Adieu jeunesse

REMEMBER THE DAY (20th Century-Fox, 1941), directed by Henry King, bears no connection nor is it a sequel to Paramount's comedy-drama, REMEMBER THE NIGHT (1940) starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray. Though it's not hard to confuse these similar movie titles, they are as different as night and day. For this production, starring Claudette Colbert, on loan-out assignment from her home-base of Paramount Pictures, it offers her an occasional opportunity to break away from her assortment of amusing comedies to something on a different level, that of a devoted school teacher with recollections of her past, and the one student who took part of those fine memories. After viewing REMEMBER THE DAY, there's no question it was a box-office success. Through the passage of time, however, the film has somehow slipped into obscurity, and quite undeservedly. Though many of the featured players, with the exception of John Payne, are not quite the marque names one would expect, the sole focus is on Colbert from start to finish, in a role worth remembering, even for just a day.

Set in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, June 25, 1940, the story opens with a front page newspaper spread reading, "National big-wigs arrive for Dewey Roberts banquet." Moments later, Nora Tindel (Claudette Colbert), a middle-aged schoolteacher, comes to the Mayflower Hotel where a crowd of people await for the guest of honor, the presidential candidate, Senator Dewey Roberts, who happened to be one of Miss Tindel's former students. After being escorted to a seat near the secret elevator where Dewey Roberts is to come out, the orchestra that had been playing to the popular Glenn Miller song, "Chattanooga Choo Choo," switches to Dewey's favorite song, "Back Home Again in Indiana." As Miss Tindel listens to the music, she recollects to the day she met the future senator, Friday, April 14, 1916, in the classroom of Auburn Grammar School in Indiana where she fills in for a Miss Fitch for the rest of the semester. Being a new teacher, Miss Tindel starts her career knowing her students, especially the somewhat rebellious Dewey Roberts (Douglas Croft), named after Admiral George Dewey of the United States Navy. Student and teacher first come to disagreement when Miss Tindel prepares on taking her class to the matinée of William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" followed by a picnic the very Saturday of the upcoming baseball game against Rome as coached by gym teacher, Dan Hopkins (John Payne). Eventually the conflicting events come to mutual terms, leading to a fine relationship between teacher and student and their interest and knowledge of ships (Miss Tindel, daughter of a sea captain, raised in the whaling colony of New Bedford, Massachusetts), and a romance that blossoms between Miss Tindel and Mr. Hopkins. After learning Nora and Dan spent the summer together at Willow Springs, Mr. Steele (Francis Pierlot), the school principal, makes demands on their dismissal. However, Dan resigns in order to have Nora retain her teaching position, a job she so loves. Later, Nora and Dan's secret marriage causes friction between the jealous Dewey and his favorite teacher. After a few more incidents depicted in Miss Tindel's life, and whatever became of her husband, the story moves forward to the present day as Nora awaits for her glimpse of Dewey Roberts, and a heartfelt conclusion not to be missed.

REMEMBER THE DAY, based on the play by Philip Higley and Philip Dunning, is a warm, sensitive story that plays with warmth and conviction. As much as the idea of teacher being reunited with former student now in public office might seem original, a little known gem titled GRAND OLD GIRL (RKO Radio, 1935) starring May Robson, consisted a similar concept but not the exact story. In it, Robson plays the elderly school teacher who's reunited with former student, the president of the United States. Though Shepperd Strudwick, credited as John Shepperd, gets third billing in the cast listing as the adult Dewey Roberts, much of the story belongs to Douglas Croft playing the same character at age 13. A natural child actor, best known for playing Lou Gehrig as a boy in THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES (1942), and George M. Cogan as a boy in YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942), whose character grows to become Gary Cooper and James Cagney respectively, he's not only given more to do here, but gives an excellent performance all around. The fact that Croft and Sheppard nearly resemble one another makes their characters even more passable. Another bonus that makes REMEMEBR THE DAY worth recommending is the close-to-accurate hair styles and clothing for its actors depicted in the 1916-17 era as opposed to some movies set in another time frame having its actors costumed in modern-day fashion. A worthy offering, especially from former school teachers with fond memories of their former students, especially one who stands out among the others, leaving one to wonder where are they now? Other members in the cast include Ann Todd (Kate Hill, a fellow student with a crush on Dewey); Frieda Inescort (Ann Hill, as a woman); Jane Seymour (Dewey's mother); Harry Hayden (Dewey's father); Billy Dawson (Steve Hill); George Ernest (Bill Tower, the hotel bellboy and former Miss Tindal student) Anne Revere (Nadine Price); among others.

Not shown regularly on commercial television since the 1970s, and never distributed to home video but available on DVD since 2013 by Cinema Archives, REMEMBER THE DAY did get the time of day with broadcasts on numerous cable channels, including Cinemax (1986), American Movie Classics (1991-92), Fox Movie Channel, and eventually Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: August 18, 2014). Henry King, an underrated movie director, through his fine direction, provides a first-rate production where its theme song, "Till We Meet Again" would have any first-time viewer thinking to one-self whenever REMEMBER THE DAY should be available for cable TV viewing again. (****)

Claudette Colbert is a schoolteacher thinking about her past life in "Remember the Day," a 1941 film also starring John Payne, Shepperd Strudwick, Ann E. Todd, Jane Seymour and Anne Revere. As she waits to catch a glimpse of a former student, Dewey Peters, now running for President, Nora Trinell (Colbert) thinks back to 1916, when Dewey was a child in her class, and she had just met another teacher in the school, Mr. Hopkins (Payne). Dewey has a terrible crush on Nora, who sees his true worth right away; Hopkins is in love with her. Kay, a student in Dewey's class, is crazy about him, but Dewey is at an age where he doesn't want any girls around. Besides, he's in love with Nora.

Nora and Hopkins eventually marry secretly, and he signs up for World War I. Dewey is heartbroken when he sees them together. Before going away to prep school, Nora encourages him in his goals and tells him that he is like a son to her. At his request, she goes to see him off at the train, the same train her husband is on en route to battle. The last time we see her in the flashback, she is waving goodbye.

This is a very touching movie with some nice performances, particularly by Colbert, Payne, and Douglas Croft, who plays the young Dewey. The fashions don't look particularly of the period, and as usual, everyone is aged much more than the 25 years that are supposed to have passed. It is true that people look younger today at 50, partly because we fight aging and also because of a youthful attitude, as one of the reviewers states. I still think everyone looked too old, and that includes young Dewey's parents during the flashback, who looked like his grandparents. It's unusual for Twentieth Century Fox to have permitted any aging at all - Zanuck would barely let Tyrone Power have gray at the temples in films with long time spans.

Colbert was actually 9 years older than John Payne, but I was aware of it only because I knew it. She was cast opposite younger men more than once. She is very lovely in this, looking much younger than her 38 years. She really carries the film. Payne, a very well-built hunk, gives a wonderful performance.

The acting really uplifts this film as does the solid directing of Henry King. You may shed a tear or two - if you don't mind that, "Remember the Day" is well worth seeing.

In the vein of CHEERS FOR MISS BISHOP, GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS and GOOD MORNING, MISS DOVE, Fox gave CLAUDETTE COLBERT and JOHN PAYNE a chance to show what they could do in another sentimental tale about the passage of time in a schoolmarm's life and her effect on faculty and students, as well as her remembrance of a lost love.

The good thing about REMEMBER THE DAY is it doesn't wallow in cheap sentiment the way some of the sudsers mentioned above had a tendency to do. Nor is it quite as cheerless. Instead, the script is bright and pleasant for most of the time, giving Claudette and John Payne a chance to create likable characters.

Like so many '40s romances, it's told in flashback as Claudette recalls her romance with football coach Payne at a school where both of them are teachers who never met before. Both have a natural charm that really comes across here with Claudette being the sort of dream teacher everyone should have--warm and thoughtful. And little DOUGLAS CROFT is excellent as her most promising student.

Of course, true love never does run smooth in these sort of things and soon a hint of scandal puts a damper on the Colbert/Payne romance when their moral conduct leads the school president to believe they spent the summer together violating school rules. Colbert rejects Payne's proposal of marriage at first, but later they do wed and he goes off to war.

ANNE REVERE is excellent as a prim and proper spinsterish teacher who misunderstands gossip about Colbert's romance. The period flavor is nicely captured but Alfred Newman's overly busy background score is a bit too schmaltzy for comfort, with old time songs constantly playing away in the background

With Payne joining the service (the Royal Canadian engineers), you know something has to happen to make it an ill-fated romance. Fortunately, the lighter side of the romance keeps the picture from falling into the bathos of many a tear-jerker, saving it from the fate of a film like CHEERS FOR MISS BISHOP.

Summing up: Well wrought sentiment nicely directed by Henry Koster with Colbert at her charming best and Payne as a promising newcomer.

This is a very nice little movie that showed Claudette Colbert and John Payne to great advantage as two young teachers who, in 1916, meet in a small mid-western town, teaching at a high school. They fall in love, and we watch the romance blossom into a marriage - the entire effect helped by the nostalgia of a by-gone, simpler era. Parallelling the story we have the story of a young boy that goes to the school and is taught by both Colbert and Payne.

The film is set up with it's heart (the romance) surrounded by a more recent story set in 1940, at the Republican Presidential Convention (a fictional version of the convention). Colbert is there to see the young boy student, who has now grown up. It is not until the film ends that we understand who she is visiting with. And it is not until the conclusion of the film that we get the bittersweet portion of the romance.

The film is very simple, and it's final element for success is that Payne and Colbert had terrific chemistry together. Ironically enough it would be their only film together (one wishes they had done a second film but that was not in the cards for some reason). Also ironically, it's total success should be compared with the comparative failure of TOMORROW IS FOREVER, wherein Orson Welles and Colbert both perform their roles well (in characters very like Payne's and Colbert's here) but lack the spark to make that trickier story more believable.

A marvelous film in the genre of Miss Dove, Mr. Chips and every wonderful teacher you ever had.

The role was just perfect for Claudette Colbert. She really worked magic with co-star John Payne.

This picture really offers Americana circa 1916 in Indiana. The embodiment of the school structure at that time is so well done. The obedient student, the prim and proper schoolteachers who dedicated their lives to teaching and nothing else.

Nora Trinell (Colbert) is a dedicated, wonderful teacher but she goes against what society thought of as a role for teachers when she finds love with Payne.

The "crisis" that leads to his dismissal and his ultimate redemption on the part of the principal is beautifully done here.

For me, the picture was so good because Trinell reminded me of my grade 5 teacher who inspired me in the field of social sciences.

Colbert, as the teacher who found love and tragically lost it, has one of her best film roles here. A caring person to her students, especially Dewey, she certainly tells the truth when she says that each year a teacher finds a student who she can really love as her own. Those words will forever stay with me.

As the typical spinster teacher, Anne Revere, was wonderful. Prone to be a gossip, she embodied what society thought was the role of a teacher in this period.

The ending will tug at your heart. Nostalgic and so wonderfully realized.