Jane is gorgeous in this her second film but wasn't ready for a part that required a haunted bruised quality like this does. Missing from her performance is the permeating sadness of a woman who has lost her true love, something that Barbara Stanwyck could have injected in the part without breaking a sweat, still she makes a good try and practically glows on screen. The real reason to watch this is for the supporting cast. Connie Gilchrist and Cora Witherspoon make a fun pairing as Jane's opposite sides of a coin aunts back on the farm. Marie Wilson is charming as her usual ditzy blonde but it's Penny Singleton of Blondie fame who really delivers the best performance as an old friend of Jane's character who provides a nest for her to recover from her heartbreak. She's funny and strong by turns and enjoyable throughout.
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jjnxn-17 August 2011
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JohnHowardReid15 February 2018SYNOPSIS: A lonely young war widow (Jane Russell) finds happiness with another serviceman (Louis Hayward).
NOTES: Russell's movie debut in New York, where "The Outlaw" (1942) was still unreleased. COMMENT: Although starring Jane Russell ("The World's Most Exciting Brunette!" the credit titles inform us), and actually produced in 1946 when the war was well and truly over, this is one of those cozy little domestic keep-the-home-fires-burning pieces about a young widow who is romanced by a handsome young flyer.
True, Russell looks lovely, but she's hardly the sexpot the advertising promises. Nonetheless, she handles the emoting more convincingly than you might expect. Admittedly, her main forte here is to look sorrowful and becomingly demure (which she does. Even her clothes were deliberately designed to give her a churchy rather than a hoydenish air).
As a pilot with his mind solely on the chase, Louis Hayward comes across with his usual breezy aplomb. Kent Smith essays a minor role as "the other man". Penny Singleton (though straighter and more dramatic here than in her Blondie roles) and Marie Wilson are along mainly for comic relief. James Burke and Walter Baldwin contribute their usual capable cameos.
Young Widow is a women's picture through and through, superficially slick and glossy, elegantly dressed, and tied to a plot which never breaks out of the mould into any byways that are imaginative, daring or different. True, the additional dialogue seems a bit more literate and inventive than the average soapie, but otherwise the writing is as thoroughly routine and conventional as Edwin L. Marin's nondescript direction.
The movie's chief assets are its beautifully photographed locations. In fact the cinematography's rich blacks and sparkling grays lend the whole picture a polish rare in independent productions. (Remisoff's attractive sets are a big help too). Indeed, the film's high production values are a credit to ex-MGM producer, Hunt Stromberg. -
HotToastyRag16 September 2018In Jane Russell's second movie, she once again shows off her dramatic talents and her beauty. She may not be up in a hayloft as she was in The Outlaw, but she shows depth of emotion she was never again given the chance to show off in her career. If you're a fan, give this one a shot!
Jane plays a young woman whose husband was killed in WWII. She's grieving, and no one, not her loving family or her well-intentioned friends, can help her move on faster than she's ready to. Except for Louis Hayward, a hotshot pilot who won't take no for an answer. His character is the biggest problem in the movie. It's made painfully clear that Jane is still in love with her husband and doesn't want to fall in love with anyone new; once, she hears their song playing in a nightclub and she goes home to cry into her pillow. Louis continually hits on her, even though every time she tells him she's not interested. Then, when he finally learns why she's not interested, he backs off for only a little while, then comes back full force on the woo wagon.
Still, I think this movie is worth watching, to see Jane in a beautiful hairstyle and in some tearful scenes. She didn't make that many movies, so it's nice to see her when I can. -
CinemaSerf8 January 2023This film boasts two strong performances from Jane Russell and Louis Hayward. The former, a young widow still coming to terms with the death of her husband; the latter, a man she encounters on a train - and one who falls for her immediately. She is less than impressed! What ensues is a characterful romantic cat and mouse, but with a bit more depth. There is a poignancy to the grief of "Joan". It isn't a "woe is me" style grief, but Russell's portrayal delivers a glimpse of the sincerity of a character torn between her past and her future. Hayward foils this light melancholia perfectly. His cock-sure persona makes us grimace at times, but it's clear from fairly early on that he is the ying to her yang, she just has to believe it. There are a couple of decent supporting efforts that allow us to come up fo air - Marie Wilson as the femme fatale "Mac"; Cora Witherspoon as well meaning ("Aunt Emeline") and Louise Beavers as the cook who manages to inject some common sense and humour into it all. There's no denying it can be slow, and quite sluggish in parts. Russell is still finding her feet in front of the camera, and it proves too difficult for Edward Marin to sustain the intensity at times, but it's an enjoyable watch that gives us fair warning of what to expect from Jane Russell...
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There's little plot line to be had for the majority of this tearjerker, the second film of Jane Russell's to be filmed, but the first to get an official release. Jane's a sweet but troubled widow, back from the war and unable to talk about her late husband. Former employer Kent Taylor desperately wants her back, and old pals Penny Singleton and Marie Wilson ("Blondie Meets Irma!") try to get her spirits raised. A friendly lieutenant (Louis Hayward) perks her interest, but when your heart is numb, getting the word "yes" to come back is nearly impossible. There are some lovely "moments" in this film, particularly Russell's conversation with co-worker Faith Domergue over the risks of loving a soldier on active duty during a war. Russell, quite soft here, became brassy and tough in her next films, but here, she's every inch a lady, and one you can root for.
Why then my displeasure? It isn't hatred of the film, and in fact, it's one I know I'll watch in the future, but it's like a cake recipe without flower, unable to rise for that missing ingredient. Cora Witherspoon and Connie Gilchrist have nice bit parts as Russell's farm owning aunts, with the sensational Louise Beavers having a nice bit as their loving cook who inspired Jane as a kid. There's a shocking scene of somebody falling onto a New York City subway track, and other moments make you think "wow". A box office flop, this film seems to have misfired because of much better "coming home" films like "The Best Years of Our Lives". Even nearly an hour longer, that film makes its point very clear while this just lays here, waiting for the pancake to be topped with something substantial. -
From the late 1930's until well after World War Two was over, the stories of women left behind as their men went off to war has been told. The best of the bunch "A Guy Named Joe" with Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunn, and Van Johnson, "Young Widow" isn't one of the best but it's not at the bottom either. Jane Russell broadens her acting range beyond playing the tough broad who has no time for male advances, in adding a soft vulnerable side. Louis Hayward plays her stalker/Love Interest doing all he can to break open the hard shell. It's just a tad ackward in having a British guy in a US Army Air Force uniform and flying a B-24, poor casting that doesn't work well. Dindbat Marie Wilson, Penny Singleton and Faith Domerque play housemates to Russell's character and they are the best, more comical, part of the film. It's not a bad film, it's watchable but it drags in places, the dialogue isn't great, and Russell's character broods far too much. It's as if the director and playwright regard the viewer are terribly slow forcing them to keep up the sad, moody and sour characterization for 3/4's of the picture or the folks won't understand. Check out Van Johnson in "The Miracle of the Rain" or "A Guy Named Joe" first, and then look for "Young Widow".
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planktonrules6 November 2017'if my tires hold out' er
According to the IMDb trivia section, it sure sounded like Jane Russell didn't like this film...saying "Young Widow should have died with her husband"! I just cannot understand this, as it's clearly one of her better films. Perhaps she was just self-conscious since it was one of her earliest performances...but I sure liked it. Much of this is because unlike most of her films where here characters have a hard edge to them, this one features a more vulnerable and likable character.
Joan Kenwood (Russell) is a newly widowed lady. Her husband was killed in the war and she is determined to make herself a miserable spinster instead of getting on with her life. However, try as she might, she becomes bored and wants to return to work...but still, she does NOT want another man in her life. Too bad that Lt. Cameron (Louis Hayward) is interested in her and thinks she needs him in her life.
This is a nice romance and I was happy that Lt. Cameron was insistent BUT not a boorish jerk who just wouldn't take no for an answer (a pretty common type of character in films of the day). No, instead he's just decent and kind...and the movie is likable and seems realistic and I enjoyed it throughout.
By the way, late in the film a male friend offered to give Joan a ride "...if my tires hold out". This is a reference to the fact that during WWII, tires were in very, very short supply and were often patched and re-patched and re-patched because almost all the tires were designated for the war effort. -
bkoganbing21 June 2011Young Widow was probably the first time that a lot of the movie-going public actually saw Jane Russell on the screen. With The Outlaw being pulled in and out of circulation for editing and reshooting, it was felt that she ought to do something to keep her name before the public. After all without a movie in circulation there was only so much The Outlaw and all the publicity around Jane's bosoms could do.
This was an independent film from producer Hunt Stromberg who normally worked at MGM. Which was the reason no doubt for the use of the song All Of A Sudden My Heart Sings as a theme which was introduced the year before by Kathryn Grayson in Anchors Aweigh.
But this United Artists film was a romance that was slow and sluggish and quite frankly Jane Russell didn't have the acting chops to pull it off. I could have seen someone like Teresa Wright doing this far better.
Russell is just that a young war widow who hasn't gotten over the death of her husband over Berlin. Despite that she's being given quite the rush by Louis Hayward another member of the Army Air Corps. Another rival is her boss, newspaper publisher Kent Taylor. But he's clearly running second throughout the film.
Though his name is nowhere to be seen, no doubt Howard Hughes was behind this film because of the presence of Faith Domergue in the cast who was another Hughes discovery. She's another widow trying to cope and turns to Russell for help. Given their respective chests the screen could barely contain them.
Jane would have to wait another two years for The Paleface, a really good and funny film to become a genuine movie star. -
jelly33624 July 2009I'm a huge Jane Russell fan was eager to see this, one of her earlier works. Aside from her, the movie is a total waste of film stock.
This is a sub-standard pot boiler that tries to hard to clutch at your heart strings. Bad writing and shallow acting are pretty much par through the whole movie. Especially annoying are the "buddy" parts played by Marie Wilson and Norman Lloyd. Neither is able to move beyond the stock cardboard characters they are given. And truth be told, they don't seem to try all that hard.
Fortunately, director Edwin Marin had the good sense to focus on Jane Russell and keep her costars screen time to a minimum. And Lee Garmes cinematography shows what a world class beauty she was. -
bartleby-5783713 August 2023Joan's deceased husband Barry was an aerial photographer. It is an odd twist that Louis Hayward, who plays Jim Cameron who hopes to become Barry's replacement, was a United States Marine combat photographer, and his work during the invasion of the Japanese-held island of Tarawa earned him a Bronze Star for courage under fire. It seems odd today to see someone offering a woman a cigarette and, when she says no, lighting up anyway without asking if she minds. Hayward smoked 80 a day and died of lung cancer at the age of 75.
Jane Russell looks lovely in this although there is something odd about her mouth when she speaks. I fell in love with her when I was taken to see Son of Paleface when I was six years old. -
somic6 May 2007Jane Russell (Joan Kenwood) plays a young wife who has just lost her husband in the war. She goes through a range of emotions as she tries to deal with her loss and tries to find her place in life.
Jane was wonderful and handled a complex role like a Pro. Remember This was only her 2nd movie. You had the feeling she was a tried veteran. Mrs. Russell was made for the camera.
Louis Hayward Plays (Lt. Jim Cameron). He falls in love with Joan the moment he laid eyes on her. He soon finds out her tragic story. Louis was a great choice as the (new) man. They really worked well together. The inner play between the two was magical. This really was a well crafted motion picture, Well worth your time.
For some reason It has never been release to the public on VHS or DVD. I was able to get a copy from someone who had an original copy of the 35mm film. This movie needs to be made available!!! -
florriebbc27 July 2001I was 9 years old when I first saw this movie. I am 64 years old now and I have never forgotten the feeling I had when I saw Young Widow. I was too young to understand the feeling of Love, but it effected me enough that I have never forgotten the movie or the actors and I have not seen Young Widow since 1946.
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Poignant case of what a war-widow goes through emotionally.
Jane Russell conveyed such a person is this poignant 1946 film.
Connie Gilchrist sheds her usual comic style with that high-pitched voice and is effective as Aunt Cissy, who tells Russell that life must go on. Gilchrist is though a live wire as compared to Emmy, her sister played by an erudite Cora Witherspoon. Too bad these ladies are not seen again through the majority of the film.
Louis Hayward is charming as the army man who meets Russell by chance and pursues her.
The comic scene with the upset cab-driver, Marie Wilson's bringing servicemen to Penny Singleton's apartment are all a joy to watch.
Life must go on is well-served in this picture. -
This is Jane Russell's one serious film, or at least it begins as such, on the brink of turning into a downrightr noir, but then Louis Hayward appears, a man was missing in her life, and here he is. But he doesn't come alone. Along there is a whole bunch of merry war pilots with their girls crowding into the apartment which she has to stay in with a friend for want of vacansies in all hotels in New York, and so it turns into a brilliant, ebullient and very enjoyable comedy.
Many have said that this is Jane Russell's best film, and it couldn't be otherwise. She is as beautiful as Hedy Lamarr and Linda Darnell, and her grief as a widow becomes her more than well and adds to the attraction - Louis Hayward's reactions are perfectly natural and logical.
Still, the serious background remains, many war pilots never return, and they still all have to return to battle. This was made towards the end of the war, but although it is closing on the finish (with bombings of Tokyo), it isn't quite over yet, and the Gerry Taylor subplot stresses the concerns. It's a wonderful film, the dialogue is like crossfire all through but positively witty all the way, and it will be a joy to once return to this film once more. -
It's possible that during the Blondie movie series' hiatus during 1944, Penny Singleton made this since there's also no indication that World War II was even close to being over. Anyway, she plays an old friend of Jane Russell who's the title character as her hubby lost it at Berlin. Louis Hayward is the soldier who pursues her but partly backs down when he finds out the truth about her. Besides Penny, there's another blonde-Marie Wilson-who plays the usual dumb persona associated with her in contrast to Ms. Singleton's smartness. I'll just now say this was both touching and funny in spots so on that note, I highly recommend Young Widow.