Schicksal von gestern

Diana (Anna Neagle) and Alan (Michael Wilding) are thrown together into a whirlwind romance after a chance encounter in Piccadilly. They marry before Diana is posted overseas where her ship is torpedoed and all are presumed dead. Alan comes to term with his loss before marrying again and producing a son. However, Diana is one of a few survivors and is living on an uninhabited island. What will happen when she returns home?

This is a wartime romance which is quite good. One criticism, though - why on earth have two of the main female leads - Anna Neagle and Brenda Bruce (who plays Sally Benton) - look exactly the same as each other? Neagle performs a curious dance at the beginning of the film, a mish-mash of God knows what. I think it's better suited to a horror-film dream sequence. Anyhow, the film involves you on an emotional level and brings up difficult issues. You may have a cry or two. Roger Moore has an uncredited role according to the credits, but I guarantee that you wont see him. If you want a tragic, wartime romance story, then this film fits the bill.

A British romantic drama; A story set in London and the Far East about a Wren and a captain who meet by chance during an air raid in London, 1941. They eventually fall deeply in love and marry. Although they spend her short embarkation leave time together, their hopes are tragically destroyed after the fall of Singapore. The film has a promising beginning, builds the story well, but the second act goes from the plausible and realistic to the melodramatic and overplayed. The third act is mostly absorbing before it falls to sentimentality and a sharp resolution. The prologue and epilogue have a weighty tone, a legal flaw that brings some stark realities, and a provocative theme, but a problem remains unresolved. Anne Neagle's performance was first-rate. With Wilding, they had a chemistry despite the uninspiring dialogue. It had an admirable all-round cast nonetheless.

A wartime romance between two people (Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding) starts when they literally bump into each other on a London sidewalk during WW II. As they run for cover during a bombing they become instantly attracted to each other.

There is a whirlwind romance during which we see a little of their lives. She dances; he has a sister (Coral Browne). But she's on a 72-hour pass and must see off a Canadian friend (Michael Laurence). When she returns to the flat he shares with his sister they decide to marry.

Here's where this film takes a remarkable turn. In a role reversal she's the one being shipped out (to Singapore) while he stays home in an office job. When Singapore falls to the Japanese she's on a ship that is sunk. The war report back in London says she has been killed but she's shipwrecked on an island with a few other for 3 years.

Meanwhile, Wilding meets another woman (Frances Mercer) and marries her and has a son. But after Neagle is rescued from the island and returns to London, we see the mess that has been created. Legally she is still the wife. Legally the son is illegitimate. This little wartime romance film takes a decidedly dramatic turn and presents us with quite a quandary.

Neagle is excellent and has a terrific scene when she's in the little boat and watches the rescue plane go overhead, unsure of her own sanity. Wilding is also excellent as the innocent who tries to get on with his life. Neagle and Wilding are a terrific team.

Co-stars include Edward Rigby as the butler, A.E. Matthews as Sir Charles, Reginald Owen as the judge, Brenda Bruce as Sally, and Michael Medwin as the radio operator.

Nicely directed by the underrated Herbert Wilcox (Neagle's husband) and scripted by frequent collaborator Nicholas Phipps.

I do like an old British film to watch & I'd never seen this one, Anna Neagle & Micheal Wilding star & apparently a short glimpse of Roger Moore though I missed it.

Such a great topic, this has been used before & since (Move Over Darling) & it must have really happened during a war somewhere at sometime.

A partner is believed lost & then turns up sometime later after the other has moved on with their life.

Two people meet during an air raid in London & like so many, they married almost immediately, as life could be so short in those dark days.

War then separated them for a couple of years, as one was believed to have been lost & the one still living a 'normal' life, moves on with theirs.

I really enjoyed it though some bits were needlessly prolonged, the beginning especially with their courtship before marrying & then it was rushed at the end.

Without giving too much away, it would have been good to see more depth to their reaction on their reunion.

And can someone tell me, did some peolpe actually live like that? Out for lavish dinners, drinking champagne & generally not being affected by the deprivation & terror of nightly bombings & rationing?

Story about a wartime widower who remarries and has a son, only to find that his first wife is still alive.

It's OK but the cop out ending ruins what is an interesting premise.