Another Time, Another Place (1958) Reviews

• "On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Polperro..."

  robertconnor2007-05-01

  Whilst on assignment in a very 1950s-looking WW2 London, a plastic-haired US ace-journo' (Turner) and an impossibly baby-faced Cornish ace-journo' (Connery) are lost in the throws of a torrid affair, despite the disapproval of colleagues (stiff-upper-lip Longdon, laconic James). However, even as declarations of undying love are uttered, dark clouds loom in the form of Turner's newspaper boss and erstwhile lover Sullivan, and Connery's shock disclosure that he has a wife and child tucked away in his native Cornish village. When Connery is killed in a plane crash, a devastated Turner makes a pilgrimage to his native Cornwall where her path crosses that of his wife and child... Risible weepy, serving as a star vehicle for Lana and an early showcase for the handsome young Connery, both of whom fail miserably to convince. Turner seems to possess only three facial expressions, even when trying to stay upright in her stilettos as she totters round 'St. Giles' (actually Polperro) - witness her horribly 2-D efforts to comfort Martin Stephens after his nightmare. Meanwhile Connery's description of his Cornish fishing village birthplace is delivered in such a rich Edinburgh brogue as to be quite giggle-some. So often the case with British cinema of the 40s and 50s, it's the support players who steal the show - Glynis Johns' is a beautifully judged and modulated depiction of a woman recovering from grief. Her resolute kindness, generosity and warmth make her reaction to the final reel revelations all the more believable. Sid James shines as a world-weary American journalist trying to juggle loyalties, and Stephens' post-nightmare scene is desperately convincing. Sadly however, excellent support playing, and beautiful location shooting are just not enough to save this overwrought turkey.

• Silly Romance

  claudio_carvalho2009-04-04

  In 1945, while in a temporary assignment in London, the "The New York Standard" journalist Sara Scott (Lana Turner) has a torrid love affair with the reporter of BBC Mark Trevor (Sean Connery) and she falls in love for him. Just before the end of the war, they cover a sapper disassembling a bomb and Sara is informed that her boss and fiancé Carter Reynolds (Barry Sullivan) is coming to London to meet her. When she tells the news to Mark, he surprisingly discloses to her after three months of relationship that he is married and has a son in St. Giles, Cornwall, and he loves and will stay with his family. Mark leaves Sara and travels to Paris with his assistant Alan Thompson (Terence Longdon), but the plane crashes and he dies. The grieving Sara has a nervous breakdown and is interned in the Headway Nursing Home for treatment. Six weeks later, Carter buys a ship trip to her from Plymouth to New York; however, Sara decides to visit St. Giles by train before returning to her country. When she meets Mark's wife Kay Trevor (Glynis Johns) and his son Brian (Martin Stephens), she is invited by Kay to stay with them until the next morning. During the night, Sara has a crisis, faints and Kay invites her to stay at her home during for recovering. The silly "Another Time, Another Place" is an unconvincing romance, with a laughable screenplay. The story begins without a previous development of characters, but sooner the viewer understands that Sara is an experienced American correspondent that writes a column for her newspaper and is engaged of her boss. Mark is a married man that broadcasts news about the war and is having an affair with Sara, and disapproved by his friend and assistant Alan. When Sara tells that her fiancé is coming to London, Mark decides to end his affair since he loves his family. This revelation, associated to the shock of the death of Mark lead Sara to a breakdown. Up to this point, the story is convincing and I have no remarks. However, the decision of Sara to travel to St. Giles is the beginning of an unthinkable attitude of an experienced woman living overseas. The rest of this forgettable movie is pure crap with a corny conclusion, despite the good performance of Glynis Johns and the magnificent locations in Cornwall. My vote is four. Title (Brazil): "Vítima de uma Paixão" ("Victim of a Passion")

• end of ww2 melodrama

  FabienMorisset2009-06-01

  Everybody around here seems to be criticizing this fine piece of melodrama. It feels like a duty to say some good things to save it right away. I only heard about the title yesterday from Amazon, and then, in the afternoon, a friend of mine offered to lend it to me. I appreciated the coincidence. I've just finished watching it, and must confess I really enjoyed the show. The image is great, Lana Turner is beautiful. I will accept the fact that it's not as original as other melodramas, but it definitely uses all the ropes we love about this kind of movies. So my mark here is seven, I had a great time and I would advise anyone interested in melodramas to have a look at it on a sunny day, just before going to the beach. And dream while watching seagulls in the sky.

• We Will Meet Again....

  JLRMovieReviews2011-01-24

  Lana Turner, her star appearing to be descending, meets Sean Connery, a star on the rise in this film that takes place in WWII England. He's a BBC commentator and she's a journalist, who's on assignment. They meet obviously and fall in love. Just when she's about to propose to him, he tells her he's married. Even though he tells her he loves her, he can't leave his wife and Brian, his son. But, at the last minute of parting, he says he'll find a way. But, upon separation, his plane crashes and he dies, which puts Lana into a tailspin and she goes in a hospital for a rest. After weeks there, she has it in her mind to see where he grew up and lived. Once there in Cornwall, she sees a young boy playing, whose mother, played by Glynis Johns, calls to him by the name of Brian to come in. If you like actresses Glynis Johns and Lana Turner and are curious to see a real young Sean Connery, then this should be pretty entertaining for you. Granted, this isn't your usual movie with a guy-meets-girl, guy-loves-girl, guy-loses-girl, and guy-wins-girl-back plot. Instead it tries to be more, and to some degree it works as a mature look at love and loss. The ending may seem a bit pat and manipulated, but I have always liked it and always felt it to be a very therapeutic movie, as they try to deal with their losses together, in the quiet, picturesque English village. (And, Lana had never looked more beautiful in black and white.) Lana's next movie, "Imitation of Life," would really bring her career back on top, and it would be only 8 more years until her last great role of "Madame X." So her years of being a box office draw would be on the decline in a relatively short time, despite the really big movies she had yet to make. But Sean Connery was just now coming out on his own. To take notice of his performances in his early years, watch "Another Time, Another Place," a movie not just about our earthly love, but about meeting those we loved and lost, in another time and another place.

• VistaVision v, CinemaScope

  JohnHowardReid2016-11-07

  NOTES: Locations in the fishing village of Polperro, Cornwall. Interiors filmed at Elstree Studios, London. COMMENT: Out of a dime- store women's novel, Stanley Mann has constructed a screenplay of stupefying boredom, indifferently acted, and directed with suitable dullness. The film's only attractive feature is Jack Hildyard's black- and-white VistaVision photography, particularly of the locations in a small village in Cornwall. For a while there, it looked as if VistaVision was going to pose as a serious rival to CinemaScope, but this didn't happen. The fact that VistaVision (a non-anamorphic process achieved by the simple expedient of running standard 35mm film horizontally – instead of vertically – through the camera) produced a much sharper image failed to impress audiences who were sold on the much wider 'Scope screen.