back to the late 1800s, we see Dick Powell as a young reporter who comes into possession of a few newspapers that have tomorrow's news a day early. He uses this advance knowledge to become a success and woo his girl (Linda Darnell). They have several hair-raising adventures, and the girl's father, a stage illusionist who uses his daughter in a fake clairvoyance demonstration, at first does not approve of the relationship. But Dick Powell's character wins the day, and fortunately, the news of his untimely death proves to be a reporting error. (You know this from the outset, since the story is told in flashback, but it's still quite exciting.) I think the movie would have been more interesting (to me) if the story had NOT been told in flashback and had been set in modern times. Without the opening scenes from the present time, letting us know that the main characters survived, the ending would have been more suspenseful. I wonder if the writers/producers had a possible sequel in mind, since they left the first half of the 20th century open to play with in a subsequent film. It would have been a fun history exercise to choose the most interesting day to gain advance knowledge of. On the other hand, this movie was made in 1944, and there was a lot of war news at that time that no one would want a day early. Maybe the 19th century setting made the story comfortably far from those grim events. René Clair directed this, and I found it similar in many ways to his previous film, I Married a Witch--both films make use of a supernatural element, madcap adventures, broadly drawn characters, and a light touch. However, many people consider I Married a Witch to be a screwball comedy, but I don't see how one could squeeze It Happened Tomorrow into that category.

Moviecut—It Happened Tomorrow

source: It Happened Tomorrow

It Happened Tomorrow

Rene Clair, the master of French Surrealist film, who collaborated with Francis Picabia, left France in the mid 1930's, and after a brief stop-over in he UK, came to Hollywood, where he made four films. This one is absolutely the best! Dick Powell is superb as the up-and-coming reporter who is given the chance to see tomorrow's headlines today (sounds like a bad TV show made in Chicago!)and Clair plays this (mis-)fortune out in excellent ways, combining whimsey, with pathos and humor, and bits of his old trademark, surrealism. Linda Darnell is also wonderful, and all fans of surrealism and sci-fi (after all, this is almost a form of time travel!) will enjoy this movie. Jack Oakie is also excellent, playing to his usual, funny and annoying character.

It seems that this is a much sought after and rarely diffused film - and it is now available on DVD. Picture quality not bad at all considering the time it was made and plot generally quite lighthearted if not unduly mystifying. I was expecting something a little more spicy with a bit of time-travel involved - but was not too disappointed in the end as the actors' performances are good and the subject matter is quite original. I would therefore recommend it to all who love comedy fantasiies but without going over the top about it .

Dick Powell plays a reporter who is given a newspaper that correctly predicts the headline for the following day, allowing him to get the scoop on all the big news stories. This brings him more problems than he bargained for. Interesting, charming, sometimes funny fantasy that falls short of greatness because it lacks some 'kick.' I'm not sure why it was necessary to make the story take place at the turn of the 20th century. I think it would have worked better in a contemporary setting, particularly given the things going on in the world at the time. Still, it's enjoyable with a good cast. Powell is always likable and Linda Darnell is lovely. I even liked Jack Oakie and I'm not always a fan. As others have pointed out, the '90s TV series Early Edition used a similar premise. Not set in the same time period, of course.

An interesting enough premise, which has an old guy in a newsroom pointing out rather philosophically that today was once the unknown future, and positing that "time is only an illusion." He backs up his words by providing a newsman (Dick Powell) with tomorrow's edition, and away we go. Unfortunately, the film doesn't do enough with the actual time stuff, getting muddled up in silly dialogue and action sequences like a chase and shootout. Linda Darnell is alluring and there are a couple of nice romantic moments, but for the most part she isn't given enough to do either. It's all a bit of jumble, hard to hate really because it's so lighthearted, but at same time, hard to like.

I first saw this film in the year of it's release in 1944 when I was 14 years old. I haven't seen it since I was in my early thirties and I am now in my middle seventies so perhaps I am viewing it through a rosy glow. I enjoyed Dick Powell as an actor once he got rid of playing in those silly musical films (42nd St type, etc)and rate this one a good comedy to compare at the side of his tougher vehicles like "Farewell My Lovely". His early death robbed the screen of an actor who hadn't yet fulfilled his potential. A pity there aren't more films like this one instead of the constant cycle of sex and violence with which the film industry is now preoccupied.

If you are a fan of the TV show "Early Edition" it should be noteworthy that it was based on the film "It Happened Tomorrow," director Rene Clair's 1944 fantasy follow-up to his own "I Married a Witch." This early "Early Edition" is a classic film whose story is like one of the great "Twilight Zone" episodes complete with twists, irony and a lesson to be learned. In comparison to contemporary offerings it is nice to see a film that is both fun and intelligent. Though technically a drama, this film has plenty of comedy too. One of my favorite actresses, Lynda Darnell ("Forever Amber"), co-stars along side Dick Powell and one of the great comedic side-kick actors of all time Jack Oakie. Comedy film buffs watch for Eddie Acuff (the mailman in the Blondie series) in an uncredited role.