When his son is killed in WWII, druggist Lew Marsh is convinced that his boy died far too soon, never getting to appreciate the good things in life. Bitter and depressed Lew nearly gives up ... Read allWhen his son is killed in WWII, druggist Lew Marsh is convinced that his boy died far too soon, never getting to appreciate the good things in life. Bitter and depressed Lew nearly gives up on life himself until a special visitor shows up.When his son is killed in WWII, druggist Lew Marsh is convinced that his boy died far too soon, never getting to appreciate the good things in life. Bitter and depressed Lew nearly gives up on life himself until a special visitor shows up.
- Awards
- 1 win
Harry Morgan
- Anton 'Tony' Cavrek
- (as Henry Morgan)
Richard Abbott
- Reverend Wood
- (uncredited)
Jackie Averill
- Tod
- (uncredited)
Walter Baldwin
- Jake Hibbs
- (uncredited)
Joseph E. Bernard
- Clerk
- (uncredited)
Lillian Bronson
- Mattie Dyer
- (uncredited)
Marjorie Cooley
- Teacher
- (uncredited)
Adeline De Walt Reynolds
- Mrs. Schneider
- (uncredited)
John Dilson
- Charles Clayton
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFeature film debut of Natalie Wood. She is the girl with the ice cream cone. Wood's family lived in Santa Rosa, California at the time, one of the locations for this film.
- GoofsRight before Rusty's shipmate, Tony, arrives at Mr. Marsh's Pharmacy, it is near closing time, and dark outside. When Mr. Marsh takes Tony home to meet Mrs. Marsh, she says she was just getting ready to fix lunch, although it is night time.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Too Young to Die: Natalie Wood - Die Macht der Prophezeiung (2014)
- SoundtracksHail, Columbia
(uncredited)
aka "The President's March"
Music by Philip Phile
Lyrics by Joseph Hopkinson
Sung by a chorus during the opening credits, at the cemetary and at the end
Also played often in the score
Featured review
An old-timer comes down from heaven and walks a despondent middle aged family man from Anytown U.S.A. through his memories after the latter has suffered a major setback in life so that by the end his peace of mind is restored. Sound familiar? Well, "It's A Wonderful Life" it isn't but this is still a pleasant enough fantasy feature obviously made to bolster the war effort and act as a consolation to those families who lost their sons and daughters in the fighting.
This time there's no angel seeking its wings, popular drug-store owner Don Ameche's accompanist is his old, long-dead father who fought in the First World War. Gramp, (Harry Carey Sr.) as he's called obviously can't stand to see his son lose the will to live and so pays his ailing boy an extra-terrestrial visit in particular to reconcile him with his grief after Ameche's only son Rusty has fallen in battle trying to save another man while serving in the Far East with the Navy.
There are no real special effects to speak of and the story doesn't have the dramatic arc of Capra's classic, as we tag along with Ameche and Carey's gentle walk around their old town and their remembrances of the much loved boy, the point having been made earlier that the boy came into the world pretty much as his grandad was leaving it, so even though they hardly met, there is also an emotional connection between grandfather and grandson.
There's a nice coda to the piece when Rusty's Navy mate, played by a young Henry Morgan of TV's "M.A.S.H." fame, calls on his late buddy's parents and finally convinces them, especially the formerly morose father, that their son's sacrifice was worthwhile and that they can move on with their lives while still cherishing his memory.
Although not much happens between Gramp's arrival and departure, this is still an amiable feature with its pleasant reconstruction of small town life during the war with the drugstore and its attendant soda fountain a vibrant meeting point for the townsfolk young and old.
Personally I think a little more fantasy and perhaps a brief "return" by the son at the end might have proven slightly more satisfactory, in terms of content but this was a pleasant well-meaning morale-boosting piece which achieved its brief.
This time there's no angel seeking its wings, popular drug-store owner Don Ameche's accompanist is his old, long-dead father who fought in the First World War. Gramp, (Harry Carey Sr.) as he's called obviously can't stand to see his son lose the will to live and so pays his ailing boy an extra-terrestrial visit in particular to reconcile him with his grief after Ameche's only son Rusty has fallen in battle trying to save another man while serving in the Far East with the Navy.
There are no real special effects to speak of and the story doesn't have the dramatic arc of Capra's classic, as we tag along with Ameche and Carey's gentle walk around their old town and their remembrances of the much loved boy, the point having been made earlier that the boy came into the world pretty much as his grandad was leaving it, so even though they hardly met, there is also an emotional connection between grandfather and grandson.
There's a nice coda to the piece when Rusty's Navy mate, played by a young Henry Morgan of TV's "M.A.S.H." fame, calls on his late buddy's parents and finally convinces them, especially the formerly morose father, that their son's sacrifice was worthwhile and that they can move on with their lives while still cherishing his memory.
Although not much happens between Gramp's arrival and departure, this is still an amiable feature with its pleasant reconstruction of small town life during the war with the drugstore and its attendant soda fountain a vibrant meeting point for the townsfolk young and old.
Personally I think a little more fantasy and perhaps a brief "return" by the son at the end might have proven slightly more satisfactory, in terms of content but this was a pleasant well-meaning morale-boosting piece which achieved its brief.
Details
- Runtime1 hour 13 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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