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the audience applauded

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

A very instructive film. It's no good, mind you, but it's certainly fascinating. In fact, so fascinating, it's hard to decide where to begin. So let's start with the photography. This is credited to little-known Lester White, who was one of Louis B. Mayer's favorite cameramen because he could both shoot fast and shoot artistically at the same time. White worked on most of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Andy Hardy series, but he was also an expert on film noir – and this particular film certainly shows off his expertise in that domain. The movie was produced by none other than Lee Garmes, himself an expert cameraman who specialized in – you guessed it! – film noir! So this movie is nothing if not superbly photographed. Unfortunately, it's one of those movies that start off on a high note, but gradually lose the plot. The opening scenes are great. The characters are deftly introduced and the plot, although it seems pretty traditional, has room to expand – and this it does until about halfway through when it suddenly loses direction and seems at a loss what to do with the characters so artfully introduced in the opening scenes. So all it does is mark time until our 84 minutes are up and we can all go home. A pity! And a wonderful assemblage of players wasted too – including Harry Carey, C. Aubrey Smith (very unflatteringly photographed), Charles Winninger and Helen Vinson! Available on a very good Alpha DVD.

The ghosts of three elderly industrialists killed in an airplane crash return to earth to help reunite a young couple whom they initially brought together.There have been lots of these spirit movies over the years. Not sure why. The movie is OK I guess. But it's sort of slow and tedious.I didn't find it riveting in the slightest. I wasn't engaged in the exposition at all.And for some reason the title has been changed to Beyond Christmas.Beyond Tomorrow isn't all that good either.

On Christmas Eve, three wealthy old New York City gentlemen decide to test the spirit of the holiday. Each throws his wallet from a window, containing $10 and a business card. Surprisingly nor not, two wallets are picked up by generous souls. One woman assumes the owner wouldn't miss $10, and gives the money away. The other two wallets are returned, in person. Our first responder is handsome Richard Carlson (as James "Jimmy" Houston), an aspiring singer from Texas. Next is pretty Jean Parker (as Jean Lawrence), a single woman from New Hampshire. They are invited to dinner and, well...Not surprisingly, Mr. Carlson and Ms. Parker fall in love. But you may not guess what else is going to happen. "Beyond Tomorrow" is full of surprises. The old pros helping the young couple are sentimental Charles Winninger (as Michael "Mike" O'Brien), sensible C. Aubrey Smith (as Alan Chadwick) and cynical Harry Carey (as George Melton). Loyal Russian housekeeper Maria Ouspenskaya (as Madame Tanya) joins Mr. Winninger in helping save Carlson from seductive Helen Vinson (as Arlene Terry), who picked up the other wallet. It's all densely plotted, overly sentimental, well produced and nicely cast.******* Beyond Tomorrow (5/10/40) A. Edward Sutherland ~ Richard Carlson, Jean Parker, Charles Winninger, Maria Ouspenskaya

***SPOILERS*** Sentimental little Christmas movie involving three life long friends who in trying to pep up their somewhat lonely Christmas Eve get together in roping in two young strangers who make their holiday season a lot better and far more rewarding. So much better that they just refuse to go back to their maker, and heaven, after they ended up dying in a tragic plane crash.The three old guys Irish Michael O'Brien, Charles Winninger, British Allan "Chad" Chadwick, A.Aubrey Smith, and American businessman George Melton, Harry Carey,end up bonding with their unexpected Christmas guests Texas cowboy James Huston,Richard Carlson, and children clinic volunteer Jean Lawrence, Jean Parker, who end up becoming their lifelong,and even beyond life, friends.Becoming almost inseparable both James and Jean drift apart when their three old benefactors, with Michael leaving James a cache of money to continue his fledging singing career, unexpectedly perish in a plane crash. Being stung by success, as the new American Idol, James gets hooked up with Broadway singing sensation Arlene Terry,Helen Vinson, who's just nuts about the handsome but shy Texas cowboy. This has Michael, who's stuck in the world between life and death, try to somehow show the love sick James what a mistake he made in tossing his one and only true love, on earth and beyond, Jean away for the manipulated and scheming Arlene. Both Chad and George also hang out in what seems to be the Astral World, an existence between life and death,for a short time until they finally get their bearings straight and ascend to heaver. Chad ends up going to heaven with his dead son David, William Bakewell, who was killed in the Great War or WWI. The cranky and penny pinching George finally found out, after his death, that money isn't everything if your in a place, the world in between life and death, where its not worth the paper that it's printed on and also sees the light, heaven, by the time the film is over.Only Michael gets involved with the world of the living in his attempt to save James from a fate worse then death in both losing Jean as well as his life by getting himself involved with Arlene. James in fact does see the light after he's shot and killed by Arlene's drunk and jealous ex-husband-Mr. Terry I presume-and is given a second chance to return back to earth, and life, to reunite with the girl that he left behind Jean.Nothing really new here even though the movie predates the far more popular and very similar Frank Capra Christmas Classic "It's a Wonderful Life" by some six years. The film "Beyond Tomorrow" nevertheless still packs quite a wallop in movies about life after death and what it's, our very meager existence, really all about in the grand scheme of things.There's also in the film the two Czarist Russian survivors of the Commnist Revolution Madame Tanya, Maria Ouspenskay, who's the only one in the movie who can see or sense the three dead plane crash victims and her stuffy and stoned faced butler Josef, Alex Melesh. It's Josef who at times when his face was frozen stiff looked like the newest member, even though he never was a US President, of Mount Rushmore.