It Happened Tomorrow (1944)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

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

Dick Powell plays a reporter who is given a newspaper that correctly predicts the headline for the following day, allowing him to get the scoop on all the big news stories. This brings him more problems than he bargained for. Interesting, charming, sometimes funny fantasy that falls short of greatness because it lacks some 'kick.' I'm not sure why it was necessary to make the story take place at the turn of the 20th century. I think it would have worked better in a contemporary setting, particularly given the things going on in the world at the time. Still, it's enjoyable with a good cast. Powell is always likable and Linda Darnell is lovely. I even liked Jack Oakie and I'm not always a fan. As others have pointed out, the '90s TV series Early Edition used a similar premise. Not set in the same time period, of course.

Larry Stevens (Dick Powell) is a reporter who is mysteriously given the following day's newspapers by Pop Benson (John Philliber). At the same time, he begins to date Sylvia (Linda Darnell) who works as part of a stage act with Cigolini (Jack Oakie). Larry and Sylvia turn up to events that are yet to happen. What happens when Larry reads about his own death....?..The film has a good story and Dick Powell is funny as the reporter who knows it all. There are some funny scenes, eg, at the racetrack where he predicts all the winners, and when he is resigned to his own death and just has to accept it. Jack Oakie can be generally irritating but he is not so bad in this film. The cast all do well and the film is a slice of fun with a couple of twists at the end.

In 1932 John Buchan the English author wrote A Gap in the Curtain. In it the participants in the event are asked to visualize a newspaper page one year ahead. Several stories are told of what happens to these people. Several of the events seem to be part of this movie. Did Dunsany get the story from Buchan or vice versa?Dunsany was a science fiction author and Buchan was known for his interest in the occult. The last story in this book is very similar in some ways to the movie, but the focus is different, since it focuses on comedy in the move, but the books reflects the inner struggle of a man who sees that he is going to die according to the newspaper. In both, the ending is happy.

I bought the DVD and watched this film because I am a huge fan of the TV show "Early Edition" not "Evening Edition" as mentioned in an earlier post.I mention that show because the idea for it came from this wonderful movie and I'm surprised no where on any website for the show do the creators mention this movie as the inspiration for the show.Dick Powell and Linda Darnell star along with Jack Oakie.I will combine both and let the reader be the judge.*spoiler info comparing "It Happened Tomorrow" and "Early Edition"Larry(in movie) and Gary(TV show) both start getting tomorrow's newspaper. Larry gets his from the old man who also works at the paper(he's dead but Larry doesn't know it). Gary gets his from the cat who belonged to the old man who worked at the newspaper who's long dead but will visit Gary and talk to him in later shows. Both use the paper to get a large sum of money quick by betting at the track. Both have 2 companions(a man & woman) who know about the paper. Both save people from accidents after reading in the paper about their deaths.Both read their own obituary in the paper and have to change the headline. Both have a noted connection to a hotel in town.Lastly both the movie and the show have someone answer a want-ad that's in tomorrow's paper for an opening that doesn't exist/but an employee gets fired right in front of them,the boss then says to put an ad in tomorrow's paper which Larry/Garry have already read.Mojo2004 Wash DC