Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

gavin6942 The ghosts of three elderly industrialists killed in an airplane crash return to Earth to help reunite a young couple whom they initially brought together.Structured as a B film, the production did not engage any stars who would receive billing above the title, relying instead on a quartet of veteran characters actors, Charles Winninger, Maria Ouspenskaya, C. Aubrey Smith and Harry Carey, second-tier young leads Richard Carlson and Jean Parker as well as "other woman" Helen Vinson, a minor lead/second lead during early and mid thirties, here approaching the end of her career. All seven actors received a "Featuring" billing after the title. The remaining supporting cast included Rod La Rocque, a top leading man of the silent era, now reduced to playing minor supporting roles.In retrospect, the movie is interesting for its cast, but never really rises above a B-movie. It is a bit too melodramatic, and doesn't stand out as a great film in its own right and not a great Christmas film. I have read that some people have made this a Christmas tradition, but I just can't imagine doing this. With the dozens of great Christmas movies, I wouldn't put this in the top 50.

earlytalkie I found this film when I received a catalog from Alpha Video advertising it. The film (properly called Beyond Tomorrow) sounded interesting, so I ordered it. This is a perfectly charming story from classic Hollywood which explores human emotion on a fairly deep level. Here is an unsung holiday film which is different. A B-list cast to be sure, but the players here are at their best and create unforgettable characters. This will bring a tear to your eye and a lump to your throat unless you are a true Scrooge. The film quality is what you'd expect from Alpha. An unrestored 16mm print, but very viewable and at 84 minutes, it is preferred to the colorized version which is 5 minutes shorter for no reason that makes any sense. I've not seen this version, but the cuts generate some continuity issues from what I've read. This is available very inexpensively from a variety of public-domain companies. If you like classic Hollywood, this belongs in your collection.

Michael_Elliott Beyond Tomorrow (1940) ** (out of 4) Three elderly rich men (C. Aubry Smith, Harry Carey, Charles Winninger) die in a plane crash but their spirits come back to help a young couple (Jean Parker, Richard Carlson) that they knew in life. BEYOND TOMORROW isn't a bad movie but it just didn't work for me, although I can certainly understand why some people might love it. The film features some very good performances but sadly they're wasted with a screenplay that's all over the place and even worse is that it's constantly trying to make the viewer cry. I don't mind sentimental movies but I can't stand a movie that has way too much sugar on it and it constantly tries to be powerful, touching and dramatic. There are just too many scenes here that appear to be happening for no reason other than to make the viewer cry. Not only do you have one sweet scene after another but each of them features someone crying. The story of death can be said, there's no question about that, but at the same time do we need tears every step of the way? The screenplay also offers countless twists that really aren't needed and I also didn't care too much for the way this couple "seperated." Still, there's no question that the performances are quite good with Smith and Carey really standing out. Parker and Carlson also make for a nice couple and we even get Maria Ouspenskaya in a supporting bit.

Neil Doyle The low rating is due largely to the bad print that I watched on TCM, choppy and dark enough to qualify as film noir.But it's easy to see why this one has slipped through the cracks over the years. It's a little too simplistic, too sentimental and has a rather silly story to tell that could only have been made in the '40s when the world was on the verge of falling in love with IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.Three wise old fools become the guardians (from beyond) of two people they helped meet and fall in love. Not bad for the outline of a story, but the way it's fleshed out here is less than convincing from start to finish.At least the performers aren't to blame for the bland script. CHARLES WINNINGER does nicely as the man who thinks up the idea of tossing his wallet and business card into the snow to see if anyone will return it (on Christmas Eve of course) and thereby be invited to spend time in the luxurious suite he shares with SIR C. AUBREY SMITH and HARRY CAREY, SR. Two lonely people do return the wallet--JEAN PARKER and RICHARD CARLSON--and stay for dinner and immediately fall in love.To tell any more would be to give away what little remains of the plot, but let's just say it struggles to be "warm and cozy" while at the same time falling apart once the kindly gentlemen disappear into the beyond.The story gets a brief lift from the presence of MARIA OUSPENSKAYA as a wistful housekeeper who senses the presence of the ill-fated men who want to act as guardians from beyond.A viewer should be aware that staying awake for this one may be a problem. A better print may have made the whole thing more bearable.