When Tomorrow Comes (film)
When Tomorrow Comes is a 1939 American romantic drama directed by John M. Stahl and starring Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer. The screenplay concerns a waitress who falls in love with a man who later turns out to be a married concert pianist. Bernard B. Brown won the Academy Award for Best Sound.[3] It was remade as Interlude in 1957, directed by Douglas Sirk and starring June Allyson and Rossano Brazzi. [4] Both films were based on a novel by James M. Cain. Sirk himself cited Serenade as the title of that book, but in March 2014, in a long article for Senses of Cinema in which he discussed all three works, critic Tom Ryan revealed that both pictures are based on Cain's The Root of His Evil.[5]
| When Tomorrow Comes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | John M. Stahl |
| Produced by | John M. Stahl |
| Screenplay by | Dwight Taylor |
| Story by | "A Modern Cinderella" by James M. Cain |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | John J. Mescall |
| Edited by | Milton Carruth |
Production company | Universal Pictures |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1 million[1][2] |
A scene in the film where the two protagonists take refuge from a storm in a church was the subject of Cain v. Universal Pictures, a case in which the writer James M. Cain sued Universal Pictures, the scriptwriter and the director for copyright infringement. Judge Leon Rene Yankwich ruled that there was no resemblance between the scenes in the book and the film other than incidental "scènes à faire", or natural similarities due to the situation, establishing an important legal precedent.[6]
Premise
A married pianist (Charles Boyer) deserts his mentally troubled wife when he falls in love with a pretty waitress (Irene Dunne).
Cast
- Irene Dunne as Helen Lawrence
- Charles Boyer as Philip Chagal
- Barbara O'Neil as Madeleine Chagal
- Onslow Stevens as Jim Holden
- Nydia Westman as Lulu
- Nella Walker as Betty Dumont
- Fritz Feld as Nicholas
References
- "1939 Hollywood Toppers". Variety. January 3, 1940. p. 28.
- Dick, Bernard K. (2015). City of Dreams: The Making and Remaking of Universal Pictures. University Press of Kentucky. p. 116. ISBN 9780813158891.
- "The 12th Academy Awards (1940) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
- Brody, Richard. "John M. Stahl's "When Tomorrow Comes"". The New Yorker. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- Ryan, Tom (March 19, 2014). "Film Adaptions analysis • Senses of Cinema". Senses of Cinema. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- Yankwich, Leon Rene (December 14, 1942). "CAIN v. UNIVERSAL PICTURES CO., Inc., et al". District Court, S. D. California, Central Division. Retrieved June 20, 2012.