Till the End of Time (film)
Till the End of Time | |
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RKO Radio Pictures | |
Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 105 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Till the End of Time is a 1946 American
Plot
Right after
Arriving in
The next day, Pinky invites Cliff to go to ice skating with him and Pat, who he calls his date. Unsure about their relationship, Cliff brings along Helen as his date. In the coffee shop with Pat, Cliff comforts a soldier having "the shakes", while Pat encourages him to go home and tell his family of his condition.
Under pressure from his father to decide his future, Cliff tells him that he isn't making any decisions. At breakfast Cliff tries to relate to his mother the misery of living in a
Bill and Cliff visit a fellow Marine
At Scuffy's, Bill notes that Perry, after progressing in the hospital with other Marines, has given in to discouragement and self-pity on his own. Cliff points out that during the war everyone was part of a team, and Bill responds that in civilian life, with no one to tell them what to do, they're on their own. Cliff spots Pat at the bar, where she is waiting for an Army Air Forces captain. Unhappy and jealous, Cliff comes home late and argues with his parents, who are upset that he is always out and accuse him of wasting time with a "boy" like Bill Tabeshaw, rather than following the plans they have for his future. Complaining that "it's just not like old times," Cliff is unable to make them understand that Bill is a combat mate, not a "boy", and that "old times" were gone over three years ago.
Cliff waits outside Pat's apartment for her to return, where he sees her impulsively kiss the captain goodnight. When she attempts to be flippant, he calls her a tramp and leaves her to a sleepless night. The next morning Cliff apologizes, explaining that he had begun to think of her as his girl. Pat breaks down and reveals that she married her husband knowing that what he needed "a dream of home" to get through the war, but that by its end his return had become hers. Her date was her late husband's co-pilot, and she kissed him because for an instant he became her husband. Cliff admits that he too is lonely and confused. At Pat's suggestion, Cliff takes a job at the electronics factory where she works, but on his first day tries to pick a fight with his foreman when he points out a mistake. Talking it over with Pat, Cliff proposes to her, but she rejects him when he says he wants only to live carefree on the beach until his money is gone.
A truculent Bill shows up at Cliff's house after losing his stake in Las Vegas. The plate in his head is causing him severe headaches, but he flatly refuses to go to the veteran's hospital. They go out drinking and Cliff telephones Perry, asking for his help to get Bill to a doctor. Perry finally dons his artificial legs and joins them, but before they can persuade Bill, they are approached by a group of men who invite them to join their veterans' organization. When Bill is told that the organization is restricted, excluding "Catholics, Jews, and Negroes", he spits in the face of one of them. During the ensuing mêlée, Perry discovers that he can still throw a punch, but Bill is hit over the head with a beer bottle, seriously injuring him.
At the hospital, Bill is prepped for surgery, and tells Cliff that if he pulls through, he will go back home and work and save to buy a ranch. While they wait, Cliff tells his father that despite the difficulties of readjusting to civilian life, in many ways he feels luckier than Bill and Perry; he has a job that he likes, though he's not sure he wants to make it a career, and he has Pat, who he wants to marry. C.W. accepts his modest ambitions, telling him "You didn't make yourself a soldier overnight, you can't become a civilian overnight." In the morning, having learned that Bill will be all right, they leave and meet Cliff's mother, who has brought Pat with her. Cliff and Pat run toward each other and happily embrace.
Cast
- Dorothy McGuire as Pat Ruscomb
- Guy Madison as Cliff Harper
- Robert Mitchum as William Tabeshaw
- Bill Williams as Perry Kincheloe
- Tom Tully as C.W. Harper
- William Gargan as Gunnery Sgt. Watrous aka “Gunny”
- Jean Porter as Helen Ingersoll
- Johnny Sands as Tommy
- Loren Tindell as Pinky
- Ruth Nelson as Amy Harper
- Selena Royle as Mrs. Kincheloe
- Harry Von Zellas Scuffy
- Richard Benedict as the boy from Idaho
Reception
The film made a profit of $490,000.[3]
References
- ^ Erickson, Hal (2008). "Till the End of Time". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2008-06-15. Retrieved 2011-05-05.
- ^ "List of Billboard number-one singles of 1945".
- ISBN 978-0520289673.