Turn Back the Clock

I had never heard of this movie until just catching it on TCM. What a pleasant surprise, as I've always loved alternative reality stories, whether "It's A Wonderful Life, the "Back to the Future" series or the several Twilight Zone episodes that this movie seemed to be a model for.

This is not literally a time travel movie, and I kind of like that it's made clear this is all a dream (induced by anesthesia). But it still has a lot of dramatic impact. The idea of "what if I had my life to live over again, knowing what I know now" seems to have a universal appeal. The very clever screenplay spins several variations on this theme, and even if the "lesson" learned by the hero is predictable, there are enough plots twists to maintain viewer interest. And as another reviewer commented, the script makes great use of true historical event. This movie is actually a pretty good history lesson. Probably a lot of viewers are unaware that our entry into World War I was very controversial and not at all universally favored at the time.

The script is particularly clever in it's parallel construction between the "real" story and the dream. The roles of the rich guy vs. the struggling storekeeper are reversed, but in both cases, there is the concept of changing one's life with a bold and maybe risky investment of one's life savings.

My only quibble is that the movie seems to end abruptly after the Lee Tracy character regains consciousness and finds that he's still married to Mary and back to reality. I actually thought there would be another plot twist, with him discovering that Otto Kruger is a con man trying to get his $4,000, and not really a rich success. That would've added another wrinkle to the "be happy with what you have" message.

Turn Back the Clock (1933)

*** (out of 4)

Minor film about married couple Joe (Lee Tracy) and Mary (Mae Clarke) who run a partially successful cigar shop but one night they get into a heated argument about whether or not they should invest their life savings in the stock market. Joe gets upset because years earlier he could have become rich by investing but Mary wouldn't let him and the same thing seems to be happening. The husband leaves the house drunk and gets struck by a car and he gets his wish by getting to re-live the past twenty years. TURN BACK THE CLOCK has been called an early version of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and there's no question that this does share some connections with the Capra film but this here is still far from reaching a great level. I think the biggest problem I had with the film was that when Tracy goes back to re-live his life, he's well aware of everything that's going on and this allows him to make all the right decisions. I really didn't care about him knowing everything that was going to happen because he had already lived it because these scenes were often played for laughs and I didn't think the comedy worked. Still, this is a fairly entertaining fantasy and I liked how they threw in real events to tell the story including the stock market crash of 1929. Tracy is pretty good in the lead role, although his comedy bits aren't all that good. Clarke, best known for her work in FRANKENSTEIN, is good as the wife and Otto Kruger is very good in his scenes as the friend. The Three Stooges even have a small cameo. I did like the twist that happened towards the end of the movie with our main character and his alternate life. Fans of 30's cinema should enjoy this one even if it has some flaws.

A unique film of the "if I had it all to do over" variety, Turn Back The Clock gives Lee Tracy a chance to show the full range of his talents as an average Joe who wants a second chance at life and gets it.

Director Edgar Selwyn and screenwriter Ben Hecht delivered a small masterpiece in 1933 that might seem familiar now to later generations. Everyone from Frank Capra to Rod Serling has used the same theme successfully - the lesson to be learned: you can't change the past without consequences, so maybe its better just to be happy with what you have.

TCM has this one in its vault, so see it if you're a Tracy fan. You won't be disappointed. Excellent performances by Mae Clarke and Peggy Shannon as well. Funny and dramatic with some of the delightful over the top stuff you'd expect from an early Thirties film, but fast and insightful at the same time.

Oh, and an uncredited guest bit with The Three Stooges as wedding singers!

This is the type of fantasy Frank Capra put his stamp on just a few years later. It stars Lee Tracy as a working-class guy who begins to regret his humble life after meeting up with old friends who have become wealthy; he gets his chance to go back in time and live his life over again. Premise has since been used time and again, but here it's given a surprisingly fresh and clear-eyed take. Tracy is the only acting liability among the performers(he's too broad for a subtle picture like this one). It's well-paced, amusing, shies away from mushy sentimentality, and features The Three Stooges--unbilled in a cameo as wedding singers!

Lee Tracy earns a meager living as a cigar store owner with his wife Mae Clarke. One night, after a fight with his wife over money, he's hit by a car and wakes up in the hospital to find he's twenty years in the past. Now he can do things differently, including marrying wealthy Peggy Shannon. Armed with knowledge of the future, he becomes successful and powerful. But over time he comes to realize how good he had it in his other life.

A good role for Lee Tracy, a largely forgotten star from the 1930s. Tracy was a versatile actor, equally great at both comedy and drama. Mae Clarke and Peggy Shannon are both excellent here. Fine support from Otto Kruger, C. Henry Gordon, and Clara Bandick. Look out for the cameo from the Three Stooges. It's the first film appearance of the Stooges after Curly had joined. Love those MGM sets. A compelling tale of "what might have been," years before It's a Wonderful Life and countless other movies used similar ideas. Especially interesting for history buffs as the movie offers insights on views back then regarding a variety of topics from World War I on up to the Great Depression.