I have enjoyed this movie and wish to recommend it to everyone. Sometimes the movies made for television are by far much better than movies shown in theaters. If Tomorrow Comes is a good example.
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Soledad-218 June 2001
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mark.waltz15 December 2021There's no holds barred in this domestic war drama about hatred towards Japanese Americans after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The story surrounds the love of American girl Patty Duke and the kindly Japanese American Frank Michael Liu and the shocking reactions to their sudden marriage. Like the rumble of "West Side Story", there's double accidental murder with Liu arrested for killing Duke's brother (Michael McGreevey) after he beats Liu's cousin (Mako) to death.
Even the Chinese Americans become Japanese Americans, showing their fear of being accidentally confused for being Japanese. Sensible white Americans who lived in peace side by side with the Japanese-Americans are filled with hate and fear and that includes Duke's own father, James Whitmore. There's at least some sympathy if not much from a local teacher played by legendary actress Anne Baxter.
It's not long after the declaration of war on Japan when government agent Bert Remsen invades Liu's home, looking for any evidence that the family are actually spies. Of course everything that he finds is circumstantial, and it shows how ridiculous the accusations are. At least the sheriff seems to be somewhat sympathetic and against the anti-japanese bias. Unfortunately, there's little he can do. This is a powerful domestic war drama with very believable performances and a touching situation that really had no reason for being in a country that seemed to be based on reason. This celebrated the 30th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, and 50 years later, is still amazingly strong. -
qbmpgj26 October 2023It's a romantic movie with a deeper message, not often found in 1970s TV movies turned out weekly with low production values and retread actors. Love transcends race, community bigotry, hate... but always at a steep price. When I watched it on my parents' living room floor with my siblings and folks, the idea of America interning citizens in concentration camps was new to our Midwestern naive world: Sure, Nazis did that, but us? The guys fighting in Nam to free an Asian people? It wasn't a topic in our history books, it wasn't a topic at the dinner table. We knew Dad served in the Pacific with the Marines... knew the stories... Mom followed him to boot camp in Chicago & San Diego. When he left for Guadalcanal in the Solomons, she returned to her parent's farm because she was pregnant. He marched through the campaign hitting all the battles & got taken out in Iwo Jima with shrapnel from a Jap gernade. But internment camps for American families based on race? How could that happen? They tried explaining it all during commercials... and afterwards for days.
The most poignant moment in the film comes when Patty Duke's character has to prepare his body for burial. I haven't seen the film in 40+ years but the emotional triggers thinking of that scene, are still as strong as they were for that 7 year old kid on his parent's living room. -
happy356314 October 2001This was a great movie. I saw it along time ago when I was very young. It has stayed with me. I would love to see it again but never find it on TV and can't buy it. Email me you you have a copy. Some movies touch you and you never forget them, this is one of them.
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fivefids5 October 2001This movie aired a week after the original Brian's Song movie in 1971. I remember I missed Brian's Song and everyone was talking about it at school the next day, how they cried etc. I thought this movie was a great consolation prize for having missed Brian's Song. It too was a tear jerker in some ways. I often wonder why can't they make TV movies like this any more. I was very moved by it. I watched it every time it was rerun in the 1970s. It's based on an old theme - Romeo and Juliet but that always seems to work well. Many years later I saw it again and now it seems like Westside Story, substituting Japanese for Puerto Rican, and cutting the music/dance numbers. Still a very good picture. An above average made for TV movie and I certainly recommend it. A few questionable details regarding some parts of the story. Why were they able to find a priest to marry them on a Sunday while her family was away at church? Wouldn't that priest have been saying mass at that time? Seems strange he'd be available to perform a shotgun wedding on a Sunday morning (Dec 7th 1941 of course) especially while everyone else was at church. Other interesting aspects that hint at the political correctness that was to come in the following decades: When Eileen happens upon the Japanese family who are holding their traditional observance, they are all dressed in Japanese garb, except of course for David who is dressed in a suit and tie. I wonder what ever happened to Frank Liu? He did a very good job in this picture. Despite these insignificant details it is still a very moving story with some very emotional scenes - the scene where Eileen (Patty Duke) is sitting alone crying in the arbor, not knowing why David has not shown up (Because "The Japanese aren't allowed out after 6 0'clock, now that's a brand new law" David is informed). It seems older TV movies are seldom aired but if you see it in your local listings, it is definitely worth watching. It's also possible to get it on DVD as it is included the 2005 compilation 'Women of Courage.'
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vicki-launders7 May 2008I agree with every previously posted comment. The made for TV movies of the early 70's were far superior to anything the networks have aired since. I too recall this movie being airing the week after Brian's Song. Both films made a huge impression on me. Both films found me crying at the end. Both films were worthy of theatrical release and it's truly a shame "If Tomorrow Comes" isn't available on DVD. Patty Duke's talent is well acknowledged and documented. Unfortunately, Frank Liu's really hasn't been. I've never forgotten his performance. I was a teenager in the 70's. I'm also a Caucasian. His charisma was palpable and it's the first time I experienced an attraction to someone outside of my race, which is appropriate in view of the inter-racial theme of this film. Highly recommended.
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hawk-4212 March 1999I was not prepared for the impact that this movie had on me when I first saw it, over 20 years ago. I came through the era of the Patty Duke Show, and saw her in Helen Keller, but this film is my all time favourite. I have sat up and watched it again when it was relegated to the late movie, and again when it was relegated to the late, late movie. I have not seen it for a very long time, but it stays in my mind and the best of the best that I have ever seen. Definitely, an oldie, but a goodie.
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wolflair-18 February 2013TV movies back in the 70s were, well they were TV movies. Some good, some silly, some not so good. This was an excellent movie. When it came out in 1971, I was 15 going on 16 girl. The movie was done with compassion and let those who did not live it, the realization of what transpired in the US during WWII. Is is so relevant in this day an time when so much is spinning the world out of control again. Those that are old enough to remember that time have warned us this is what it felt like back then. This movie has stuck with me all my life. Years later after I left the Army I came home back to Sacramento and I had two good friends, one Japanese, one Chinese. I learned both sides of the story of WWII. May's parents immigrated from Hong Kong. Her mother absolutely hated Japanese for her whole family was wiped out during the war. Erin's parents were just kids when they were moved and put into the camps here in the US. I also worked with a gentleman who was one of the Japanese men allowed to be in the military. He had fought in Italy. I am a history buff and that era, and especially the war, has intrigued me. To think that a hundred million people died in the last century due to the prejudices of all the races. You would think by now that man would have gotten past all this.
Now I am reading a free book I bought on my Kindle. It is "It Had to Be You" by Cheryl Bolen. It and the movie now playing with Claudett Colbert called "Three Came Home" brought this movie back into my mind. The other book is about a couple who marry right before WWII and she goes with him to the camps. This one is the story of a woman living in a camp in the East Indies. I do wish they would air the TV movies again, especially this one. The current generation should be able to see what the world was like and what it could be again if we do not learn from it. -
khb11 July 2003This was an acting job like none other I've seen from Patty Duke. I remember the first time I saw the movie, it just blew me away. We need to keep these types of movies in circulation so that we as a people don't forget how bad prejudice is in time of war. The funny part, is it happens over and over again and we just don't learn the lesson. Would love to have a copy of this move. If you ever see it being shown on TV, by all means sit down and watch it from beginning to end.
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mls418227 August 2021A touching story about a Caucasian American girl who falls in love with a Japanese American boy circa WWII. It is one of the few well done movies of the 1970s. This is one of those films everyone should watch. We are just people and love is love. I won't go into detail and spoil it.
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kram-annod29 March 2016I saw this movie many, many years ago and to this day it still has a special place in my heart. The powerful love story along the lines of Romeo and Juliet, the political and social statements made, all left such an impact on me that I have carried the lessons learned through my life. There are few movies that are as powerful as this one. The historical significance of the times the movie presents, as well as those of the release date show us that the heart will take unbelievable leaps of faith, despite the feelings and thoughts of others. Both sides on this love story transmit the effects of fear and prejudice, the basis of which is understandable, yet sad. In real life, history repeats itself. I cannot recommend it enough, and now with the passing of Patty Duke, I want to get it added to my collection so my grandkids can see it. One word, WOW.
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spj-49 September 2008This movie is very impressive in depicting the racism inflicted on many unjustly following the Pearl Harbour attack.
It is not just a thoughtful insight into the realities of oppression faced by Japanese living in America, in World War 2, as the world war escalated! But it is a contemporary insight into the kind of mob mentality that overtakes whole communities with apparent ease but LACKING justice!!! ... Often fired up by UNJUST media sensationalism or AUTHORITIES of oppression without due concern for the rights of victims they marginalise & make in outcasts!!!
I note one other comment referred to this "Romeo & Juliet" type "West Side Story" situation portrayed!!! It is powerfully brought to the screen passionately by the pair of unlikely, even reluctant lovers, in initial encounters! Aware that they are treading on unsure territory & unsteady ground, and intuitively sensing a greater tragedy may be looming!!!
The situation is well conveyed by the main actors! They play their parts well ... the humble Romeo ... the white girl who dares to reluctantly cross a line FOR LOVE she cannot deny ... the local cop who is trying to be sympathetic to the oppressed ... the families of disharmony & divided loyalties ... the dangerous atmosphere that may be only a corner away!!! That's apart from the POWERFUL stories & messages incidentally presented subtly!!! ... But with precision in each occasional impact!!!
Consider the young lover who doesn't want to inflame hostilities & watches his dad's sudden dilemma outpouring with good reason... and that of a young hard-working farmer set upon ... and perhaps the most telling scene of the hapless HARMLESS men piled into the back of a truck, of mostly aging Japanese, who were SINGING their loyalties to America!!! ... Much to the annoyance of authorities who had corralled them & reduced them to numbers!!! ... While being portrayed as if they were terrorists!!!
Justice proclaimed without trial!!! ... As if in the case of those held in a Cuban detention facility beyond 2000!!!
... !!! The same scenario is there in the stories of Australian "The 10 Canoes" & aftermath!!! ... And echoes back to the "rivers of blood" that flowed in Australian history texts over a stolen sheep, after Aboriginals, deprived of their ancestral lands were hounded & hunted like beasts, without respect!!! ... !!! ... !!!
The uneasy & unsteady position of the girl's father amidst it all is very interesting to observe!!! /// ... As is his response to his daughter's love shortlived!!! ... As is his son's action forgotten so easily!!! ... Despite aftermaths of little semblance to truth!!!
All in all, we have a great movie here that deserves great respect & consideration!!! ... For those who have eyes to see & eyes to hear!!!
In the meanwhile, we have an honest & thought-provoking movie!!! ... Of much worthiness!!! ... Of much insight, wisdom & ongoing effect!!! -
"If Tomorrow Comes" was a made for TV movie that dealt with the prejudices against Japanese-Americans that came to a head when WWII arrived. It's a very sad film but important one, as it's important we learn from the events of this time period.
When the film begins, Eileen (Patty Duke) and her parents have just moved to California just before the United States became involved in WWII. She soon meets a nice Japanese-American guy, David (Frank Michael Liu) and they have a lot in common. But because he's not a white guy, they decide to start meeting in secret. After a while, they decide to marry and intend to tell their respective families about this. Unfortunately, their timing stinks because that same morning they marry, the war begins! Now they are afraid to tell anyone and keep waiting for the right time. But in the meantime, prejudices against the Japanese-Americans explode and laws are enacted taking away their rights and freedom. What's to become of the couple?
This is a hard film to watch, as prejudices are nasty and painful...but thank goodness films like this were made to remind us of our past. Well made and very reminiscent of Romeo & Juliet in many ways.
By the way, like too many films, the 'young people' in this movie are far from being young! Patty Duke's supposed to be in high school and she's 24 but even worse is Mako who also is supposed to be about that age...and he was nearing 40! -
jacksonc16 September 1999Underrated, and understated, this short (1 hour and 16 minutes) film says more in that length of time than many of today's bloated features do in twice the time.
One particularly funny (though it may not have been intentional) scene featured an "Okie" challenging a Nisei to a fight with a baseball bat. The Nisei said something like, "Ah, you know KENDO, Okie?" After that, you knew that the "Okie" had made a bad mistake... -
searchanddestroy-128 June 2015There were really too few films speaking of this topic, American citizens but born Japanese parents during and after Pear Harbour attack. I thought of Alan Parker's COME AND SEE THE PARADISE or this other feature FAREWELL TO MANZAMAR, speaking of very similar things, although the story is not the real same either. Yes, there were not enough films speaking of this shame for US authorities. Shame on them. Here the story doesn't emphasize on the near concentration camp conditions in which the American citizens born Japanese were interned. Here, in this very Worth watching movie, we only see the soft side of the US authorities and born American citizens towards those innocent people. Poignant, and a must see for all among you who did not know anything about this.