Between Two Worlds (1944)

Director:

Edward A. Blatt

Writers:

Sutton Vane (play)
Daniel Fuchs (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 May 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Drama | Fantasy | Adventure | Action

Plot:

Several people are killed in a London air raid. They each awake aboard a strange ship which will deliver each of them either to heaven or hell...

Plot Keywords:

Air Raid | Ship | Steward | Prayer | Mother Son Relationship

Cast

John Garfield	...	Tom Prior
Paul Henreid	...	Henry Bergner
Sydney Greenstreet	...	Reverend Tim Thompson
Eleanor Parker	...	Ann Bergner
Edmund Gwenn	...	Scrubby
George Tobias	...	Pete Musick
George Coulouris	...	Mr. Lingley
Faye Emerson	...	Miss Maxine Russell
Sara Allgood	...	Mrs. Midget
Dennis King	...	Reverend William Duke
Isobel Elsom	...	Genevieve Cliveden-Banks
Gilbert Emery	...	Benjamin Cliveden-Banks

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #9761) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The play "Outward Bound" opened on Broadway in New York City, New York, USA on 7 January 1924 and closed in May 1924 after 144 performances. The opening night cast included Dudley Digges, Leslie Howard, J.M. Kerrigan, Alfred Lunt and Beryl Mercer. There was one Broadway revival in 1938, directed by Otto Preminger.

Quotes:

Reverend William Duke: Why it's Thompson, Tim Thompson, same as ever!
Reverend Tim Thompson: Looking like a character that stepped out of the middle ages, eh?
Reverend William Duke: Oh yes, Ferguson said that.
Reverend Tim Thompson: And what did you say? Let him go right back there!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Between Two Worlds: Erich Wolfgang Korngold (2001) (TV)

"You see my son, you make your heaven and hell for yourselves on earth, you only bring it with you here."

Paul Henreid portrays a character with a pretty young wife, determined to leave the country and desperately needing an exit permit - sound familiar? Perhaps so, but this isn't "Casablanca", it's a relatively obscure film from 1944 deserving of a wider audience. "Between Two Worlds" is a well constructed morality tale that reveals the lot of a handful of souls on the way to their final destination aboard a ship going nowhere.

The wayward passengers come together as the vehicle en route to their trans-Atlantic ship is destroyed by a German World War II air raid bombing in London. Simultaneously, the distraught Henry Bergner (Henreid), unable to obtain passage for his wife Ann (Eleanor Parker) and himself, chooses suicide for both. Interestingly, the Bergner's are the only passengers that know from the beginning that they are dead, having chosen their fate. Their fellow passengers can't seem to remember recent events, complaining of fatigue and dizziness.

As one might expect, the characters are stereotypes - Thomas Prior (John Garfield) is a brash, cynical newspaperman; Maxine "Maxie" Russell (Faye Emerson) is a part time stage actress and full time gold digger. Pete (George Tobias) is heading back to America to be with his wife and yet unseen newborn son, who has already defied the odds by surviving three torpedo attacks as a serviceman. Genevieve (Isobel Elsom) is a snooty socialite with a very high opinion of herself, married to Benjamin (Gilbert Emery), a patient and unassuming man. Sara Allgood is Mrs. Midget, an odd name for a woman whose lot in life finds enjoyment in helping others. Appropriately, there's a religious man aboard, Reverend William (Dennis King), whose ambition is to meet new people, do new things and get a taste of adventure. And then there's Lingley, of Lingley Limited, who never lets you forget that his money can only be rivaled by his own self importance.

Edmund Gwenn is superb as the ship's steward with the unlikely moniker of Scrubby, whose job it is to deftly allow the passengers to understand their fate as they come to realize what happened to them. And on hand to pass final judgment is The Examiner, Sydney Greenstreet in a perfectly cast role.

If any fault is to be found with the film, it would be the early revelation of the passengers' fate; a little more exposition and buildup would have heightened the suspense. However the fates of the individuals are well suited to their demeanor in life, and are cleverly meted out by the astute Examiner.