''Repeat Performance'' is a 1947 American

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

(with

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

elements) starring Louis Hayward and

Joan Leslie Joan Leslie (born Joan Agnes Theresa Sadie Brodel; January 26, 1925 – October 12, 2015) was an American actress and vaudevillian, who during the Hollywood Golden Age, appeared in films such as '' High Sierra'' (1941), ''Sergeant York'' (1941) ...

. The film was released by

Eagle-Lion Films Eagle-Lion Films was the name of two distinct, though related, companies. In 1944, UK film magnate J. Arthur Rank created an American distribution company with the name to handle his British films. The following year, under a reciprocal distrib ...

, directed by Alfred L. Werker, and produced by

Aubrey Schenck Aubrey Schenck (August 26, 1908, New York City – April 14, 1999, Murrieta, California) was an American film producer from the 1940s through the 1970s. Biography The son of George Schenck, a Russian immigrant theatrical manager, and Mary Sche ...

Plot

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

1946, Sheila Page stands over her dead husband Barney with a gun in her hand. She panics and arrives at a party, requesting two friends for help. There, William suggests she should see theatrical producer John Friday for advice. She arrives at Friday's apartment, and as she ascends the stairs, she wishes that she could live 1946 all over again. William suddenly disappears, and she is transported back to New Year's Day 1946. At Friday's apartment, she decides not to perform in a play ''Saying Goodbye'' in London she had played in the future, which baffles Friday. She returns to her apartment and embraces Barney. They invite their friends, including Friday, for a New Year's Day breakfast, where Sheila warns William to avoid Eloise Shaw, who will have committed to an asylum. To Sheila's surprise, English playwright Paula Costello crashes the party and flirts with Barney. He and Sheila argue, in which Barney leaves to go out drinking. Sheila begins to question whether fate really does exist. The next morning, Barney returns home drunk. Determined to keep Barney from seeing Paula, Sheila travels to California with Barney. There, Barney reads Paula's new play ''Saying Goodbye'', which Sheila remembers performing in the original timeline. However, she refuses to perform in the play and angers Barney, after stating he wastes his time reading other plays and not finishing his own. Friday arrives and convinces her to perform in the play. During rehearsals, Barney arrives with Paula, and Sheila tries to convince Sheila to rewrite the final act. As the play continues its yearly run in New York, Barney and Paula continue their affair. At a Thanksgiving party, Barney get drunk, insults Sheila and kisses Paula on the balcony. When he is discovered, Barney falls over the edge and near the railing of the stage. Barney is immobilized with a brain paralysis, and Sheila quits the play to help him recover. Meanwhile, Sheila learns from Eloise that William has been committed to an asylum. There, William recalls what Sheila's earlier statements about reliving 1946, and is reminded he walked out of the asylum on New Year's Eve. On Christmas Eve, Sheila returns to reprise her stage role, leaving Barney alone with their housemaid. Paula arrives at their apartment where Barney considers leaving with her to London. Sheila returns and confronts Paula as she leaves. On New Year's Eve, Sheila finishes her performance, and asks Friday to accompany her to the apartment. There, she receives a note from Barney stating he had left for Paula, and can walk again with a cane. On the ship, Barney arrives in Paula's stateroom but she rejects him. Angered, Barney returns to their apartment and confronts Sheila wanting to kill her. As Barney prepares to strike, he is shot dead by William. Police officers arrive and arrest William. As he is being taken into custody, William realizes that while certain actions can be altered, the end results remain the same.

Cast

* Louis Hayward as Barney Page *

as Sheila Page *

Virginia Field Virginia Field (born Margaret St. John Field (sometimes mis-transcribed Margaret Cynthia Field); 4 November 1917 – 2 January 1992) was a British-born film actress. Early years Virginia was an only child, born in London. Her father was Sir J ...

as Paula Costello *

Tom Conway Tom Conway (born Thomas Charles Sanders; 15 September 1904 – 22 April 1967) was a British film, television, and radio actor. He is remembered for playing suave adventurer The Falcon in a series of 1940s films; and his appearances in three h ...

as John Friday *

Richard Basehart John Richard Basehart (August 31, 1914 – September 17, 1984) was an American actor. Known for his "deep, resonant baritone voice and craggy good looks," he was active in film, theatre and television from 1947 until 1983. He won two National ...

as William Williams *

Natalie Schafer Natalie Schafer (November 5, 1900 – April 10, 1991) was an American actress, best known today for her role as Lovey Howell on the sitcom '' Gilligan's Island'' (1964–1967). Early life and career Natalie Schafer was born on November 5, ...

as Eloise Shaw *

Benay Venuta Benay Venuta (born Benvenuta Rose Crooke, January 27, 1910 – September 1, 1995) was an American actress, singer and dancer. She is best known for her work in the mid and late 1930s, in which she parlayed her success on Broadway into star tre ...

as Bess Michaels *

Ilka Grüning Ilka Grüning (born Ilka Henriette Grünzweig; 4 September 1876 – 11 November 1964) was an Austrian-Hungarian actress. Born in Vienna in the old Austrian-Hungarian Empire, she was one of many Jewish actors and actresses that were forced to fl ...

as Mattle *

John Ireland John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a Canadian-American actor and film director. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia and raised in New York City, he came to prominence with film audiences for his supporting roles i ...

as Narrator (uncredited) * Eric Wilton as Reveler (uncredited)

Production

There were various actors and directors in mind for the film, with

Jules Dassin Julius "Jules" Dassin ( ; December 18, 1911 – March 31, 2008) was an American film and theatre director, producer, writer and actor. A subject of the Hollywood blacklist, he subsequently moved to France, and later Greece, where he continued hi ...

once in mind to direct while

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 ...

and

Constance Dowling Constance Dowling (July 24, 1920 – October 28, 1969) was an American model turned actress of the 1940s and 1950s. Early life and career Born in New York City, Dowling was a model and chorus girl before moving to California in 1943. She had ...

were tapped in mind for the lead roles. Eventually, Dowling was dropped for

Sylvia Sidney Sylvia Sidney (born Sophia Kosow; August 8, 1910 – July 1, 1999) was an American stage, screen, and film actress whose career spanned 70 years. She rose to prominence in dozens of leading roles in the 1930s. She was nominated for the Academy ...

in mind. All of the considerations would instead be washed away for Alfred L. Werker to direct for

and Louis Hayward. The film reversed the original story that involves Barney having been the one killing his lover before he relives the previous year and Sheila being a drunk. This was evidently done due to the perception that Joan Leslie could not play a villain. Also, in the book by William O'Farrell, the Richard Basehart character called William Williams was a

cross dressing Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...

poet. Filming began November 1946. Eagle-Lion, noticing the good reviews for Basehart, gave him higher billing and even gave the film a premiere showing in his home town of

Zanesville, Ohio Zanesville is a city in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located at the confluence of the Licking River (Ohio), Licking and Muskingum River, Muskingum rivers, the city is approximately east of Columbus, Ohio, Columb ...

Restoration

The film was restored after a screening in 2007 featuring a guest appearance by cast member Joan Leslie resulted in the discovery that a 35mm print had badly decomposed. The Film Noir Foundation, UCLA and others then followed up with restoration of the film, now available on Blu Ray.

Remake

This film was remade as the television film ''Turn Back the Clock'' (1989) directed by Larry Elikann. It featured Connie Sellecca,

David Dukes David Coleman Dukes (June 6, 1945 – October 9, 2000) was an American character actor. He had a long career in films, appearing in 35. Dukes starred in the miniseries ''The Winds of War (miniseries), The Winds of War'' and ''War and Remembrance ...

Jere Burns Jere Eugene Burns II (; born October 15, 1954) is an American actor who has appeared in theatre productions and on television. He played the roles of ladies' man Kirk Morris on the television series '' Dear John'', DIA psychiatrist Anson Fullert ...

Wendy Kilbourne Wendy Kilbourne Read is an American attorney and former television actress. Biography Kilbourne may be best known as Constance Hazard on the ''North and South (miniseries), North and South'' miniseries (1985, 1986 and 1994), and as Devon King in ...

and original cast member

References

External links

* * *
Turner Classic Movies "Noir Alley" with host Eddie Muller on "Repeat Performance" (1947)
{{Alfred L. Werker 1940s American films 1940s English-language films 1940s fantasy drama films 1947 crime drama films 1947 films American black-and-white films American crime drama films American fantasy drama films Eagle-Lion Films films Film noir Films about actors Films about playwrights 1950 and before films about time travel Films about wish fulfillment Films directed by Alfred L. Werker Films scored by George Antheil Films set around New Year Films set in 1946 Films set in Los Angeles Films set in New York City English-language crime drama films English-language fantasy drama films