It’s a Wonderful Movie

I'll Be Seeing You (1944) is a lovely Christmas movie that I discovered by accident. It also has an interesting link to the last two movies we’ve seen.

We meet Ginger Rogers in prison. The warden lets her know that she can be furloughed for the Christmas holidays because she has been a model prisoner. She gets on a train to her aunt and uncle’s place in the country (Texas?). The train is a rowdy affair with a bunch of soldiers goofing around. But she winds up sitting across from Joseph Cotten, a quiet, reserved serviceman (although he does try to chat her up a bit). She doesn’t want him to know she’s a prisoner, so she tells him she’s a traveling sales lady. He says he’s going to the same town as her to see his sister.

Rogers reception from aunt Spring Byington and Uncle Tom Tully is warm, but niece Shirley Temple (in her teen years) is superficially friendly but doesn’t want her using the same soap as everyone else. When Cotten calls, Rogers invites him to dinner. There he confesses that he doesn’t know anyone in town, he just got off the train to spend some time with her. He doesn’t want to talk about his war experiences. We know that he has been hospitalized for battle fatigue.

Later, on a date at the ice cream parlor, they meet soda jerk Chill Wills, who has a facial tick, due to shell shock in WWI. Cotten can’t stand the thought of being permanently disfigured and runs out. He finally tells Rogers that since his experience, his “timing is shot”. He tells her a little about his experience, and feels better. But then he tries to shy a stone at a lamppost and misses, but Rogers hits it. He rudely rushes off.

This is pretty much how things go. Cotten has to work through his PTSD, and Rogers wants to tell the truth about her incarceration, but she’s becoming afraid of losing him. They have a Christmas with her family, go to a dance, and so on. For instance, there’s a sweet scene in a dress shop where Rogers and Byington vie to secretly pay for Rogers’ dress. I won’t spoil the end for you, but maybe that doesn’t matter. The important things are the joys of family, small town life, and budding love overcoming all. It also features the song, “I’ll be Seeing You (in All the Old Familiar Places)”.

It’s funny, because I thought this was another woman in prison goes to small town on Christmas movie, Remember the Night, with Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray. That one isn’t available through Netflix. Maybe next year.

Merry Christmas, all.