Journey for Margaret (1942)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

W.S. Van Dyke

Writers:

David Hertz (writer)
William Ludwig (writer)

Release Date:

15 November 1943 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An American newspaperman and his wife, caught in the London blitz, lose their unborn child in an air raid...

Plot Keywords:

Adoption | Miscarriage | WWII | Orphan | Based On Book

Cast

Robert Young	...	John Davis
Laraine Day	...	Nora Davis
Fay Bainter	...	Trudy Strauss
Nigel Bruce	...	Herbert V. Allison
Margaret O'Brien	...	Margaret White
William Severn	...	Peter Humphreys
Elisabeth Risdon	...	Mrs. Bailey
Doris Lloyd	...	Mrs. Barrie
Halliwell Hobbes	...	Mr. Barrie
Heather Thatcher	...	Mrs. Harris
Jill Esmond	...	Susan Fleming
G.P. Huntley	...	Rugged
Lisa Golm	...	Frau Weber

Also Known As:

Det kommer en dag (Sweden) [sv]
Margaret aus London (Austria) [de]
Päivä on koittava (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:15

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

This is the film from which Margaret O'Brien took her name. She was born Angela O'Brien, but she so identified with the character she played in this film that she decided to change her name to Margaret.

Quotes:

[John Davis is trying to get other airplane passengers to leave behind their luggage so he can take one of the children on the flight]
Japanese statesman: Oh, so sorry - but that would mean leaving my confidential files. Also, I must be back in Tokyo by early December
[the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Private Screenings: Child Stars" (2006)

no cliche, this one

How refreshing it is to come across a World War Two film minus the usual cliche scenes and ideas that infiltrated so many movies during the war years. Robert Young (as reporter John Davis) gives a consistent and profound portrayal surrounding a real concern for the human condition in terms of the effects of war on children. Margaret O'Brien (as orphan Margaret White)is haunting as the child with the magnesium bomb. William Severn's performance (as playmate Peter Humphreys) is addictive. But then there is so much good acting in this film by so many of the cast, especially that of Fay Bainter (as Trudy Strauss). The film makes it clear that war is the common enemy of all children, for, as Trudy says, "surely children must be allowed to cry for all they have lost."