Tonight's Movie: Repeat Performance (1947) - A Flicker Alley Blu-ray Review

One of my all-time favorite film festival discoveries, REPEAT PERFORMANCE (1947), has just been released in a very special Blu-ray/DVD combination set by Flicker Alley.

Flicker Alley has released this beautifully restored print in conjunction with the Film Noir Foundation and UCLA Film & Television Archive.

I first saw REPEAT PERFORMANCE in 2013 at the UCLA Festival of Preservation. The movie had been out of circulation for so long that the Film Noir Foundation's Eddie Muller said some people wondered if they'd dreamed the movie!

It was an apt comment, as the movie's dreamlike mood envelops the viewer, who is swept up in the magical tale from the very first moments. It doesn't seem all that far-fetched that with the passage of decades, some viewers might have wondered whether or not their half-forgotten memories were real.

I loved the film so much that I went to see it again just a month later at the Noir City Hollywood Festival; three years later I was fortunate to see it again at the TCM Classic Film Festival.

As I wrote after my first viewing, the film gives me a warm glow just thinking about it. I've been waiting close to a decade now for a release for home viewing, and Flicker Alley's Blu-ray is more than worth the wait.

REPEAT PERFORMANCE is a unique film which has been likened to a TWILIGHT ZONE episode mashed up with IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946), with a dash of ALL ABOUT EVE (1950) on the side.

Joan Leslie was just 21 when she began filming her role as Sheila Page, a Broadway actress who as the movie begins has just shot and killed her husband, playwright Barney Page (Louis Hayward). Barney, an embittered alcoholic, has recently had an affair with fellow playwright Paula Costello (Virginia Field).

The dazed Sheila throws a coat on over her nightgown and runs outside, where the rest of the world is celebrating New Year's Eve. She turns for help to her two closest friends, poet William Williams (Richard Basehart, in his film debut), and Broadway producer John Friday (Tom Conway).

Sheila tells William she wishes she could live the past year over, and just as they arrive at John's apartment, William disappears. When Sheila enters John's apartment and takes off her coat, she's no longer in her nightgown, but instead is wearing last year's New Year's Eve dress. Somehow, some way, Sheila has been granted the chance to redo the previous year, with the hope that this time things will turn out differently.

Sheila is initially thrilled by her second chance, yet she discovers that her attempts to trick fate and engineer a happier outcome don't always work. For instance, she doesn't take a trip to London so that Barney won't meet Paula, but Barney and Paula meet anyway. Will Sheila be able to avoid shooting Barney on New Year's Eve?

This is a magical 91 minutes which is such a good film in every respect, as attested to by the fact I've watched it several times over the past decade. Everything about the film is top notch, including the screenplay by Walter Bullock, from a novel by William O'Farrell; Alfred L. Werker's confident, stylish direction; the gleaming black and white cinematography of L. William O'Connell; Joan Leslie's gowns by Oleg Cassini and hairstyles by Eunice; and of course the performances of the deep cast.

Joan Leslie is outstanding as the warm and supportive Sheila; her mature performance belies her young age, anchoring the film and enabling us to believe in Sheila and the story. Basehart, as her troubled, loyal friend, similarly contributes strongly to the film's mystical tone. Sheila is able to confide what she's going through to William and have a sounding board, and similarly her "erased" year allows her to advise him at key moments.

Hayward has a difficult role as a man unable to appreciate the gem he has in his wife. It might be hard to believe a man could be unhappy with such a beautiful and loving partner, but Hayward successfully conveys a man crumbling to pieces, depressed by his inability to write a second hit play and by his wife's professional success; he drinks, has an affair, and ultimately experiences a terrible accident which leaves him even angrier and more distant. Like the story itself, Barney becomes so evil that it could be unbelievable, and yet somehow it all works.

Sheila perseveres, hoping to rebuild their relationship; Leslie believably convinces us that Sheila is genuine in trying to do so, and that it's out of an inner strength, rather than being walked on by her mean-spirited husband. At the same time the warmth of Sheila's much happier relationship with John is repeatedly yet subtly underscored.

Conway gives a graceful performance as John, who is always there when Sheila turns to him for help, wanting to make her happy yet also secure in himself. They are a well-matched pair. Near the end of the film John's feelings are oh-so-briefly acknowledged, and we hope they will have the kind of future together that Sheila couldn't have with Barney.

The entire cast is excellent, including Field as Paula, who has ice water in her veins; Benay Venuta (ANNIE GET YOUR GUN) as Sheila's boisterous friend and colleague; Natalie Schafer (GILLIAN'S ISLAND) as a truly vile woman who financially backs William's writing and delights in spreading gossip. Keefe Brasselle (NOT WANTED and NEVER FEAR) appears briefly as a delivery boy.

The outstanding narration is by John Ireland.

I watched the set's Blu-ray, which is absolutely gorgeous. Sound quality is also excellent.

The set includes marvelous extras from a number of people I've been privileged to get to know to varying degrees over the years. The bonus features start off with a short introduction to the film from Eddie Muller. Farran Smith Nehme, aka the Self-Styled Siren, contributes a brief but well-done featurette on the career of Joan Leslie, with many of the actress's achievements coming at a remarkably young age. Alan K. Rode narrates Steven C. Smith's interesting 35-minute documentary EAGLE-LION: A NOIR-STAINED LEGACY (2022), and the commentary track is by Nora Fiore, the "Nitrate Diva." I haven't yet heard the commentary, but I enjoyed Nora's work on THE STRANGER (1946) and I feel confident it will be an informative track.

The glossy booklet includes a beautifully illustrated essay by Brian Light comparing the original William O'Farrell novel to the film. To top things off, there's reversible case cover art and the Blu-ray and DVD discs have attractive contrasting colors, as seen here.

It's only February, but Flicker Alley's release of REPEAT PERFORMANCE just might be the set of the year. Very highly recommended.

Thanks to Flicker Alley for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray/DVD set.

REPEAT PERFORMANCE may be purchased through the Flicker Alley website as well as through retailers such as Amazon.

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