Tomorrow, the World!

A Nazi youth is taken in by his American uncle and his family.

As a kid, the movie scared the wits out of me. I was about the same age as Homeier, but he was so unlike any kid I'd ever seen, it was like an alien intrusion into familiar surroundings. It's certainly an electrifying performance. His authoritarian side is absolutely convincing, with the best heel-clicking this side of Konrad Veidt.

I suspect there's something of a post-war subtext to the film even though it was made in the war year of 1944. The big question posed by post-war planning and the movie is whether Nazis are reformable. That is, can a democracy succeed in a German nation where the Third Reich has sunk its roots. This was an important political question once it became apparent the Allies would win the war. In the movie, it's a question of whether the thoroughly indoctrinated Emil (Homeier) can be Americanized by the all-American Frame family. If he can't, then symbolically there will be great difficulty in de-Nazifying a post-war Germany. Anyway, I suggest this as something of a subtext to the movie as a whole.

It's a fine cast that creates a lively household, especially little Joan Carroll as Pat. Her energetic, forgiving spirit amounts to a persuasive contrast to the robotic Emil. For this now geezer, it was nostalgic revisiting the youth and fashions of the period (minus Emil, of course). Too bad Homeier never got the credit as an actor that he deserved. That's probably because he was so good at playing dislikable characters, as a succession of Westerns and crime films of the 1950's demonstrate. Here, he's practically the whole show, in a part that's unforgettable once you've seen it. I know it's been so for me.

I had not heard of the film until I saw it on the Turner Movie Classics schedule. Seeing the subject matter and the 1944 date excited me. The writer, director and cast would be playing out the issues in real time, as the die was cast. I grew up in a household conflicted with stories and opinions of Nazi Germany. My mother is Jewish. My father was German and raised by a father who supported Hitler. I have always been fascinated by Germans who seem to be good people who choose to ignore the eventual outcome of Hitler's madness and defend Germany's need for him.

The characters each have their unique perspective and reaction to Emil as played masterfully by Skip Homeier. The desire to see only the good in a human being with no expectation that they are dealing with a fully brainwashed evil acting thug is such an American trait. This movie is simply made and concentrates closely on the story, and it's the story and the acting that is compelling. I think you will enjoy it if you enjoy a good psychological study. My husband was disappointed with the ending, I, however, was overjoyed and cried. P. S. It was nice to see Agnes Moorehead in her role. I have never seen her play such a "normal person".

An obviously cheaply-made film version of the long-running Broadway hit that that was one of several films made during the War addressing the vexed question of just what was to be done with the Germans once the War was over.

It preserves for posterity the young 'Skippy' Homeier's extraordinary performance as Emil Bruckner, a feral eleven year-old Hitler Youth who just turns up in a small town in wartime America without attracting any attention on the part of the authorities. There is also a memorable performance by Joan Carroll as the host family's perky young daughter, but it's strange to see an actor of Fredric March's stature taking such a back seat to the proceedings as her father. Although we're told that the still young and glamorous Betty Field - who is both a teacher at the local school and March's fiancée - is Jewish, this element isn't developed and the fact that she's supposed to be Jewish is seldom referred to - even by Emil.

Recalling Frank Borzage's 'No Greater Glory' (1934) and anticipating 'Frieda' (1947) and 'The Bad Seed' (1956), parts are quite amusing - possibly intentionally - others extremely shocking; and the writers plainly didn't know how to end the thing. (An interesting version could be made today with the young kid a Middle Eastern refugee...)

This is an entertaining and interesting film, as much for what it doesn't say as for what it does.

Our depiction of small town middle American life circa 1944 is wildly inaccurate and glorified, but this is not at all unusual in films of the era. World War II era audiences would have considered themselves morally superior to the Germans and had no argument with life as seen in "Tomorrow, the World!". In reality, however, it is unlikely that a Jewish woman would have been a teacher in a largely protestant public school, and even less likely that she would have entered into an interfaith marriage with the only protest being raised by a small foreign boy. And if one considers how the story would have played out had the character of Leona been black, she not only would have never been teaching in a white public school, but had she and Mike Frame sought to be married, there likely would have been a response from the community that involved a lynching and thus our moral superiority over the Germans is exposed as being more imagined than real.

None of which particularly ruins the film. It requires no greater suspended-disbelief than Superman or Dracula, and on its own merits this film is an enjoyable experience. However sanitized, small town 1940's America is a place one almost cannot help but to long for. And into this idealized world enters Emil, a character that at first comes on ludicrously overplayed, and yet pulls you in just the same. The audience quickly becomes concerned for what will happened to the Frame family, and the guilty pleasure of watching this pre-"Bad Seed" demon will keep you on the edge of your seat.. After what Emil does to Pat, the vigilante justice meted out by Pat's school-mates is shamelessly gratifying to see. Throughout the story one keeps secretly hoping for Emil's redemption, and it is the film's greatest drawback that it attempts to grant this wish in a quick and unrealistic throwaway end. This inadequately explored issue as well as the intriguing and thoroughly under-utilized subplot of Emil's manipulation of Jessie leave the distinct impression that someone demanded a great deal of running time be shaved off of this film.

"Tomorrow, the World!" still gets major points for at least attempting a subject matter few films of its era, outside of propaganda newsreels, would dare touch, and it's worth a watch.

Lately I've been wondering about TCM's rating system. This is the second time I've been burned by a bunch of stars next to a film. I think they need to relook at some of these movies.

"Tomorrow, the World!" is based on the Broadway play. The film stars Frederic March, Skippy Homeier, Betty Field, Agnes Moorhead and Joan Carroll. Skippy is Emil (recreating his Broadway role), a German boy who comes to America to live with a scientist, Mark Frame (March), his sister (Moorhead) and his daughter (Carroll) - she's the same age as Emil. Field plays Leona Richards, a schoolteacher who is engaged to Mark. Emil has been indoctrinated by the Nazis to hate and to be prejudiced and also to lie and manipulate. The fact that Leona is Jewish and that Mike's insecure sister seems uncomfortable about the marriage plays right into Emil's hands, as he doesn't want Leona around.

Skippy was Skip by the time I became aware of him, and he was always a very likable actor and for baby boomers, a constant television presence. This was my first exposure to him as a child. He was a beautiful young boy, with a mane of blondish hair and enormous eyes. "Tomorrow, the World!" a propaganda film directed with a sledgehammer, is his screen debut.

In the beginning I was suspicious that it might be a comedy due to Skippy's totally outrageous performance as a Hitler Jugend. For one thing, tiny Natalie Wood could have taught him something about German accents and speaking German - she was perfect in "Tomorrow is Forever." He says his lines in a sing-song voice, often sounding Swedish, sometimes American; only sometimes is there a hint of German, and he speaks German like an American. In the second part of the film, however, he's very effective, really showing what he can do acting-wise. It's just a shame he was directed as he was. In his faux nice moments, he comes off like a German Eddie Haskell or a male Patty McCormick - you just don't buy it.

The biggest bone I have to pick with this film is the stupid soap opera part, which is the argument between Leona and Mark. Mark for reasons known only to himself thinks that Emil is becoming nicer and more acclimated to the American way; Leona disagrees with him passionately and says she cannot live in the house with the boy, thus breaking their engagement. Mark feels she's being unreasonable. Now, if only she'd thought to mention that precious little Emil had written "Miss Richards is a Jewish tramp" on a bunch of sidewalks, Mark might have understood that Emil's attitude wasn't improving as rapidly as he thought. But she fails to mention this nugget of info.

The second part of the film is far superior to the first. March, Field, and Carroll are very good in their roles. I agree with several posters here that Skippy dominates the film, but that isn't always for the right reasons.

The ending is too pat - that often happens when you only have less than two hours to make a point and you've spent most of it talking about America and its strengths. I suspect "Tomorrow, the World!" had more impact in 1944, though it's hard for me to accept that anyone ever believed Herr Skippy in his sweet, friendly moments.