Repeat Performance

I was excited when I found this website and began looking at some old TV shows and movies. It dawned on me suddenly to looked up the title of this movie and there it was. I am glad to see that I am not the only person who would like to see this movie again. Hopefully it will be made available soon. I remember watching this movie in the eighties when I was very young and I still think about it to this day!!!!!! I only saw it one time and have often wished to see it again. I remember being captivated by this black and white thriller. There is always something spellbinding about someone who is given a chance to change their past.

. . . suffer from the misapprehension that there was ever something "original" or "novel" about the FINAL DESTINATION franchise (and its ubiquitous clones, such as HAPPY DEATH DAY). In Reality, REPEAT PERFORMANCE is one of the earliest flicks to explicitly focus upon how inexorable Destiny is. With lines of dialog such as "I won't believe (that) this year is laid out like a pattern and nothing can change it" or "Destiny is a stubborn girl, 'Sheila;' she doesn't like people interfering with Her plan," Fate is a fresh if lonely hunter, unencumbered by a FINAL DESTINATION-like crowd. In a clear case of Life aping Art, REPEAT PERFORMANCE's Sheila-Barney-Paula triangle foretells the geometry of the Yankee Clipper-Norma Jean-Art Miller Kerfluffle soon to make headlines. Unfortunately, Karma did not cut short the latter's career prior to him popularizing witch hunts with THE CRUCIBLE. Otherwise, Destiny would have found it far easier to sneak up behind the Deplorable POTUS #45, and press him as much as Salem's "Giles Corey."

Repeat Performance needs urgent rescuing from the black hole it has somehow fallen into. A superior Poverty Row production from Eagle-Lion Studios, it's imaginatively scripted, played with gusto and never less than fascinating – a curio, film noir in a sci-fi time loop. On New Year's Eve, 1947, Joan Leslie shoots and kills her husband, Louis Hayward. She wishes she hadn't, and her wish comes true – suddenly she's back in New Year's Eve, 1946. This proves to be no mere shuffling around of the narrative; she's been given the year to live over again in hopes of a happier ending. But of course the gimmick serves as a flashback, too, retracing the sequence of events that led (or will lead?) up to the shooting. The title also drops a clue about the picture's fang-and-claw milieu, New York's theater world. Leslie's a star on the Rialto, having come to prominence in one of her husband's plays. He turned out to be a one-shot wonder, however, resorting to the bottle in resentment of his failure and his wife's success (there are parallels to A Star Is Born and to All About Eve). Other characters in this backstage story include Leslie's producer, Tom Conway; Virginia Field, as a haughty English playwright; Richard Basehart (looking, in his debut, like a young Harrison Ford), as an unhappy poet but loyal friend; and Natalie Schafer, as a viperish patroness of the arts. When Leslie suddenly finds herself in last year's gown, she tries to renegotiate her way through the year, this time in possession of an advance copy of the script, gingerly avoiding its fatal pitfalls. She comes to learn (as do we all) that destiny writes in cement. Luckily for her, it hasn't quite hardened. On the first New Year's Eve, Howard's resolution not to drink doesn't even make it to midnight; he turns sullen and abusive. A spring sojourn to sunny California, while shopping for a new vehicle for Leslie, doesn't improve his moods. Her next prospect comes from the pen of Field, and Howard browbeats her into accepting it; he, meanwhile, takes up with its author. Basehart finds himself in the clutches of Schafer, who ends up having him committed to an asylum, while Howard suffers a drunken fall that paralyzes him. As the year winds to its close, Leslie desperately tries to extricate herself from what she knows is to come.... Despite being an unlikely hodge-podge of noirish, soapish and paranormal elements, the movie never seems stretched or thrown together. The less than luminous cast rises to the occasion, with each member allotted a place in the spotlight. Accept the flaw in the warp or weft of the fabric of time, and Repeat Performance zips along smoothly and convincingly. It's buried treasure – proof, albeit obscure, that rough magic could sometimes occur even on the outer fringes of the movie industry.

This movie was featured on A&E Network numerous times around 1986-87. It was an excellent print and I was led by it to believe that it was on videocassette. Nik at nite also featured it numerous times during the same period. Unlike other subscribers I felt that Joan Leslie's per- formance was a little hammy and saccharine. Richard Basehart gave an interesting performance. Also interesting to see Natalie Schaefer from Gilligans Island. Eagle-Lion was an interesting "b" studio, and produced some films of real quality and memorableness. When I say this, I am especially thinking of "Hollow Triumph(the SCAR). Very interesting performance by Joan Bennett.

Joan Leslie shoots her husband dead on New Year's Eve, then is so filled with regret she wishes for - and gets - a 1946 do-over. Fascinating premise. Except instead of taking any action to change her fate, she merely whines a lot. Therefore, as far as I can tell, she relives 1946 as a repeat performance as a doormat to her alcoholic failure of a husband. If I'm Joan Leslie, and I find myself with a 365-day rewind, I run away from that loser when he comes home drunk on New Year's Day 1946. Why wait another 365 days to shoot him? There are three supporting players of note: Natalie Schafer (Luvie on Gilligan's Island) as a cougar. Richard Basehart (Admiral Nelson from Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea) doing a spot-on Robin Williams impression (depressive phase). And the always-charming Tom Conway (The Falcon). The latter two are so evidently in love with Leslie I lost sympathy for her long before the twist ending. At which point I pretty much blamed her for her own misery.

I sought this out because I saw the cool movie poster online and thought it looked like an interesting movie. The story is about an actress (Joan Leslie) who shoots her cheating husband (Louis Hayward) on New Year's Eve. She goes to see her producer friend for help but when she arrives at his apartment, she finds that time has turned back a year. She now has a chance to relive the past year and prevent things from happening that led to the shooting. Curious blend of fantasy and film noir melodrama is a nice starring vehicle for Joan Leslie. She's a little over the top at times but so is the rest of the cast. Louis Hayward, Tom Conway, and Virginia Field are all fine. Richard Basehart is miscast as Leslie's weird poet friend who's in love with her. Think of Clifford Webb in "Laura" and you can imagine how wrong Basehart is for a part like that. The 'Whistler' style narration is a bit much and the movie gives in to soap opera theatrics often. Still, it's interesting and enjoyable to watch, particularly for fans of Joan Leslie.

It's almost midnight New Year's Eve. Actress Sheila Page shoots her husband Barney dead. She escapes into the celebrating crowd outside. She joins her friends who are partying at a bar. She tells William who takes her to show producer John Friday. She wishes to rewrite her year over again and gets her wish. The wish giving should be more magical. This is a Twilight Zone episode done in an old Hollywood melodramatic style. It's stretched out. There is a really huge issue with this way of story telling. The audience is struggling to piece together what happened in the year which leads to the murder. The movie needs to show that year before she can make the wish. That way the audience can understand what exactly got changed and what Sheila does to change it. Then there are the characters themselves. I don't think Barney is worthwhile. Sheila shouldn't shoot him but she shouldn't stay with him either. Just get a divorce, girl. I guess that's too simple and wouldn't make for a thrilling movie. The premise is interesting but this would work better as a shorter TV episode rather than a ninety minute movie.

Interesting noir that issues from an imaginative premise-- suppose we had a year that we could live all over again. So who wouldn't want that opportunity. Naturally, we could change our own actions to better optimize outcomes, but what about others-- would their actions have to change too. The premise may even require the entire world to live that same year over so as to fit into the changes that ripple out from our own changes. Conceptual questions aside, the premise is simplified here into a rather clever soap-operish plot— namely, can sympathetic Sheila (Leslie) avoid killing her louse husband (Hayward) a second time around. That is, can she maybe just ignore his many provocations, given a second chance. Instead of playing up occult aspects, the screenplay concentrates on revolving relationships among sophisticated show-business types. It's a good cast, especially an agreeably addled Richard Basehart. However, I'm not sure the sweetly gentle Leslie has the gravitas for a difficult role, especially for the wronged woman part. Still, she certainly wins our sympathy. Director Werker films in noirish style lending the visuals a suitably twilight quality. The ending too is appropriate, without obvious cheating on the premise. The movie seems more obscure than deserved and I'm not sure why. It certainly made an impression on me on first viewing many years ago. I suspect the obscurity is because of a B- movie cast-- no matter how accomplished—and a non-studio pedigree. But whatever the reason, the film remains a thought provoking 90-minutes even this many years after.

This one is a real sleeper from Eagle-Lion. If you get a chance to see this on TCM or on Amazon please see Repeat Performance by all means. It's a melodramatic fantasy about a Broadway actress who is given a chance to live the last year of her life all over to see if she can avoid the terrible way she ended the year. What Joan Leslie did is no less than shoot her husband, playwright Louis Hayward on New Year's Eve. But while running to tell her friend and producer Tom Conway of the tragedy when she opens the door she realizes quickly enough that it is last New Year's Eve, but she knows how the year is to end. Or does she? Can she avoid the oncoming tragedy of her killing her spouse? Louis Hayward is someone whose work is worthy of a second look that he's not likely to get. He freelanced and didn't have the benefit of a major studio building him up as they did for Tyrone Power and Errol Flynn for example. But Hayward got to play a variety of parts that their studios would never let Power or Flynn play. Hayward did the swashbucklers as well as Power or Flynn, but did considerably more. He's wonderful as the dissolute husband of Leslie. Richard Basehart made his screen debut here as the friend and confidante of Joan Leslie. Had this been made today Basehart's character would be most definitely gay. He's a poet and he acquires a patroness in rich Natalie Schaefer. It certainly isn't Schaefer's fault, how could she know that she would wind up playing THE millionaire wife 20 years later taking a cruise on the SS Minow. But seeing her I wonder if this was how she was spending Thurston Howell's money. She's different here than the rich patroness of the castaways. Virginia Field plays another playwright who starts paying attention to Louis Hayward and puts the Hayward/Leslie marriage on the rocks. This role is the typical Gail Patrick/Helen Vinson part of the other woman and Field plays it with gusto. Repeat Performance is a great sleeper of a film and absolutely catch this one if broadcast.

I just saw this film play in a 16mm copy last Friday night ~Jan 25 '08. The brochure stated that there were no usable 35mm prints good enough for playing on a big screen. It played at The Castro Theatre in San Francisco. Also playing with another unreleased to DVD Joan Leslie movie "The Hard Way" This well thought out movie has it all. It doesn't sell out the possibilities that could go wrong or against you if you were living it. The main actors in this stylish film noir romp all were credible in their motives and actions. Seeing Natalie Schafer from Gilligan's Island fame was funny playing a scheming and controlling diva of the arts world. Tom Conway as "everybody's big brother" had a part that he owned. Louis Hayward as the cheating husband and Virginia Field who was playing along with the dangerous and cheating fun. You could tell that there were sparks between them. Those same sparks were missing in the married relationship with Joan. Basehart was great in his first film role. There were some outrageous corny lines of dialogue that had the audience laughing along with the scene when it wasn't supposed to be funny on screen. But, overall he nailed it in a crucial part. I hope that this comes to DVD soon while Joan is still around. It would be even more astounding if she herself gave a running commentary to it!!!