I'll Be Seeing You

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.

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.

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.

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.

Old-fashioned corn, romance and nice, wholesome people - just what the sick movie critics hate.....but I find refreshingly nice to see. Yes, it's dated, but that's part of the charm.

In this movie, people say their prayers, sing hymns, are respectful to one another, are considerate, etc. Unfortunately, they exhibit a trait that Hollywood has always loved to portray: they lie or, if you prefer, they cover up the truth. Here, Rogers does it, trying to hide her past while Cotten almost does the same, but comes clean early on.

Other than that, it's a throwback-to-the-more-wholesome-past film that, while it might be a bit slow in parts, features interesting lead characters by famous actors of their day: Joseph Cotten, Ginger Rogers and Shirley Temple. The latter is almost as entertaining as when she was the incredible child star but it was strange to see her in a role where she's trying to show off her chest! Yikes! Well, I guess you can't play a little kid forever.

Even though they were famous, Cotten and Rogers, I believe, were two of the most underrated actors of their day, particularly Rogers who was far more than just a great dancer.