Remember that TV show, Early Edition? The one about the guy who always got tomorrow’s news a day early? Well, 1944’s It Happened Tomorrow is a pretty similar concept, and as King Solomon once said, there’s nothing new under the sun.
It all opens in the then-present day, when Lawrence and Sylvia Stevens are celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary. Kind of. Their children and grandchildren are downstairs singing “Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms,” but Lawrence and Sylvia are upstairs arguing. Lawrence has a story about his and Sylvia’s younger days, and if he doesn’t tell it while he and Sylvia are still alive, the descendants won’t believe it. Sylvia thinks they won’t believe it anyway, and she’s probably right.
The rest of the movie is told in flashback. Larry (Dick Powell) is a young, cocky New York newspaperman who’s moving up from writing obits to writing features, and he and his colleagues are always joking about being able to predict the future. Pop Benson (John Philliber), grand old man of the paper, knows better. To people living yesterday, tomorrow’s paper is the future. The men jovially slap Pop on the back and leave the newsroom, because nothing could possibly happen between now and tomorrow.
Pop hands Larry a newspaper and tells him it’s tomorrow’s edition. Don’t lose it, he tells. Larry. Larry doesn’t know what to make of it, but he takes the paper and follows the guys to a music hall, where Cignolini (Jack Oakie) has his niece, Sylvia (Linda Darnell) in a trance and telling the future. Larry is a bit entranced himself, and asks if Sylvia will have lunch with him. Cignolini gets protective by way of reminding the audience that Sylvia is in a trance and doesn’t hear anyone but him. Larry, who sees the barest crack of a smile on Sylvia’s face, knows better, and waits around after the show to see Sylvia home and ask her to lunch for real.
The next morning, Larry’s finally able to take a good look at Pop’s paper, and notices that it’s the evening edition for that day. He also notices that it says it’s going to snow even though it’s May, and is astonished to look outside and see snow falling. Heh. Weird. His friend, meanwhile, is ecstatic because there’s a want ad in the paper for a waiter, and when he and Larry rush down to the restaurant, the very disgruntled hostess sends the poor guy off with a flea in his ear. Right before the current waiter is fired and the proprietor demands a replacement. Larry picks up Pop’s paper and guards it with his life.
And oh yeah, Sylvia is coming for lunch. Larry whisks her off for a quick bite before they take in the opera. He’s got a hot tip from Pop’s paper and wants to be there to get the scoop: “Bandits Steal Cash At Opera House While Melba Sings.”
Problem is, Larry’s editor can’t figure out how Larry already has his copy written minutes after the crime has taken place. He doesn’t even want to believe Larry until the cops rush in and arrest both Larry and Sylvia. As far as they’re concertned, Larry knew about the robbery because he was in on it.
It gets crazier from there, and I’m not going to spoil anything because it’s a lot of clever fun. Really, this movie was a great surprise, and it’s better not to know what’s happening. Dick Powell is cocky and deft at comedy. Linda Darnell is his worthy foil. Jack Oakie plays Jack Oakie, with Cignolinis Italian accent about as authentically Italian as Italian wedding soup, but he’s still fun.
According to the American Film Institute, It Happened Tomorrow was originally based on a short story purchased by Frank Capra. This story shared a lot of similarities with a play called The Jest of Haha Laba, which was also bought by Capra. Unfortunately, Capra was unable to make the film due to enlisting in the Army and therefore sold the story and play rights to Arthur Pressburger (no relation to that Pressburger). It Happened Tomorrow was a respectable, albeit low-key hit in 1944, with two Oscar nominations although no wins.
While there might not have been any wins, the reviews were healthy shades of complimentary. Motion Picture Herald said It Happened Tomorrow is “farce straight through, satiric at times and frankly slapstick on occasion but it is uncommonly gay with surprises that should keep the chuckles coming and the ticket offices singing a merry tune.”
The Independent opined, “As his latest independent production Arnold Pressburger offers a comedy that departs from the ordinary, providing a welcome breathing spell from the pressure of war films.”
In hearty agreement was Variety, which said, “It Happened Tomorrow poses a novel premise on which to spin a comedy-drama – what happens when a cub reporter gets a copy of tomorrow’s newspaper. Results provide diverting escapist entertainment, with many sparkling moments and episodes along the line.”
The film also garnered some surprising tie-ins. Berger’s Department Store in Utica, New York displayed one of Linda Darnell’s screen-worn costumes and Stower’s Furniture in Houston, Texas had a lively window display for the movie inviting shoppers to discover “tomorrow’s comforts” in Stower’s fine selection of furniture. The Loew’s Theater in Dayton, had a line of fortune tellers in the lobby. Modern Screen held a contest for the best Linda Darnell acrostic, the prize being a fur coat.
With all the fun people had with It Happened Tomorrow in the 1940s, it’s a shame it’s so forgotten today. Then again, its studio, United Artists, has changed hands so much that it keeps bouncing from obscurity to prestige and back again, which isn’t great for a lot of its smaller legacy films. I’m glad the movie is easily accessible on Amazon and just as winning as it was in 1944.
Coming up in May (click on the images for the announcement posts)…
Yep, April’s been a lighter month, but May will be busy in more ways than one. Speaking of which, another post is coming up on Thursday. Thanks for reading, all, and I hope to see you then…
It Happened Tomorrow is available on DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon. It is also free to stream on Prime.
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