I'll Be Seeing You

A female convict on furlough for the holidays meets a soldier suffering from post-war trauma. The troubles of the two protagonists could have been handled more deftly, but the film does a very good job of depicting family life on the home front during WWII, helped by some good acting. Rogers is fine as the convict while Cotten is typically solid as the soldier. There are also natural, winning performances from Byington and Tull as Temple's caring parents, who host niece Rogers for the holidays. Future Hollywood Svengali Derek (husband of Ursula Andress, Linda Evans, and Bo Derek) gets his first screen credit in a small role as Temple's date.

A bit offbeat is this story of a girl on prison furlough (Ginger Rogers) who meets a shell-shocked soldier (Joseph Cotten), each keeping their past secret. She invites him to spend some holiday time with her family during the Christmas season and gradually the romance begins. Nice to see Shirley Temple in a pivotal role doing a nice job as the selfish Barbara who unintentionally reveals Ginger's secret. Spring Byington and Tom Tully are fine in supporting roles and John Derek (then called John Harris) makes a brief appearance as Shirley's date. A bit dated and rather slow moving, but worthwhile because of the fine performances of the leads.

Interesting tidbits: Ginger Rogers was not the first choice for the leading role--it was originally offered to Joan Fontaine who disliked the script and was having contract troubles with Selznick and turned it down. Ginger was said to be against using Temple in the movie and wanted her removed since she had a clause in her contract re cast approval. Nevertheless, wiser heads prevailed and Shirley received excellent reviews for her contribution. Shirley documents this in her book, "Child Star"--for some reason Ginger took an instant dislike to her.

Criticize this movie as you will, call it schlocky, or cornball, or whatever, it will always be one of my favorites ... perhaps because it was one of the first late night tv movies I ever got to stay up late and watch at 12 yrs old. I lapped up this sentimental romance like a puppy laps up cream. It didn't occur to me to take it any way but seriously. And years later the sound of two stones hitting a lamp post at the end still makes my spine tingle.

Everyone else has outlined the plot, I'd just like to point out something really interesting. Ginger was around 33 when she made this movie playing a girl in her early twenties. And each time there's a close up of her face at Christmas, it's obvious the lens has been coated with vaseline or something... she looks softer and hazier than anyone else in the movie. "I'll Be Seeing You" is the epitome of old 1940's sentimental romances. And if you like that sort of thing, you'll love this one.

I didn't know what I was going to see when I first watched this film. It's not big and splashy but it's a quiet film that I almost overlooked. I'm so glad I didn't. This movie made me a fan of Ginger Rogers and Joseph Cotten even more. It's an amazing movie and the ending was a great twist. The quiet and subtle performances are what made it more personal. It's one movie that is overlooked that shouldn't be. It's a small and quiet film, but it's a great one at that.

I'm used to seeing Ginger Rogers either dancing around with Fred Astaire or playing a chorus girl in a show that is struggling, but this movie has shown me how much talent she really had. And I only saw Joseph Cotten in Citizen Kane and Since You Went Away. This movie made me take notice and see how good he was as a leading man and actor.

The story is simple and is perfectly played that way. Although it might seem a little too melodramatic and hokey, it's really not. For anyone interested in old movies, I would recommend it to them. This needs to be on television and seen a lot more.

Although I enjoyed the talents of Ginger Rogers more in her infamous teamings with Fred Astaire, and her comic abilities in the Katharine Hepburn movie "Stage Door", she cannot at least be given some credit for her fine dramatic acting as well, of which pleasantly surprised me. Her portrayal a woman convicted for manslaughter, is inspirational, as her character helps a suffering soldier find solace, while attempting to hide the secret she dreads will threaten his full recovery.

With Joseph Cotten and Shirley Temple in the supporting cast, the movie is nonetheless up to mainstream Hollywood standards. I did find that the movie was a little light on the drama in some parts, in comparison to later Hollywood films like Audrey Hepburn's "The Nun's Story", but the romance story was lovely.

Definitely a must for Ginger Rogers fans, and fans of a good old fashioned Hollywood flick in the best style that they just don't make anymore. Rating: 8/10