If there is ever a domestic drama of what we were fighting for this war for, this movie is the prototype for that kind of film. Two strangers, both in their own prisons, one physically and the other metaphorically, meet on a train, spend the Christmas holidays together, fall in love and must part. She is Ginger Rogers, in prison for manslaughter (on a charge that obviously should have been dismissed) and he is Joseph Cotten, suffering from severe shell-shock. They are star-crossed lovers fated to be parted, but with hope still lingering in their hearts, they will end up together.
Spring Byington and Tom Tryon are Rogers' gracious aunt and uncle, bringing temporary joy into their lives as the holidays come and go, from a very Merry Christmas to a romantic New Year's Eve. Each of them face psychological trauma (she is even afraid to step one inch beyond the state line which they arrive at while walking along the river bank) as their love grows, but they are soothed by the beautiful title song, one of the most fabulous war themes ever written, and still popular today. (A memorable "Designing Women" episode wisely utilized it as one of Jean Smart's character's fantasies).
Cotten's shell-shock is dealt with in the most subtle of ways, his manner changing when a group of boys run around the streets shooting toy guns, and an overly chatty soda jerk (Chill Wills) going on about his own war experiences. A frighting encounter with a vicious dog and some politicians who question Cotten about his political believes also subtly express the horrors that Cotten is feeling inside.
The only fly in the ointment is Shirley Temple, a precocious teenage girl who fulfills that well-known saying about good intentions. Her character wouldn't be so annoying if this wasn't an exact replica of practically every role she'd play during the 1940's, particularly in the same year's "Since You Went Away". Fortunately, the romance between Rogers and Cotten is so moving that it overshadows this minor mishap. While the lover's farewell scene isn't as famous as the Jennifer Jones/Robert Walker farewell in "Since You Went Away" (ironically produced by the same man as this film, David Selznick), it gives way to the feeling that in spite of its horrors, World War II was the most romantic war in history.
Spring Byington and Tom Tryon are Rogers' gracious aunt and uncle, bringing temporary joy into their lives as the holidays come and go, from a very Merry Christmas to a romantic New Year's Eve. Each of them face psychological trauma (she is even afraid to step one inch beyond the state line which they arrive at while walking along the river bank) as their love grows, but they are soothed by the beautiful title song, one of the most fabulous war themes ever written, and still popular today. (A memorable "Designing Women" episode wisely utilized it as one of Jean Smart's character's fantasies).
Cotten's shell-shock is dealt with in the most subtle of ways, his manner changing when a group of boys run around the streets shooting toy guns, and an overly chatty soda jerk (Chill Wills) going on about his own war experiences. A frighting encounter with a vicious dog and some politicians who question Cotten about his political believes also subtly express the horrors that Cotten is feeling inside.
The only fly in the ointment is Shirley Temple, a precocious teenage girl who fulfills that well-known saying about good intentions. Her character wouldn't be so annoying if this wasn't an exact replica of practically every role she'd play during the 1940's, particularly in the same year's "Since You Went Away". Fortunately, the romance between Rogers and Cotten is so moving that it overshadows this minor mishap. While the lover's farewell scene isn't as famous as the Jennifer Jones/Robert Walker farewell in "Since You Went Away" (ironically produced by the same man as this film, David Selznick), it gives way to the feeling that in spite of its horrors, World War II was the most romantic war in history.