''And Now Tomorrow'' is a 1944 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

based on the best-selling novel, published in 1942 by

Rachel Field Rachel Lyman Field (September 19, 1894 – March 15, 1942) was an American novelist, poet, and children's literature, children's fiction writer. She is best known for her work ''Hitty, Her First Hundred Years''. Field also won a National Book Awa ...

, directed by

Irving Pichel Irving Pichel (June 24, 1891 – July 13, 1954) was an American actor and film director, who won acclaim both as an actor and director in his Hollywood career. Career Pichel was born to a American Jews, Jewish family in Pittsburgh. He attended ...

and written by

Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...

. Both center around one doctor's attempt for curing deafness. The film stars

Alan Ladd Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake in ...

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Michaela Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1989. She received numerous honors including an Academy Awards ...

, and

Susan Hayward Susan Hayward (born Edythe Marrener; June 30, 1917 – March 14, 1975) was an American actress best known for her film portrayals of women that were based on true stories. After working as a fashion model for the Walter Clarence Thornton, Walt ...

. Its tagline was ''Who are you that a man can't make love to you?''. It is also known as ''Prisoners of Hope''.

Plot

Emily Blair, born into a very wealthy family in Blairtown, becomes deaf after contracting

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasion ...

. She has left home, trying in vain to find a cure for her deafness, but is now returning to Blairtown. Before leaving, she was engaged to Jeff Stoddard, but put the wedding on hold because of her illness and the following hearing disability. On her return home, she shares a taxi with Dr. Merek Vance, who also grew up in Blairtown, but under less fortunate circumstances. He works as a physician in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. Merek's first impression of Emily is that she is a terrible snob, and he is surprised to learn that she can read lips. Emily is unaware that her former fiancé Jeff and her younger sister Janice have fallen in love with each other. Jeff is reluctant to tell Emily about his new relationship, feeling sorry for her. Merek is unaware that he is summoned back to his hometown to help Dr. Weeks, Blairtown's only physician, in trying to cure Emily's deafness. Merek has a record of curing deaf patients in the past. When Merek learns the reason for his being summoned there, he is disappointed, but agrees to help as a favor to Dr. Weeks. At a dinner at the Blair residence that evening, Merek tells Emily what he really thinks of her, and it turns out his father used to work in one of the Blair factories, but was fired right before

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

one year. Merek still remembers how Emily stared at him at the company's Christmas gathering. Emily is not keen on the idea of letting Merek use her as a "guinea pig", but since she has exhausted all her other alternatives, she eventually agrees to let him try to cure her. The treatment begins, and Merek tries to cure Emily not only of her deafness, but also of her snobbery. She gains the respect of some of the factory workers, the Gallos, when she helps the doctor treat their child, Tommy. Merek starts to change his view of Emily, and tells her not to marry Jeff, as she has planned. Upon their return to the Blair residence, Merek accidentally sees Jeff and Janice together, and understands that they are an item. He keeps the discovery to himself, and doesn't reveal anything to Emily. Some time later, Merek concludes that his treatment is not working, but he tells her that he has fallen in love with her, despite her snobbish manners. Emily doesn't believe he is sincere, and they stop the treatment altogether and Merek goes back to Pittsburgh. Since Jeff still hasn't told Emily about his love for Janice, Emily starts planning for their wedding again. She hears of a new treatment that Merek has successfully tested on rabbits, and asks him to return and try it on her too. Reluctantly, Merek agrees, but when Emily is given the serum, she falls into a coma. Devastated, Merek goes back to Pittsburgh. When Emily eventually wakes up from her coma, she discovers that she has gotten her hearing back. She overhears Jeff telling Janice that he loves her, but she also understands that she herself is in love with Merek. Emily then goes to Pittsburgh to confess her love for Merek, and they reconcile.

Cast

as Dr. Merek Vance *

as Emily Blair *

as Janice Blair * Barry Sullivan as Jeff Stoddard *

Beulah Bondi Beulah Bondi (born Beulah Bondy; May 3, 1888 – January 11, 1981) According to the State of California. ''California Death Index, 1940–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At ...

as Aunt Em *

Cecil Kellaway Cecil Lauriston Kellaway (22 August 1890 – 28 February 1973) was a South African character actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor twice, for '' The Luck of the Irish'' (1948) and ''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner' ...

as Dr. Weeks * Grant Mitchell as Uncle Wallace *

Helen Mack Helen Mack (born Helen McDougall; November 13, 1913 – August 13, 1986) was an American actress. She started her career as a child actress in silent films, moving to Broadway plays and touring one of the vaudeville circuits. Her greater success ...

as Angeletta Gallo *

Darryl Hickman Darryl Gerard Hickman (July 28, 1931 – May 22, 2024) was an American actor, screenwriter, television executive, and acting coach. He started his career as a child actor in the Golden Age of Hollywood and appeared in numerous television seria ...

as Joe * Anthony Caruso as Peter Gallo *

Jonathan Hale Jonathan Hale (born Jonathan Hatley; March 21, 1891 – February 28, 1966) was a Canadian-born film and television actor. Life and career Hale was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Before his acting career, Hale worked in the Diplomatic Co ...

as Dr. Sloane * Conrad Binyon as Bobby *

Connie Leon Connie Leon (1881 in Cheshire, England – 10 May 1955 in Los Angeles, California) was an English singer, dancer and film actress. Career Between 1896 and 1909, Connie Leon was popular in provincial theatre as a singer, dancer and comedian, incl ...

as Hester (uncredited)

Production

The film was based on the last novel of Rachel Field. Field died on 15 March 1942, when the story was being serialised in a magazine; it was published in May. The book became a best seller. Paramount bought the film rights for $75,000, outbidding

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American film studio, filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and th ...

and

David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (born David Selznick; May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca (1940 film), Rebecca'' (1 ...

. They originally announced

George Stevens George Cooper Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for ''A Place in the Sun (1951 film), A Place in the Sun'' (1951) ...

would direct.

was announced early on to play one of the two sisters. Loretta Young and

Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he bec ...

were then named to play the other leads.

Talbot Jennings Talbot Lanham Jennings (August 25, 1894 – May 30, 1985) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received two Academy Award nominations for co-writing the screenplays for ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' (1935) and '' Anna and the King of Siam' ...

was reported as working on the script.

was assigned to direct. For a time

Veronica Lake Constance Frances Marie Ockelman (November 14, 1922 – July 7, 1973), known professionally as Veronica Lake, was an American film, stage, and television actress. Lake was best known for her femme fatale roles in films noir with Alan Ladd durin ...

was mentioned as Young's co-star but Hayward ended up playing the role. In September McCrea dropped out to do war work and was replaced by

Franchot Tone Stanislaus Pascal Franchot Tone (February 27, 1905 – September 18, 1968) was an American actor, producer, and director of stage, film and television. He was a leading man in the 1930s and early 1940s, and at the height of his career was known ...

Jane Murfin Jane Murfin, née Macklem (October 27, 1884 – August 10, 1955) was an American playwright and screenwriter. The author of several successful plays, she wrote some of them with actress Jane Cowl—most notably ''Smilin' Through (play), Smilin' ...

was then working on the script. The film was meant to start production in November. Then Alan Ladd was invalided out of the army and became available for the role; Tone was dropped and replaced by Ladd.

Hedda Hopper Elda Furry (May 2, 1885February 1, 1966), known professionally as Hedda Hopper, was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, more than 35 million people read her columns. A strong supporter of the Hous ...

reported in her regular column around this time that "when Loretta Young and Alan Ladd played in ''China'' together, he swore he'd never make another picture with her. That's all forgotten now." Raymond Chandler signed a long-term contract with Paramount in late 1943 and he was put to work on the script. Filming took place in December 1943 through to January 1944. Loretta Young later said she "never made any contact" with Ladd as an actor:

He wouldn't look at me. He'd say, "I love you..." he'd be looking out there some place. Finally, I said, "Alan, I'm he-ere!!"... I think he was very conscious of his looks. Alan would not look beyond a certain point in the camera because he didn't think he looked good... Jimmy Cagney was not tall but somehow Jimmy was at terms with himself, always. I don't think Alan Ladd ever came to terms with himself.

Reception

The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' said the film had "taken a provocative idea and treated it conventionally." The film was a hit at the box office.

Adaptations

Ladd and Young reprised their roles in a one-hour adaptation of the film for ''

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a old-time radio, classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of A ...

'' on May 21, 1945. It was introduced by guest producer

Preston Sturges Preston Sturges (; born Edmund Preston Biden; August 29, 1898 – August 6, 1959) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and film director. He is credited as being the first screenwriter to find success as a director. Prior to Sturges, other ...

. On June 10, 1946, ''Lux Radio Theatre'' broadcast a second adaptation, this time with

Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British and American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her tim ...

and John Lund in the lead roles.

References

Bibliography

External links

* * *
Review of film
at ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''
Review of film
at ''Variety''
Radio adaptation of film
on ''

'' (21 May 1945) – with

{{Chandler 1942 American novels 1944 films Films based on American novels Films with screenplays by Raymond Chandler Films scored by Victor Young Films directed by Irving Pichel 1944 drama films American novels adapted into films Medical novels Paramount Pictures films American drama films American black-and-white films 1940s American films Films about disability in the United States Films about deaf people 1940s English-language films English-language drama films