Um Sonho de Domingo

I feel I have to take issue with the previous comments from a reader who says they cannot understand why previous readers gave it ten stars. This is the reason I am giving it ten stars as my favourite picture that I first saw in the early 50s. The comments made about John Hodiak not appearing until the end of the picture are wrong. When Hodiak does appear he works solid through to the end of the picture. The comments made about this not being a great film as it was shot on the back lot of Fox are rubbish. I have a lot of the backlot stills that were never seen by the public but were kept by the child star Connie Marshall. A lot of work was put into this picture.Sure it was shot on the back lot of Fox. So was "Casablanca" shot on the back lot of WB and the airport scene at the end shot at Van Nuys airport. That was a great film wasn it? This was child star Connie Marshall's first picture and she was not on the credits as "Introducing" but among the lead cast. As somebody who has been in the film industry and a film buff all his life I appreciate cinema more that anybody. If you are going to vote on a film learn the history about it and not that it was cheaply made. There was a war on at the time this was made and it was made as fantasy to please the picturegoing public. Looking at the votes given on this site it appears to have just done that.The cinema was there for all of us to escape the outside world and live in a fantasy world for a few hours, this picture gave us just that.Top stars, great story, great music and make believe. A pure gem. I hope I have explained now why I personally gave this a top rating and why it will always be my favourite picture.

I first saw Sunday Dinner for a Soldier in 1945 or 1946 when I was about 8 and it has stuck with me all these years. The last scene, when John Hodiak's plane is dipping its wings as they are leaving to go overseas caused me to choke up when I first saw and it still affects me the same way. The scene in which John Hodiak and Anne Baxter are dancing in the unfinished night club is very moving and projects the feelings between them much better then the bedroom scenes of today's movies. Sunday Dinner for a Soldier is a very enjoyable movie especially for people who lived through that era. I wish it would be released on DVD and I agree with one of the other comments about so many trashy movies having been released on DVD.

It's only when the movie is over you 'll realize how deeply moving this very simple story is.A propaganda movie,it certainly is ,but a good propaganda movie which speaks to the heart .In those WW2 trouble times , a poor family is preparing a Sunday dinner for a guest : a soldier on furlough who will be back to the front after these fleeting moments of happiness.It's just a joy to see this family give all they have (and it is not much) to treat their guest like a member of their family ,with a little help from their neighbor.Ann Baxter and John Hodiak are a good romantic couple and their meeting when she's dancing alone is a good moment .

Like this? try this....

"Babettes Gaestebud" (Babette's feast),Gabriel Axel,1987

I have been looking for this movie for a long time! I first saw it when it was a new movie and I was a child about the age of the little girl in the movie. It made a big impression on me at the time, partly because my father was away serving in the Navy. As an adult, I had vague memories of it but could not remember the title of the film. I remembered the older sister and the soldier (although I thought of him as a Navy man) on the beach, and I remembered the little girl, and an overall feeling that it was a good movie I had really enjoyed. Over the years I watched a lot of movies made during the war, hoping to find the right one, but never having success. A couple of years ago I found a description on the internet that sounded like the movie I was looking for, but I still couldn't be sure it was the right one. At least I had a title to look for, but the movie apparently was not available for sale and did not turn up on TV until today! I just saw it on the Fox movie channel and it was the movie I remembered! I loved the movie this time, too; it is a wonderful, heartwarming family film.

I have to agree with all the positive comments here. "Sunday Dinner For A Soldier" is a wonderful family film. I'm very surprised that it isn't in either DVD or VHS release. Everyone in the cast shines, and the plot is simple, yet beautiful, with just enough humor to keep it rolling along. I've always been a big fan of both John Hodiak and Anne Baxter, so this was perfect casting, in my opinion. Baxter was never lovelier than during this period in her career.

It shows up on the Fox Movie Channel every now and then, as it was a Fox Studio production, but I wish it was available for purchase. I'd pull it out every couple of months, just to get spiritually recharged. It is an uplifting film, filled with hope and resolve in the midst of wartime.