Till the End of Time

I would make the case that Guy Madison may be the best-looking young man to ever star in a feature film, and this is his best one. There are moments where his totally unselfconscious looks are just jaw-dropping. His acting, on the other hand, can be described charitably as "natural"; but I wasn't expecting Lawrence Olivier. Guy was an early find of legendary Hollywood agent Henry Willson, who would later "discover" a tall young man whom he renamed Rock Hudson.

Some jerk movie reviewer says it was to much of a tear jerker. What does he or she know. I , being a Vietnam combat vet, remember seeing the movie some years ago on TV and thinking how much I related to the story line. I can't remember much about the movie except for the fact that the filmmaker was right on when it came to trying to readjust. It ain't easy. Lots of resentment and hostility. The story may have tugged at the heart but film making has got to deal with the emotional side of ones story as well as the artful aspects of making a film. The reviewer obviously has spent no time in combat so as a result the main theme of the story escapes him or her. FIGURES

Dorothy McGuire's performance (as Pat Ruscomb, war widow) is exceptionally good in this film. She is so convincing that viewers need focus on the effects of World War II on the war widows as much as the effects on returning servicemen. Despite her plight, she is the character that holds the film together when all else is chaos. One can only wonder how many women were left in like situations after the war. Where "The Best Years of Our Lives" adequately portrays the problems of readjustments of soldiers to civilian life, this film gives us a look at the sinister effect on those who remained on the home front. The scars on women, families, and homes do extend "till the end of time."

This takes one back to the end of WWII when GIs were being released from service and coming home to dubious situations.

Confused, disoriented, and restive, these ex-service men were suddenly thrust into lifestyles for which they were unprepared. From holding a bayoneted rifle to pushing a pencil, the transition was abrupt and strange.

Many drifted into and out of relationships, while others took to the bottle as a form of escape. "Till the End of Time" dramatizes a few of these plights with some interest.

Cast in the lead role was Guy Madison, newly "discovered" by Henry Willson and David O. Selznick for a snippet but memorable scene in "Since You Went Away" (and shot quickly while Madison was on navy leave). After being mustered out of the service a couple of years later, Hollywood was eagerly waiting to cast him in what really amounted to his first feature (barring the earlier "cameo"). Unfortunately it was a starring role.

That was a pity, for the young "find" needed small vehicles in which to mature and grow in the profession. That he comes off as well as he does here is commendable, yet it does him a great disservice. Guy's reedy, inconsistent, and even amateurish looking--qualities that would have been honed and polished, had he the sensitive career management other similar "discoveries" were afforded.

Having his greatest weaknesses so exposed in a lead part, Madison was "written off" for other starring roles, and pushed into routine westerns--where he more or less remained for the rest of his career. However, his appearance in some seven dozen radio, television and movie parts ain't especially hay. And while he may not have been considered the greatest actor, he did make an honest living that put food on the table for the rest of his life.

His costars here are the excellent Robert Mitchum and Dorothy McGuire, and they certainly help bolster the proceedings. All in all, "Till the End of Time" is an interesting drama, and Guy Madison's most notable vehicle.

The pop adaptation of Chopin's "Polanaise" played throughout doesn't hurt.

I picked this up for $5 at a sale just because it had Robert Mitchum's name on the credits. Mitchum's role is secondary but I found I enjoyed the movie rather more than I thought I would.

I understand it was released the same year as THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES and was rather over shadowed by that more expensive production.

The theme is dated, servicemen adjusting to civilian life after WW2, it is basically a soap opera but it very well handled by director Edward Dmytryk. Chopin's music is cleverly interwoven throughout, as background music, as a popular song with lyrics added heard over the radio and even jazzed up in a barroom sequence.

Performances are good. Guy Madison is no great shakes as an actor but he looks the part, give an honest performance and doesn't bump into the furniture. Dorothy Mcguire has always been a favorite of mine. Usually she played dowdy housewives but she had a neat figure and to me she had a down to earth sex appeal.

Well worth seeing.