Dawn O'Day became a popular young actress in 1934 when she appeared in RKO's adaptation of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES. It has a big hit with audiences. As part of the studio's marketing scheme, Miss O'Day took the name of the character she played in the film- Anne Shirley- as her new stage name, under which she would be billed for the rest of her career.
A short time later the studio was tasked with finding another project that could duplicate this success. They chose to adapt an old French novel from the 1880s called 'Le Crime de Silvestre Bonnard,' which would feature the actress in another lead role. Again, she would be paired with her costars from the previous picture, O. P. Heggie and Helen Westley. They are a bit more dressed up in CHASING YESTERDAY.
This time, instead of farmers, Heggie is a linguist who collects rare books and Westley is his housekeeper. When Heggie's character tries to hunt down a rare manuscript, he goes to a town where he is reminded of an old love affair. He learns that his deceased former girlfriend had a daughter (Shirley) and she is under the care of a stern guardian and headmistress.
The film deviates from the source material, because in the original novel, the girl is the granddaughter of his old flame which I think makes more sense. Especially since Mr. Heggie does seem old enough to be Miss Shirley's grandfather. Also, the film suggests that Heggie becomes sort of "smitten" with the young girl because of her charms, which adds a peculiar dimension to the proceedings since she may well be his illegitimate daughter. Most of these incestuous implications are brushed aside, since the film was made after the production code had taken affect.
An interesting subplot occurs between Heggie and the headmistress who runs the girls' school that Shirley attends. The headmistress is played by Elizabeth Patterson and she treats the young women under her supervision rather cruelly. In scenes that could have been written by Charles Dickens, the plot has Shirley longing to escape this bleak situation. When Heggie comes to visit her, she gets a brainstorm and suggests that the gentleman has feelings for Patterson, which is definitely not true.
Miss Patterson is a frustrated spinster longing for love, and she falls for this trick. She uses the girl as an excuse to visit Heggie's home, and things get considerably more entertaining. However, the ruse backfires and it leads to harsher punishments for the girl...which only makes Heggie more determined to rescue and adopt her. There is an additional romantic subplot when a student of Heggie's, played by Junior Durkin in his last screen role, also falls for Miss Shirley's charms.
Of course we know a film like this is going to have a happy ending, but the fun is in how the various plot threads are gradually unspooled. The performances here from the three leads are just as good as they were in the Green Gables film. Though I think the best work is rendered by Elizabeth Patterson who is playing against type. Contemporary critics singled her out for praise. Watch her witch-like character fooled by someone who is obviously smarter than her!
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