Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie

This will touch nerves among those of us who ponder what-might-have-been. The title sounds like it's one of those ha-ha overbright 1950s musicals....but in reality, it's a bittersweet flashback tale of a half-century slice of one man's life as a small-town barber, where fate has permanently halted his dreams of success in the big city.

The film steers clear of the cardboard clichés that such films were fond of in the '50s; instead we get thoughtful vignettes (most beautifully photographed) of the progression of events, big and small, through one man's days and years. As such, it becomes at times a mirror that we look into. David Wayne's performance is stunning, and all the other players are ideally cast as well.

This could be the perfect movie.

There are a number of moments of screen magic, but I can't forget the quiet scene of final transition near the film's end as the camera pans away from the barbershop and we find ourselves in the present day.

You'll cheer for the barber, folks. And don't go through life without seeing "Wait 'Til The Sun Shines, Nellie". It's the kind of film greatness we no longer see.

It will be fifty years ago this summer (1952) that I first saw this film. I was eight years old at the time and have never forgotten it. The bittersweet tale of one man's life told through the history of a small town in mid-west America at the turn of the 20th century. Both David Wayne and Jean Peters handled their roles with conviction avoiding any sticky sweet sentimentality. All to soon we lose Miss Peters and Wayne carries the film to a somewhat happy ending. I would love to see this superb film once again.

I lived in Hutchinson, Kansas during the filming of this motion picture. With Jean Peters, David Wayne and Hugh Marlowe along with director Henry King in our home town was a great compliment to our state. Then, later, to see familiar sites on the big screen and portrayed in classic premiere photography made Kansans very proud. It was one of the exciting times of our history with Hollywood in Kansas.

It is a big disappointment that this film is NOT available on DVD. The plot is upbeat and positive and needs to be shared with the present generation.

Please, review and consider the value of availability on DVD.

Dudley

I agree with many others who've commented about this wonderful movie. My sadness is that other generations have not been able to see it on TV, VHS, or DVD. Because of that, it has been lost to new fans. There are few movies that have captured the era after the turn of the century as well (although this one encompasses a period of time beyond that.) "The Strawberry Blonde" is another. David Wayne, always an under-rated screen actor was celebrated on Broadway, winning Tony Awards for playing Sakini in "Teahouse of the August Moon" and Og in "Finian's Rainbow. Here, we follow his character's life as a young man as he grows old with friends and family beside him and his love for Nellie everlasting. It's a touching story full of nostalgia. It deserves better. Isn't it amazing that so many of us remember it from our youth? That's how good it is.

This is the story of a martyr barber starting in the 1890's in a small town and spaning forty years. He suffers one disaster after another - and if you pay attention it was his own fault, such as lying to his wife right at the start. Nonetheless, David Wayne, a major Bdwy star who lost role after role to the movie versions, does a nice job, and Jean Peters is pulchritudinous - and Howard Hughes wife. Never on video - too bad. I'd like to see it again after twenty years or so when it appeared on late-night/early morning TV.