Engaging, Delightful B-Picture With an A-List Cast

I had never heard of BETWEEN TWO WORLDS or the play OUTWARD BOUND on which it is based (it is in fact a remake of a 1930 version of the play), until it came on Turner Classic Movies last night. I found it thoroughly charming.

The plot as it is summed up on IMDb is as follows:

"Several people are killed in a London air raid. They each awake aboard a strange ship which will deliver each of them either to heaven or hell. Their lives and stories are revealed as they individually begin to realize where they are."

That is a good description of a film that often feels like an extended episode of "The Twilight Zone;" the basic theme is that each of us creates our own heaven or hell while on earth, a highly workable premise for this type of story.

Though clearly a B picture, it has an A-list cast. John Garfield, as a wise-cracking reporter, was not yet an A-list star, but he was only two years away from his breakthrough in THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE. Paul Henreid already had two major A-list blockbusters to his credit: NOW, VOYAGER and CASABLANCA; I don't know whether his role here was a contractual obligation or the actor himself simply wanted to do it, but as usual he is compelling. And Eleanor Parker, a great actress who spent far too many years on the B list, is perfection as Henreid's devoted wife.

Also on hand are some of Warners' finest character actors: George Coulouris as a business tycoon, George Tobias as a merchant seaman who has survived five torpedo attacks at sea only to die on land during an air raid while on his way home to see his baby daughter for the first time, Sydney Greenstreet as a celestial "examiner" whose job is to interview each "passenger" and decide his or her fate (though not being God the film does hint that each character's fate is not really his decision), and Sara Allgood as an English charwoman with a poignant secret.

Some might find the proceedings depressing, and admittedly it does drag a bit in the final fifteen minutes or so, but this kind of religious fantasy is a particularly difficult genre to deal with, whether you're talking novels, the theatre, or films. And BETWEEN TWO WORLDS is an excellent addition to the genre. It may be a B picture but it is an exquisite little gem that should not be forgotten.




Never mess with a middle-aged, Bipolar queen with AIDS and an attitude problem!
roflol ><