Amándonos triunfaremos

Good example of studio films from the forties. A love story,but also a history lesson on the labor unions trials and problems of getting a foothold in industry.True to the novel, Mark Stevens and Joan Fontaine are perfectly cast.

"fRom this day forward " looks like Wyler's 'best years of our lives " released the same year,a "best years" in miniature .

The main difference is that Wyler's work took place after the war whereas Berry's movie is part past (the year before the war) and part present (Mark Stevens'coming home) It also deals with the difficulties the soldiers come across with when they return to a country that has sometimes forgotten them.

The best scene,however, is to to be found on draft morning:the couple had put the alarm clock forward and forgotten it;the G.I. did not even have a breakfast (the cupboard is bare anyway);through the window ,Fontaine tries to make her husband come back:there's something of Frank Borzage in this sequence ("seventh heaven" "street angel".)

Although Stevens' presence on the screen is at least as long as that of Fontaine's ,he is granted a "and introducing...." -it was his debut- and Joan Fontaine is the only name before the title of the movie.

OK, Joan Fontaine is no Bronx housewife. But this movie about the post-war travails of a New York City couple is genuinely moving. Mark Stevens comes across well in the lead, and Harry Morgan does nicely in a small role. True, these are probably the only non-ethnic people in the Highbridge section of the Bronx, but that's how it was in those days.

Some kind of "the best years of my life" in miniature , "from this day forward" is mainly "backwards" for it essentially consists of flashbacks ; back from war,the hero has now to fight against a Civil Service , with a staff who is often inconsiderate to men who risked their life for their homeland.

As Mark Stevens makes his way through those forms to fill in ,he remembers the past , his wife (Fontaine) ,her family , his difficulty to find a job, his failed attempt at an illustrator career ,his brother-in-law's idle life ,and ,last but not least,the draft morning ...

The secondary characters are not developed enough ,notably the tight-fisted wealthy mom ,but both principals are endearing;Stevens would play opposite Joan Fontaine's sister ,Olivia De Havilland, in "the snake pit "(1948) but this time was overshadowed by his partner.

Fontaine and Stevens dance on the title song.

Joan Fontaine and Mark Stevens play a young married couple. The film follows Susan and Bill's relationship from just before they got married to many ups and downs with Bill's employment as well as Bill trying to get a job after he returns from the war.

The subject matter is very timely, as WWII just ending and millions of men were coming home and trying to adjust to civilian life. However, I found the characters surprisingly uninvolving. I didn't hate them...but the film didn't give you a ton of reason to care about them either. Plus, some other films, such as "The Best Years of Our Lives" and "Since You Went Away" handled it much better. Additionally, while Ms. Fontaine was able to suppress her English accent and play an American, she was NOT convincing as a woman from the Bronx and think she was a bit miscast. She was a fine actress...just not the best fit for this movie. Overall, a film that is worth seeing but certainly is no must-see movie either.