writers_reign Although it hurt to see the lovely, graceful Rosemary DeCamp shoe-horned into the role of a Bronx housewife (with matching accent) that fit where it touched this is, overall, a pleasantly satisfying entry even if it can't decide whether it's a social documentary, a romantic drama, or something in between. The ever reliable Harry Morgan lends both gravitas and stability to the mis-matched but earnestly sincere leads Joan Fontaine and Mark Stevens. It's virtually unknown - I, a lifelong moviegoer, had never heard of it - but certainly deserves more outings and/or a DVD release, which I would probably buy if it came my way. Meanwhile all I can do is recommend it.

Spikeopath From This Day Forward is directed by John Berry and adapted to screenplay by Garson Kanin and Hugo Butler from the novel All Brides are Beautiful written by Thomas Bell. It stars Joan Fontaine, Mark Stevens, Rosemary DeCamp, Harry Morgan, Wally Brown, Arline Judge and Renny McEvoy. Music is by Leigh Harline and cinematography by George Barnes.Rom-Dram that finds Stevens and Fontaine as a young couple struggling with the perils and optimism of post-war life. Story unfolds in flashback as Stevens reminisces about how he met Fontaine and their subsequent courtship that was fraught with uncertainty about what the future had in store. The Depression bites hard and Stevens finds himself a kept man as Fontaine's wages has to cover for the both of them. It's a pretty simple fable, but one of romantic hope in times of hardship, Stevens and Fontaine are good together, if a little miscast considering the themes at work in the screenplay. Popular with audiences back in 1946, its escapism factor would have been a huge pull, it is however now something of an antiquated sitting, a laborious picture that sort of just exists as a time-capsule piece. Approach with caution. 5/10

dbdumonteil "fRom this day forward " looks like Wyler's 'best years of our lives " released the same year,a "best years" in miniature .The main difference is that Wyler's work took place after the war whereas Berry's movie is part past (the year before the war) and part present (Mark Stevens'coming home) It also deals with the difficulties the soldiers come across with when they return to a country that has sometimes forgotten them.The best scene,however, is to to be found on draft morning:the couple had put the alarm clock forward and forgotten it;the G.I. did not even have a breakfast (the cupboard is bare anyway);through the window ,Fontaine tries to make her husband come back:there's something of Frank Borzage in this sequence ("seventh heaven" "street angel".)Although Stevens' presence on the screen is at least as long as that of Fontaine's ,he is granted a "and introducing...." -it was his debut- and Joan Fontaine is the only name before the title of the movie.

vince-17 Good example of studio films from the forties. A love story,but also a history lesson on the labor unions trials and problems of getting a foothold in industry.True to the novel, Mark Stevens and Joan Fontaine are perfectly cast.