It Happened Tomorrow **** (1944, Dick Powell, Linda Darnell, Jack Oakie) – Classic Movie Review 7191

Director René Clair’s 1944 American fantasy film It Happened Tomorrow stars Dick Powell as Larry Stevens, the lucky 1890s newspaper obituary writer and reporter who meets a mysterious  ghostly deceased newspaper man called Pop Benson (John Philliber) who has the ability to show him tomorrow’s newspapers today. That enables him to break big stories and predict racing results with unfailing accuracy. But it all takes a darker turn when Powell reads of his own death.

This clever idea produces a consistently appealing concoction, with smooth direction by Clair and a lovely performance by Powell, with fine support from girlfriend Linda Darnell (as Sylvia Smith), crooked clairvoyant Jack Oakie (as Uncle Oscar Smith aka Cigolini), and police inspector Edgar Kennedy (as Inspector Mulrooney).

The connection here is that Sylvia is Larry’s new girlfriend – the other half of a phony clairvoyant act with her uncle Oscar, leading to various complications, and Mulrooney is suspicious of how Larry gets his scoops.

The writing credits are unusually complicated but here goes:  It Happened Tomorrow is based on a play by Lord Dunsany, a story by Hugh Wedlock Jr and a novel by Howard Snyder, with adaptation by Dudley Nichols and René Clair, ideas by Lewis R Foster and additional dialogue by Helene Fraenkel.

Also in the cast are Edward Brophy, George Cleveland, Sig Ruman, Paul Guillfoyle, Eddie Acuff, George Chandler, Marion Martin, Jack Gardner, Emma Dunn and Eddie Coke.

It was nominated for two Oscars: Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Robert Stolz) and Best Sound, Recording (Jack Whitney).

It Happened Tomorrow is directed by René Clair, is made by Arnold Pressburger Films, is released by United Artists, is written by Dudley Nichols, René Clair, Lewis R Foster and Helene Fraenkel, based on a play by Lord Dunsany, a story by Hugh Wedlock Jr and a novel by Howard Snyder, is shot in black and white by Archie J Stout, is produced by Arnold Pressburger and is scored by Robert Stolz.

Jack Oakie basically made up his own dialogue as he went along and Clair seemed to welcome the changes.

Clair made a special niche in fantasy films with It Happened Tomorrow, The Ghost Goes West and I Married a Witch.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7191

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