Tonight's Movie: I'll Wait For You (1941)
I'LL WAIT FOR YOU is a faithful, if somewhat shorter, remake of my favorite Robert Montgomery movie, 1934's HIDE-OUT. Like the 1934 version, I'LL WAIT FOR YOU is blessed with an outstanding cast and a good story, and it succeeds on its own terms as excellent entertainment.Hard-living New York racketeer Lucky Wilson (Robert Sterling) is shot when escaping the cops. Lucky is taken in and nursed by a kind farm family, and soon he's in love with the family's oldest daughter, Pauline (Marsha Hunt). The love of Pauline and the experience of simple, hardworking farm life profoundly change Lucky for the better.
The movie is perfectly cast. Marsha Hunt is at her loveliest and is charming as sweet, innocent Pauline. Sterling likewise does an excellent job as Lucky. Sterling fans can't do any better than seeing him in this or the movie I watched earlier this weekend, ROUGHSHOD (1949).
Fay Holden and Henry Travers play Pauline's parents, and Virginia Weidler plays her little sister; Mickey Rooney was Pauline's pesky little brother in the original, with Elizabeth Patterson and Whitford Kane as the parents. Wonderful Paul Kelly is the police lieutenant hot on Lucky's trail, a role originally portrayed by Edward Arnold.
A side note, Marsha Hunt and Robert Sterling were teamed in another film in 1941, THE PENALTY.I'LL WAIT FOR YOU was directed by Robert B. Sinclair. It was shot in black and white and runs 73 minutes.
I'LL WAIT FOR YOU has not had a video or DVD release. It can be seen on Turner Classic Movies; click here for a page to register your interest in a future DVD release.
The trailer for I'LL WAIT FOR YOU can be seen here.
One would think I would be inclined to easily find fault with this remake, given how much I enjoyed the original, but I thought I'LL WAIT FOR YOU was a lovely film and a perfect way to end the weekend. Recommended viewing for those who love an old-fashioned Hollywood love story.
April 2012 Update: This movie has now been released on DVD-R from the Warner Archive.
posted by Laura @ 10:49 PM
2 Comments:
Sounds a bit like "Angel and the Badman".
Hi Mrs. HH,
You're right! I didn't mention it here, but back in my review of the original film HIDE-OUT I drew the parallel. I strongly suspect the writer of ANGEL AND THE BADMAN might have seen one of these films. There are a number of details that are similar, from the lawman trailing the hero, to the hero and heroine feeding farm animals, to going on a picnic.
Best wishes,
Laura
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