Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 6-November-11
Spoiler Rating: Low

The Time of Your Life (1948)

Watching the movie version of The Time of Your Life probably feels a lot like watching the play that inspired it. Except for two brief scenes, the entire movie takes place inside a bar "and entertainment palace" which we're told is near the docks of San Francisco. A colorful cast of patrons steps in and out of the spotlight, alone or in pairs, to form the threads that weave a pattern of comedy and poetry. The movie's credits introduce them with playbill-style tags such as "Joe, whose hobby is people" or "Tom, Joe's disciple, errand boy, stooge and friend." A love affair and a brewing fight add momentum towards the finale, but the screenplay mostly glides along on the idea of people getting by together. If you're a fan of such productions, or of people-watching in general, or of the old sitcom Cheers, you may enjoy the experience.

The filmmakers who brought The Time of Your Life to the screen were producer William Cagney and his famous brother James, who occupies the central role of Joe. (H. C. Potter, who scored with The Farmer's Daughter the year before, does the directing honors.) An air of mystery hovers about the character of Joe: he seems to have an unlimited supply of money without working (unless you call occasional gambling "working"); he is well educated yet spends all his time in a saloon. He repeatedly sends sweet, dopey Tom (Wayne Morris) on shopping errands for things such as toys, chewing gum, and firearms, which appear to feed his curiosity about the world. He also guides Tom's romance with a woman of questionable reputation (Jeanne Cagney, sister of the producer and star). Joe's presence and actions bewilder the bar's proprietor, Nick (William Bendix), who never stocked champagne before Joe arrived. Nick has the tough hide needed in his part of town, as well as a kind heart which prompts him to audition a self-taught tap dancer, an unsophisticated piano player, and a newsboy with a beautiful voice, and to feed them if they look hungry. He patiently plays host to everyone from a melancholy youth in love to a "marble game [pinball] maniac" to a rich couple slumming for excitement.

A few of the character vignettes have a depth beyond general human interest and enhance the movie as a whole. In one, Joe intimately converses with a woman who appears at first to be a stranger. He reveals his personal philosophy ("I feel responsible to everybody — at least to everybody I meet") and describes with great tenderness how he misses one of the three imaginary children he never had with his lost love. In another scene, Joe is approached by an old timer in Western gear (James Barton) who, after guzzling a glass of beer, opens the conversation with "I don't suppose you ever fell in love with a midget weighing 39 pounds?" This coot's tall tales amuse himself and others. Yet for the rest of Nick's patrons, life is more about seeking than imagining.

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