Turn Back the Clock

Joe Gimlet (Lee Tracy) owns a cigar store in New York along with his wife Mary (Mae Clarke). They aren't poor, but they do struggle to make ends meet. On March 6, 1933, in walks someone he knew when he was growing up, Ted Wright (Otto Kruger), now a banker. Ted invites Joe and Mary to dinner with him and his wife, Elvina, and tells Joe that if he will give him the four thousand he has in savings, he can turn it into twenty thousand in a few months. Joe wants to do this, Mary does not because it is all they have. They argue, and Joe says that if he could live his life over he would not have married Mary and would have instead pursued wealth. Joe then storms out of their apartment and into the street, and is hit by a car. While he's unconscious, he imagines he gets to live his life all over again, starting in 1910 when he is a young man.

In this alternate reality, Joe takes up Pete Evans (George Barbier) when he offers to let him in on a real estate deal in return for his 400 dollar life savings. He marries Pete's daughter, Elvina, to seal the deal. And since he knows everything that's going to happen through March 6,1933, he's a tremendous success in business, becoming not only a rich but a powerful man. Among the bad things he knew - He figured that his wife would probably two time him since he saw signs of her two-timing Ted in 1933. Joe didn't think he'd mind, but it turns out he does. And then March 6, 1933 comes and he no longer has the advantage of prescience. Complications ensue.

It's not like anything in this film is a big surprise, although time travel was not common story material at the time. It's all about learning to appreciate what you have or, in the words of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz "There's no place like home."

The make-up job done is pretty impressive for the time - MGM really does make the lovely Mae Clarke look like a middle aged frump at age 23.

MGM really "got" what worked as far as Lee Tracy vehicles. Starting with "The Nuisance" when he came over from Warner Brothers, they always gave him parts that used his penchant for fast talking comedy while letting him show his dramatic chops as well. An example of the latter in this film is when Tracy realizes he's back in 1910, in his boyhood home, and goes downstairs to see his mother cooking breakfast. In 1933 she must have been dead for years, because here he embraces her like he hasn't seen her for years - he hasn't - and tells her he's never leaving her side again. It's a very touching moment that, if you've lost a parent, you can easily relate to.

Lee Tracy ended up throwing away his own career at MGM, as did Buster Keaton, but at least MGM gave Lee Tracy the sporting chance that they never gave Buster Keaton.

A middle-aged shopkeeper is given the chance to TURN BACK THE CLOCK and see what his life would have been like had he made other choices when young.

Human dynamo Lee Tracy animates this whimsical fantasy about second chances. (Somewhat ironic, in that a `second chance' was exactly what MGM would not give Tracy after his spectacular fall from grace in 1934.) This was one of 5 films which Tracy would make for MGM in a very busy 1933, his total output at the Studio. As always, he energizes his every scene. Always engaging & enjoyable to watch, it is a shame that he is almost forgotten today.

Costars Clara Blandick (mother), Mae Clarke (wife), George Barbier (father-in-law), and Otto Kruger (rich friend) all provide very competent assistance, but this is really Tracy's film all the way.

Movie mavens will spot uncredited performances by Charley Grapewin as Tracy's boyhood doctor, and The Three Stooges (Moe & Curly Howard and Larry Fine), playing it straight as singers at Tracy's wedding.

Notice the fine attention to detail which MGM gives the shots of Tracy's hometown - the busy streets and authentic-looking buildings. It was this high level of production value - even for a `B' picture such as this - which was one of the Studio's hallmarks.

This is worth seeing for its amazing story, which although fantastic is completely logical all the way. It's Ben Hecht, of course, and at his best, working together with Edgar Selwyn to produce a cinematic wonder of plot and imagination, playing with destiny and accomplishing a wonder of plausibility in spite of its character of total conjecture.

The only problem of the film is Lee Tracy's acting, which is rather exhausting, since he is constantly overdoing it. Maybe that was the fashion of actors in the early 30s, but today it's just annoying.

The other actors are doing alright, especially the two ladies and Otto Kruger, but it's the plot that is the main thing of this film. Who hasn't one time or another dreamt of reliving one's life and doing it over again but better? That's what happens to Joe Gimlet, he gets an alternative chance and really makes the best of it and everything he wanted to do different, and still it all goes wrong...

The most ingenious thing about the story construction is how it is combined with the story he left behind, he meets the same people but under different circumstances and making different careers, and so in the end he finds his best friend, president of the National Bank, in his own original position as a petty shop owner.

Ben Hecht was in his prime throughout the 30s, beginning with "Front Page", bringing forth a flood of script masterpieces, until he was allowed to make a film of his own, "The Specter of the Rose", an ambitious art film of ballet, very much ahead of its time, which flopped, so he was never allowed to make another movie. Still he continued writing excellent scripts, but his sharpest edge was lost.

I pretty much guessed the ending (which I won't reveal here), but that didn't stop me enjoying the story! Lee Tracy does a good job in the role of Joe Gimlet, frustrated and discontent store owner, who wishes his life had turned out different, especially after running into his old friend Ted (Otto Kruger), who's now wealthy and married to the boss's daughter, Elvina (Peggy Shannon) that could have been his wife, if things had been different.

Instead, he married girl next door Mary (Mae Clark), whose practical outlook on life is making him feel stifled and resentful. When he storms out into the street after an argument, it appears he may get his wish for all he missed out on, as he finds himself 20 years younger, and trading places with Ted. Joe breaks up with Mary and marries Elvina and proceeds to make his money/success dreams come true, while Ted marries Mary and seems content with the simple life.

And then the words "be careful what you wish for" come back to haunt him!

I think some parts were overdone, like Joe's drinking and shooting off his mouth, especially about things he remembers from the past/future that hasn't happened yet, making some people think he's flipped his lid. But all in all, it's an enjoyable film.

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.