Henry and Ann Bergner (Paul Henreid, Eleanor Parker), who have just committed suicide, find themselves on a ship. They are joined by a group of people killed in an air raid, including an unhappy newspaperman (John Garfield). Only the suicides understand that they are dead and they are warned by Scrubby (Edmund Gwenn), the steward, not to tell the others as they must discover the truth in their own time.
I was surprised they chose to give away the one element of suspense, that everyone was dead, at the beginning. Perhaps if it had been kept a mystery, if I had watched the characters discover clues and work it out, and I had figured it with them, this might have been interesting. Probably not, unless most of the dialog was also changed.
That Between Two Worlds was based on a stage play was obvious while watching as people talk and talk without moving much. I trust the play has better things for them to talk about. Here, its either hackneyed speeches, that anyone who watches bad film could write from memory, or over-the-top, incoherent muttering.
The characters are as interesting as the dialog. There’s the cruel industrialist, the sleazy (by 1940’s film standards), gold-digging actress, the cynical reporter, the upper-class snot, etc., and each acts out their stereotype. As this is a morality play, it’s pretty obvious what’s going to happen to everyone. The only person I cared about was Ann, and she was given little to do.
Considering the number of skilled actors (Sydney Greenstreet even pops up at the end), the low quality of the performances is hard to understand. Henreid and Garfield are particularly poor, finding new levels of overacting. Much of the blame has to be dropped in the lap of first-time director Edward A. Blatt.
If you’re looking for high school philosophizing on heaven, spewed forth without subtlety, and captured with near-static camera work, this is your film.