Saturday's Children

Anne Shirley was utterly captivating; I had never before seen her work. I had seen Claude Rains as a child but had forgotten him. It was quite enjoyable to see his portrayal of a goofy, yet devoted father.

I thought the movie was quite interesting. This is quite amazing as I do not usually enjoy movies from that era. I consider this a holdover from the 1930's; it has "depression and coming war" written all over it.

The questions the movie raised, however dated the movie, were familiar: how do young marrieds survive financially? Should men marry before they have achieved their financial goals? When, or if, should young married women drop out of the work force in order to raise a family? These are questions as difficult today as they must have been nearly 7 decades ago. The most interesting aspect was that these problems existed at all: we tend to think today that these are merely modern questions.

In spite of its "1930 style" I found it riveting; all the more so when one realizes that its stars are all gone, like the era it portrayed.

This copy of this film, seen recently on TCM, had a faded look, which contributes to lose the viewer's interest in a film that doesn't seem too relevant today. The main attraction for watching it, was the interesting cast put together for it. Unfortunately, the most important part, is terribly miscast.

The story takes place in Manhattan at the end of the Great Depression. Based on a play by Maxwell Anderson, it probably worked better on the stage than in the adaptation that Julius Epstein, one of the best writers of the period, gave it. It doesn't help either, that director Vincent Sherman didn't appear to be too enthused with the material, as evident in the finished product.

John Garfield was totally wrong for Rims Rosson. He doesn't have that spark that was his trade mark. In the film he is just too bland. Ann Shirley plays the sweet Bobby Halevy. Claude Rains, though, is about the most likable character in the film because as the father of Bobby, he is an honest man who wants to do everything possible to guarantee his daughter's happiness.

The supporting cast is excellent. Lee Patrick, is seen as Florrie. Roscoe Karns and the always dependable George Tobias, make good contributions in minor roles.

Watch "Saturday's Children" as dated curiosity piece.

This obviously must have been a play first, as the film is very static and spends most of the time confined to small sets. I really wish the writers had done something to try to open the film up a bit--giving it some more energy and giving it life. Instead, you feel you are watching a play that was filmed--especially when it comes to dialog, as the actors seem to be, at times, making speeches to an audience. Now the acting is okay (though a bit too earnest if you ask me) and the general idea is okay, but just not super-compelling. You see, a young couple is married and face a huge battle against debts and struggle to get by---again and again and again. Halfway into the film, I felt like I'd had enough. Yes, they were young and in love but the day to day pressures put a lot of strain on their marriage--I understood that but after a while I just wanted this depressing film to end. About the only bright spot was the role played by Claude Rains--he was pretty funny and likable. As for the leads, Anne Shirley and John Garfield, this was definitely not one of their better films as they came off as rather whiny and immature. I just felt like yelling at the actors to buck up and deal with it--that's life!

Knowing what we know about the period 1940 and the years that preceded and succeeded this film, a world war was underway and rationing and sacrifices were having to be made by all businesses and families. These two young lovers Bobby Halevy (Anne Shirley) and Rims Rosson (John Garfield) met on Bobby's first day of work at her new job. It becomes quite evident that Bobby plays coy but she knows what she wants and how to get it. As the 2010 Beyonce Knowles song Single Ladies (Pit A Ring On It) goes, the young and very attractive Bobby wants to get married to the gullible and loved starved Rims and she quickly develops a plan to catch her fish.

The film moves along at a quick pace with each conversation talking rapidly just like it most likely did when it was first delivered as a stage play. This is a simple picture about a young couple just starting their lives together when the war efforts directly impacts their ability to maintain a living and possibly to starting a family of their own.

It is a simple story filled with both family hardships and romance and keeping in mind that WWII was underway filmgoers were looking for some glimmer of hope which Anne Shirley and John Garfield deliver. Claude Rains plays Anne Shirley's father with the charm of a lucky leprechaun which is an added bonus.

I give this eighty (80) year old classic film a decent 8 out of 10 IMDB rating

It should go like this: Monday's child is fair of face Tuesday's child is full of grace Wednesday's child is full of woe Thursday's child has far to go Friday's child is loving and giving Saturday's child must work for a living and the child that is born on the sabbath day is bonny and blithe and good and gay. I'm not sure why Jack Warner didn't catch this. It seems that to use the title to begin with presumes knowledge of the poem (I for one have to run through the entire thing in order to make sure myself. "Work for a living" also seems to fit better with the theme of the movie-- not that it matters though since the author came up with the title to begin with.