Such a frustrating disappointment

Must See Movie...

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This seems to be Joan Fontaine's version of 'Love on the Dole' with Deborah Kerr. It's admirable that she wants to participate in the life of a former soldier who now ends up unemployed after the war. And to a certain degree it fits in with her image of being the devoted housewife who is loyal to her husband. But this is not how most women are, and that's why the film kind of drags its feet with a sense of unreality. There are a few films of this period that deal with unemployment, but it's depressing to watch. It doesn't make good entertainment, and the writer needs to find more creative ways to tell the story of unemployment after the war. The performances are good, but the handling of the subject matter is too linear.

From This Day Forward is directed by John Berry and adapted to screenplay by Garson Kanin and Hugo Butler from the novel All Brides are Beautiful written by Thomas Bell. It stars Joan Fontaine, Mark Stevens, Rosemary DeCamp, Harry Morgan, Wally Brown, Arline Judge and Renny McEvoy. Music is by Leigh Harline and cinematography by George Barnes.Rom-Dram that finds Stevens and Fontaine as a young couple struggling with the perils and optimism of post-war life. Story unfolds in flashback as Stevens reminisces about how he met Fontaine and their subsequent courtship that was fraught with uncertainty about what the future had in store. The Depression bites hard and Stevens finds himself a kept man as Fontaine's wages has to cover for the both of them. It's a pretty simple fable, but one of romantic hope in times of hardship, Stevens and Fontaine are good together, if a little miscast considering the themes at work in the screenplay. Popular with audiences back in 1946, its escapism factor would have been a huge pull, it is however now something of an antiquated sitting, a laborious picture that sort of just exists as a time-capsule piece. Approach with caution. 5/10

OK, Joan Fontaine is no Bronx housewife. But this movie about the post-war travails of a New York City couple is genuinely moving. Mark Stevens comes across well in the lead, and Harry Morgan does nicely in a small role. True, these are probably the only non-ethnic people in the Highbridge section of the Bronx, but that's how it was in those days.

Good example of studio films from the forties. A love story,but also a history lesson on the labor unions trials and problems of getting a foothold in industry.True to the novel, Mark Stevens and Joan Fontaine are perfectly cast.