There’s Always Tomorrow is a romantic drama directed by melodrama specialist Douglas Sirk. The story is about a married man who gets a surprise visit from an old female friend and slowly finds himself falling in love with her.
Unhappily married toy manufacturer Clifford Groves (Fred MacMurray, Double Indemnity) is feeling both largely ignored and unappreciated by his family, finds himself getting more and more frustrated. He is fed up with the monotony of his routine daily life with his wife Marion (Joan Bennett, The Woman in the Window) and his three children. It seems that every time Cliff has a plan to an activity with the family, something always comes up that puts his plans to a screeching halt. Marion doesn’t seem to mind, and just goes on with her routine, keeping her husband in check, not realizing how bothered he is about it. And when he does confront her about how he feels, she shuns him off. A former employee of Cliff and current successful businesswoman Norma Miller Vale (Barbara Stanwyck, Baby Face) comes back into his life and while they spend time together, feelings begin to develop. His son Vinnie (William Reynolds, Cult of the Cobra) catches them at a hotel having a moment where they are just having a non-intimate good laugh together gets suspicious, thinking the worst of his own father, also leading to more drama. Cliff ultimately finds himself caught in a love triangle with a chance to be with a woman with the freedom to do all the activities that he has been craving or stay with his wife and family that he is feeling distain for.
There’s always Tomorrow is another excellent classic drama by Douglas Sirk! Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck had worked together 12 years earlier in Double Indemnity and they still have the magical chemistry together in this film. Both give excellent performances as heartbroken souls who knew that, despite their happiness and love they would have together, it could never be. Joan Bennett, known for her gritty performances as a femme fetale in Film Noirs, is excellent in her role of Marion, a typical suburban wife, who is oblivious to her husband’s needs. Barbara Stanwyck gives another unforgettable performance in this film, showing why she was at the top of the leading ladies in Hollywood. All of the remaining cast members were terrific in their respective roles.
Director Sirk wanted There’s Always Tomorrow to be in color, but was declined by Universal studios, however they did grant his request to have the cinematography done by Academy Award winner Russell Metty. It was a great choice as Metty’s captures the mood of the film with his lavish camerawork. He did the cinematography for Spartacus, the film which he was nominated and won the Academy Award for Best Cinematographer. Metty and Sirk collaborated on a total of eleven films.
Thanks to Kino Lorber, There’s Always Tomorrow arrives on Blu-ray for the first time in North America. The video presentation is excellent, with a clean, sharp black and white widescreen image. The scenery looks fantastic with beautiful rich textures and fine details. The grey scale is balanced throughout. Film grain is present; there are no signs of DNR or other artificial enhancements detected. The film has never looked this clear!
The English DTS-HD master audio 2.0 track comes in perfectly fine with the dialog and music scores by Herman Stein and Heinz Roemheld sounding crisp and clear. No audio drop-offs or hissing was detected. English subtitles are offered for this release.
There is an audio commentary by Samm Deighan who gives an in-depth character study, digging deep into Fred MacMurray’s character as to why he is on the verge of having an affair. She focuses on Joan Bennett, Barbara Stanwyck, their roles sharing a great wealth of information. It is another wonderful commentary that makes the release even better!
Trailers for other Kino Lorber releases include There’s Always Tomorrow, Murder He Says, The Great Man’s Lady, The Bride Wore Boots, Witness to Murder, All I Desire, and The Tarnished Angels.
There’s Always Tomorrow is an overlooked gem that does not get the notoriety that it deserves. The film now has a chance to get the attention that it should have, because of a fantastic Blu-ray release.
There’s Always Tomorrow
Director- Douglas Sirk
Cast- Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray
Country of Origin- US
Distributor – Kino Lorber
Number of Discs – 1
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date-10/16/20