What a powerful story! So powerful to me, at least, that I have only watched it one other time and have little desire to see it again.....even though it's a fine movie. It's too frustrating a story for me, frankly. I could NOT have done what Orson Welles' character did in this film. Welles, by the way, is outstanding in here. He, Claudette Colbert, George Brent and Richard Long provide some wonderful acting.

Long, playing the elder son, presents a tremendous contrast of how a young man acted back in the 1940s compared to nowadays in terms of of respect and manners. The little girl in here is played by Natalie Wood. I wouldn't have known it was her had she not been mentioned on the back of the video box. She has blonde hair and is about five or six years old, and does an impressive job speaking German.

This is a real heart-rendering story. The only drawback is the credibility of Colbert's character, "Elizabeth Hamilton," the wife of Welles. A supposed war victim and gone for years after his marriage to her, Wells - despite now having a beard and aging a bit - would still be recognizable (at the least, audibly) to his former wife. It was asking a bit much to believe she wouldn't realize it was him, but it's still good storytelling and a film that hits you deeply. Speaking about the last point, if you liked 1942's "Random Harvest," you probably would like this, too.

This powerful and heart-wrenching melodrama takes its strength from the intensity and honesty of the central performance by Claudette Colbert, who makes the whole thing believable despite various story weaknesses and implausibilities. Orson Welles and George Brent are both very effective in the other lead roles, though Brent has little do but be sympathetic and attentive (which he always did very well in films),whereas Welles has to do some serious acting. This is a story of the wreckage of private lives caused by wars. The extreme situation portrayed here may have been rare, but such things must have happened occasionally. It is incredible to think that this important film has never been released on DVD. I had to acquire it on an old VHS video. The story concerns a young husband (Welles) at the time of the First World War who 'surprises' his wife (Colbert) one day at their comfortable home in Baltimore by putting on a uniform and announcing that he is going off to War. As we all now know, this kind of behaviour was common at the time, when all the young men didn't have any idea what they were getting into and thought it would all be over by Christmas. So he went off to fight in Europe and Colbert got a telegram informing her of her husband's death. She was pregnant, and was looked after by George Brent who fell in love with her and married her. But the problem is that Welles was not dead at all, he had lost his dogtags in the trenches and ended up in a German hospital for months with terrible facial scars and severe wounds. Having been, as he imagined, permanently and severely deformed, he opted not to return home and impose such a humiliation on his wife. Instead, he decided to remain 'dead, stayed on in Austria and became a German-speaking chemist named Dr. Koestler, assuming this false identity and new life with the aid of his Austrian doctor, who employed him. But 20 years later, the Germans having taken over Austria, Welles, with a desperate limp and a beard, had to flee, after his mentor was murdered by the Nazis. He brought with him a charming little orphan girl who had seen both of her parents murdered by the Nazis also. This little girl is played by the seven year-old Natalie Wood in her first genuine acting role (she had made brief uncredited cameo appearances in two previous films, playing for instance a little girl who drops an ice cream cone, no big acting job there). It is strange to think that I am writing this in era when so few people now remember who the amazing Natalie Wood was. Her early death at 43 cut short her career. But she was one of the leading young female stars of her generation. (See for instance my review of her in THIS PROPERTY IS CONDEMNED, 1966.) Altogether, she made 66 films in her short life, and is probably best remembered for WEST SIDE STORY, 1961, GYPSY, 1962, and REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, 1955. Her most characteristic whimsically smiling expression, particularly around the eyes, is to be seen here when she was still a tiny child. In the part, she speaks very good German with a decent accent. (Wood was from a Russian immigrant family, and her parents barely spoke English.) There will never be another Natalie Wood. Well, Welles and Wood (he pretends she is his daughter to get her through customs) make their way to America where Welles has secured a post as a chemist in his old home town of Baltimore, to see how the land lies there, as he no longer has his life in Austria. He goes back to the old house and sees that it is empty. But before long he comes face to face with Colbert, who does not recognise him, as well as his 20 year-old son by her, who does not even know that Brent is not his father. In fact, ironically it is Brent who is now Welles's employer because he owns the chemical company. Welles continues to pretend to be Koestler, but it is difficult for him. He becomes increasingly involved in the family affairs of his former wife and his son and slowly she begins to suspect that he may really be her ex-husband. Colbert convincingly portrays the profound emotional agony of this impossible situation, and Welles heroically continues to insist he is someone else, while Colbert's belief that he is her original husband becomes stronger and stronger. Meanwhile Welles is forced to intervene in a tense emotional situation regarding his son, who of course doesn't realize that he is his son. This all becomes increasingly fraught and we don't know what is going to happen, and I'm not going to tell.

The fact that "Tomorrow is Forever" is an exceptional movie came as no surprise to me. After all, it features three exceptionally talented actors. I always love films these folks are in--especially George Brent and Claudette Colbert.

The film begins with a husband (Orson Welles) going off to fight in WWI. He is reported killed but what his wife (Colbert) didn't know is that he is alive--but he refuses to tell the doctors in the POW hospital who he is. Why? Because he was horribly disfigured and knows it will take lots of plastic surgery to give him a new face. Years pass. Colbert has married a nice man (Brent) and the son she was expecting on Welles' death (Richard Long) thinks Brent is his actual father and they are a happy family. However, two things occur to shake up this home. First, WWII arrives and Long wants to go off to war (causing Colbert to become very upset since she is reminded of her own young husband going off to war--never to return). Second, Welles arrives. What will happen next? This is a very, very sentimental film. While some may call it a 'woman's film', I think it's very good all around because of the amazing acting and the nice original plot. Well worth seeing.

By the way, at one point in the film, Richard Long says he's attending the University of Maryland and it used to be just a little medical college. I attended the school and actually it was originally an agricultural school.

Also, Natalie Wood plays a young German girl in the film. With her odd accent and blonde hair, you might miss this.