''The Man from Yesterday'' is a 1932 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

romantic war drama film made by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

, directed by Berthold Viertel, and written by Oliver H. P. Garrett, based on a story by Neil Blackwell and Rowland G. Edwards.

Plot

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

at the end of the First World War, Sylvia Suffolk and British Expeditionary Force officer Tony Clyde get married, shortly before Tony leaves for the Western Front. Sylvia, newly pregnant, is given the news that Tony was killed in a poison gas attack while working as a nurse for surgeon René Gaudin. Sylvia gradually falls in love with René but is reluctant to remarry since she has no official news of Tony's death. On holiday in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

with René, Sylvia is shocked to find Tony is still alive and convalescing, having been taken prisoner of war with lung damage. Sylva now finds herself torn between duty to Tony and marriage to René. She ultimately decides to stay with Tony and takes him to Paris to see their son, but he realizes that she is still in love with Rene and kills himself.

Cast

Claudette Colbert Claudette Colbert (koʊlˈbɛər/ kohl-BAIR, born Émilie "Lily" Claudette Chauchoin (ʃoʃwɛ̃/ show-shwan); September 13, 1903 – July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway theater, Broadway productions dur ...

as Sylvia Suffolk * Clive Brook as Capt. Tony Clyde *

Charles Boyer Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American fi ...

as Rene Gaudin *

Andy Devine Andrew Vabre Devine (October 7, 1905 – February 18, 1977) was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in American frontier, Western films, including his role as Cookie, the sidekick of Roy Rogers ...

as Steve Hand *

Alan Mowbray Alan Mowbray MM (born Alfred Ernest Allen; 18 August 1896 – 25 March 1969) was an English stage and film actor who found success in Hollywood. Early life Mowbray was born in London, England. He served with distinction in the British Army ...

as Dr. Waite * Greta Meyer as inn proprietress * Barbara Leonard as Steve's girl *

Yola d'Avril Yola d'Avril (8 April 1906 – 2 March 1984) was a French-American actress, who appeared in numerous productions between 1925 and 1953. She was also known as Yola Vermairion and Yola d'Avril Montiague. Biography D'Avril was born in Lille, Franc ...

as Tony's girl * Emile Chautard as priest * George Davis as taxi driver * Christian Rub as terrace waiter

References

External links

* * *, themave.com 1932 romantic drama films 1932 films American black-and-white films American romantic drama films Films directed by Berthold Viertel Western Front (World War I) films Films about chemical war and weapons Films set in Switzerland Films about the British Army American World War I films Films set in Paris 1930s American films 1930s English-language films Films scored by Rudolph G. Kopp Films scored by John Leipold English-language romantic drama films {{war-film-stub