Dick Powell stars as a newspaper obituaries writer in 1899 who moves up to the valued reporters position after a wily old co-worker gives him a future edition; now, he's "predicting" the news and betting on the horses, but can he prevent his own reported demise? Director René Clair has wobbly timing; he's adept at molding certain sequences for a somewhat surreal, ghostly-romantic effect, but only his smaller touches really hit home. Clair falters when it comes to comedic bits or big slapstick scenes, allowing some of his actors (such as Jack Oakie) to overplay painfully while keeping others (like Linda Darnell) exasperatingly in check. Darnell is so enervated, she doesn't even react after new hubby Powell has been robbed--and when the crook runs right passed her, she doesn't even try to stop him. Powell's easy panache holds the flimsy premise together; the construction of the plot is interesting, yet it keeps promising to deliver a better movie, one that we ultimately don't get. **1/2 from ****
Review of It Happened Tomorrow
