Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Lack of good storyline.

As Good As It Gets

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

I'm a little surprised with the relatively high rating this film gets from of IMDb reviewers. If someone were to say to me that movies should realistically depict life, then I'd point them toward this film, which has none of the punch that many Douglas Sirk films had. And the reason that punch is missing is because it's a psychological drama that fits real people. That shouldn't be a bad thing...and it isn't here. It's just that this is a very serious drama, but not an exciting one.The strength of this film is the acting of the lead players. I often curse "My Three Sons", MacMurray's popular television series...because it is how MacMurray is most remembered, rather than for the very fine film career he had from the later 1930s through the late 1950s...in both comedies and drams. And, though he was beginning to show his age here (certainly middle aged...but he was nearing 50), that was the perfect age for anyone to play this role...because the role is of a man in mid-life crisis. And he does exceptionally well and without any histrionics...it's all inside, but we get to see it very clearly. It's definitely MacMurray's movie, but Barbara Stanwyck is wonderful here as the "other woman" who really has no intention of being the "other woman". Stanwyck's best scene here is where she carefully tells off MacMurray's snooping children. Joan Bennett, who is lovely here, is the wife who takes her husband for granted and is a subtle nagger.That's not to say all the performances here are superb. As for the young actors playing the children...yuck. Judy Nugent has to have one of the most annoying voices of any child actor. In terms of William Reynolds, the son, I couldn't tell if it was his role that was annoying, or his acting. And, the children and young people here are absolutely key to the plot, so you see a lot of them. I give much higher grades to the girlfriend of the son -- Gigi Perreau. Unfortunately, veteran character actor Jane Darwell is totally wasted here as an older maid.This is a very restrained film with solid acting by the lead roles. It doesn't have the intense excitement of many of Douglas Sirk's other films, but it is also more realistic than those other films.Recommended for the serious film-goer.

While I don't believe that "There's Always Tomorrow" is a masterpiece, it's a good movie whose quality lies not in the sudsy story, but in the professional work of the director and cast. Watching it seems to take the viewer back to the mid-1950s, a time of prosperity, formality, and rigid conformity, with husbands earning the money and mothers raising the kids. It's also fascinating to see a U.S. toy factory, something that disappeared years ago, and to see everyone wearing suits and dresses at ordinary dinners.The story is about Clifford Groves (Fred MacMurray), a hardworking owner of a toy factory in LA. He's a top breadwinner for his wife (Joan Bennett) and three kids, who take Clifford for granted and pay very little attention to him. Out of nowhere old flame and successful fashion designer Norma Miller (Barbara Stanwyck) comes into his life and sorely tempts Grove, who ponders his dreary home life and considers an affair with her. When Clifford and Norma spend a few days together at a resort in the California desert, the Groves kids become suspicious. The poignant ending has Norma breaking off the relationship and leaving on a plane while Clifford re-evaluates his family life. Because of a blistering lecture that the kids have received from Norma, the family now appreciates Clifford a little more.The story is pretty ordinary, but the stylish direction (by Douglas Sirk) and powerhouse acting by MacMurray, Stanwyck, and Bennett are so good that they bring the script to vivid life. In particular, the old chemistry between MacMurray and Stanwyck (as in "Double Indemnity" and "Remember the Night") is just irresistible. The B&W cinematography is also excellent. William Reynolds is good although rather strident in a crucial role as Clifford's son Vinnie Groves, and the acting of the other cast members is tops. This film's not on television very often (I last saw it on AMC and taped it over 10 years ago) so keep an eye open for it; it's worth the effort.

Douglas Sirk is renowned for injecting his subversive criticism of American society of the fifties in his glossy and glamorous melodramas. What made this palatable to the public, who flocked in droves, was the fact that the families involved were showbiz families ("Imitation of Life"), filthy rich oil magnates ("Written in the Wind") or highly idealized to the point of caricature ("All that Heaven Allows", "Magnificent Obsession"), far from the average movie goers own social milieu. And of course up there on the screen were the glamorous stars, Rock Hudson, Lana Turner, Lauren Bacall, Dorothy Malone, etc. Movie fans will recall the aforementioned movies when the topic of Sirk's movies arises. It is highly unlikely that "There's Always Tomorrow" will get a mention. "There's Always Tomorrow" has barely any gloss or glamour. The social criticism is completely without disguise. The family in question is one that the vast majority of movie goers could very easily identify with. Its stars (Fred MacMurray and a not so young Barbara Stanwyk) are not glamorous. While audiences left the cinema entranced by the glorious melodrama of "Imitation of Life" and "Written on the Wind", they would have left "There's Always Tomorrow" feeling a lot less secure about their own lives, since it's a film that touches on a fair amount of "dangerous" territory, calling into question the very foundations of the American family. Douglas Sirk's sense of irony has never been sharper. The title brims with optimism and the film opens with the script, "Once Upon a Time in Sunny California". But what unfolds is a bleak, pessimistic depiction of middle class family life.While Sirk's films have often been branded "woman's pictures", "There's Always Tomorrow" is indeed very much a man's picture. It takes a hard and deep look at the role of the male breadwinner and the picture it comes up with is not a pretty one. What we are shown is a man who when young, courted the prettiest girl, married, had children and worked hard to build up a successful business. He is now middle aged and having achieved it all, begins to feel himself taken for granted by his wife and children. His needs are completely neglected. His wife has little interest in him sexually being totally wrapped up in fulfilling the unending needs of their self centered ungrateful children. It's a scenario all too familiar to millions of men. Fred MacMurrays's Clifford Groves has become a robot similar to the one his successful toy manufacturer has created. No wonder that Norma Vale's (Stanwyk) reappearance in his life presents an opportunity to regain his lost dreams. She's an independent career woman, who sees his situation as somewhat idyllic from the outside. But with the usual intelligence of a Stanwyk character, she has no illusions as to a possible future with him. Despite the brief and obligatory conciliatory ending, Clifford Groves' future does not bode well. It should come as no surprise that the film was not well received at the box office. "There's Always Tomorrow" has many of the hallmarks of Sirk's craftsmanship. The studio refused to grant him his request for the film to be shot in color, despite having provided Universal with some of its highest grossing pictures of the decade. At least his demand for his favorite cameraman Russell Metty was granted. Metty as always, was the perfect partner in realising Sirk's vision. His interior filming in particular is a lesson in cinematography. He had a penchant for shooting characters behind banisters, framed in mirrors and caged behind fences to enhance the sense of their being trapped. MacMurray and Stanwyk are constantly gliding through dark shadow and bright light reflecting the inherent brightness and darkness in their lives. At this point of writing "There's Always Tomorrow" has not been released in any format and rarely gets a showing on television. It's a gross injustice to an extremely important director and a wonderfully made, moving piece of cinema.

Typical soap opera by director Douglas Sirk (albeit less glossy than his earlier technicolour offerings of "Magnificent Obsession" and "All That Heaven Allows", and certainly less well-known). Having read the comments posted by other viewers about this film, I must confess that I don't quite share their enthusiasm. Although generally well done (and nicely filmed in black-and-white), "There's Always Tomorrow" really offers nothing special in terms of the story line (hard-working, successful businessman Fred MacMurray feels neglected by wife Joan Bennett and their three children, meets old flame Barbara Stanwyck, considers having an affair). However, the film does move along at a good pace, and will certainly hold your interest. The children's perspective of the situation (particularly grown-up child William Reynolds, the oldest of the three) is well presented. The lead roles are very capably acted by old pros MacMurray and Stanwyck, but their re-teaming hardly compares to the dynamic fireworks they displayed in their earlier film, the undeniably great "Double Indemnity". All in all worthwhile, but I wouldn't rank it amidst the classics.