In the Meantime, Darling (1944)

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

A society gal's disillusionment with her soldier husband's circumstances and a misunderstanding over a mistaken pregnancy are at the center of this story taking place during World War II. Over the course of the picture, newlywed Maggie Preston (Jeanne Crain) learns about her landlady's perseverance following the death of her husband and comes to realize that there's more to life and family than fancy gowns and high society.Though there are some humorous scenes, I wouldn't go so far as to call this a comedy, even if Lieutenant Daniel Ferguson (Frank Latimore) and Army buddy Red Pianatowski (Stanley Prager) mull over the concept of 'There's something funny going on around here'. I'm not sure if viewers of the era were able to accept Red's marriage to a knockout wife like Shirley (Gale Robbins). I certainly couldn't see it, especially with his gambling habit with the other boys in uniform. I guess that's another idea that was supposed to be funny but it just didn't translate for this viewer.I was wondering if they'd ever get around to the patriotic stuff, and in that regard landlady Jerry Armstrong (Jane Randolph) didn't let me down. She had an inspiring conversation with young Maggie to help her understand how her husband's service to the country is what made America a beacon to the free world.But you know, it's the little, otherwise unnoticed things in pictures like this that I really get a kick out of. Before we learn who Helen Corkery (Elisabeth Risdon) is, notice how she cautiously accepts Maggie Preston's 'tip' and surreptitiously places it in the Red Cross can. Later on at the celebration dance, one of the characters prefers to have a 'high ball'. Does anyone use that term anymore? And finally, I always like to give a plug to character actor Henry Muse whenever I catch him in a picture. As the hotel porter, he played it with dignity and charm, much unlike the way black actors were usually expected to perform in pictures of the era. His was probably the classiest performance here.

Some reviewers call "In the Meantime, Darling" a comedy. It is not. Nor is it a so-called "woman's picture." Sure it's about military wives during World War II, but more than that, it is about class in America. If you read between the lines, you can see how cleverly director Otto Preminger set up the scenes, with spoiled rich girl (played beautifully by Jeanne Crain) barely able to cope with the sacrifices that were necessary to fight and win the war. She represents a large segment of America that could buy its way out of hardship, and her parents represent the Americans of the period who were little moved by the war, who in fact profited nicely from it. The lower class is represented by Red and Shirley Pianatowski, the undereducated Polish American couple with hearts of gold. And most significant is the African American bellhop who also has a son in the war (although we never see him), played with great dignity by Clarence Muse. It is even said that the gargantuan Eugene Palette, who played the rich father, fought Otto Preminger when instructed that he was to do a scene with a black man. This film is not particularly funny, nor does it give much sense of how horrible World War II was. It does, however, give some insight into how Americans won a war against racism and ethnic purity while still living with the after effects of the slavery and genocide upon which the country was built.

While waiting for their GI husbands to be shipped overseas,they live in a temporary boarding house.Coming from a wealthy family, Jeanne Crain has a difficult time adjusting to her life there until she finds out that the head of the house is a war-widow.The film deals with their lives there. Despite trying to settle down, Crain is ready to buy a trailer home so that they can live better and have her father, a wealthy industrialist, pull strings so that her husband, Danny, Frank Latimore, remain at the home front.When a book is found about child care, everyone erroneously thinks that Crain is pregnant.The ending is typical Hollywood. With Danny shipping off, the two kiss and vow to have enough children to start a football team. We've heard this before, but the film is a good one as it reminds us of the sacrifices made by those gals during war-time.

During world war II my father was a buck private in the army,while stationed in California a casting agent asked my father and a few of his army buddies if they would like to be in a movie,of course they said yes! When ever he talked about the experience,he always remembered how much Mr.Preminger screamed at everyone! While he was working as an extra he went to the Hollywood Canteen and danced with Judy Garland. So I can always say my dad was in an Otto Preminger movie and he danced with Judy! When I was a young boy I took the snapshots he took on the set to school for show and tell! All the kids were amazed at the way the buildings looked because they were only movie set props and were totally fake, because he took the pictures from the side! My father was only in the movie for about 8 seconds and I never even saw the movie until years after his death when it appeared on AMC one night...thank god for video tape now I have a copy of the movie forever!